My imagination was "Ridin' Dirty" and runnin' wild!
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
Beyond saying that I'm no fan of ringtones, I'm still left wondering what the hell is so wrong with ringtones?
Lets see, they are brief snippets of songs used within a new context for a whole new purpose. Sounds kinda familiar, but I can't seem to put my finger on it.
And hold up...square-looking white people actually program rap ringtones into their phones???
What a complete shock that is to me and of course an absolute travesty!!! We need to put David Stern to work on this immediately!!!
its fun to criticize the critic and all but a lot of you are missing the point the journalist isn't retreading the "hip hop is dead" issue at all he's addressing real facts and figures like why album sales for rap are plummeting faster than any other genre.. but also in what ways rap is still relevant and prevalent
rock and rap are never popular simultaneously, it seems...for the last 15 years, one was allegedly dying while the other was coming on strong...next year this time there's gonna be a huge upsurge in hip-hop sales and USA Today gonna be talkin' 'bout "Is Rock Dying?"
Serious question: what would actually convince people that hip-hop was on life support? Apart from, um, USA Today telling us it is.
If I stepped outside right now and discovered that the soundtrack to summer in Harlem was ironic mashups or "rock" or whatever else the people at USA Today are claiming has superseded rap.
Serious question: what would actually convince people that hip-hop was on life support? Apart from, um, USA Today telling us it is.
If I stepped outside right now and discovered that the soundtrack to summer in Harlem was ironic mashups or "rock" or whatever else the people at USA Today are claiming has superseded rap.
I like this as a litmus test.
Btw, reggaeton make any inroads into your neighborhood?
Yes, if only we could return to the days when all rap was good. The days of Coolio. And Skee-lo.
I hate Coolio - always did. I think most people on here would agree. Skee-Lo was really corny - annoyingly so. But you know - at least dude had a sense of humor about shit, rapped over a Bernard Wright break that was beefed up really well...and the song was actually about his insecurities. I mean I'm not saying that Skee Lo broke any ground or anything like that - but shit - at least that song was about something different and was boogie'd out - that's a lot more than I can say for 99.9% of the shit coming out now.
Dude, everything has become ring tones. If the notion of music-as-ringtone has become so closely identified with rap in the US, then it's presumably because rap has the biggest market share. And yes, of course record companies are to blame - it's not like they're suddenly abandoning the idea of developing or nurturing talent with long-term potential in favour of whatever low-investment/high-return moneyspinner happens to be flavour of the month this month. It's not as if people were sitting around years ago dreaming of the day when they can download a 30 second low-res soundclip of the Summer Jam of the Year onto their phone either. Record companies have always been about the money, and if ringtones are where the money is, then that's where they'll be - especially in an age where they'll take whatever sales they can get. In other words, if people would rather buy the hook than the actual song, sell them the hook
Agreed - it is definitely about making money. However - when selling ring tones becomes a major objective in the actual "creative" process - that's not a good look. A&Rs will consistently remind their artists to make hooks that 'will work as a ringtone.' Good is no longer a priority.
Yes, if only we could return to the days when all rap was good. The days of Coolio. And Skee-lo.
I hate Coolio - always did. I think most people on here would agree. Skee-Lo was really corny - annoyingly so. But you know - at least dude had a sense of humor about shit, rapped over a Bernard Wright break that was beefed up really well...and the song was actually about his insecurities. I mean I'm not saying that Skee Lo broke any ground or anything like that - but shit - at least that song was about something different and was boogie'd out - that's a lot more than I can say for 99.9% of the shit coming out now.
Dude, everything has become ring tones. If the notion of music-as-ringtone has become so closely identified with rap in the US, then it's presumably because rap has the biggest market share. And yes, of course record companies are to blame - it's not like they're suddenly abandoning the idea of developing or nurturing talent with long-term potential in favour of whatever low-investment/high-return moneyspinner happens to be flavour of the month this month. It's not as if people were sitting around years ago dreaming of the day when they can download a 30 second low-res soundclip of the Summer Jam of the Year onto their phone either. Record companies have always been about the money, and if ringtones are where the money is, then that's where they'll be - especially in an age where they'll take whatever sales they can get. In other words, if people would rather buy the hook than the actual song, sell them the hook
Agreed - it is definitely about making money. However - when selling ring tones becomes a major objective in the actual "creative" process - that's not a good look. A&Rs will consistently remind their artists to make hooks that 'will work as a ringtone.' Good is no longer a priority.
to record label dudes the objective has always been sales. how is this different
b/w
what exactly qualifies something to 'sound good as a ringtone'? A catchy hook? If so how is this different than all pop music ever. Its not like pre-ringtones things were any different. this ringtone criticism is the laziest shit ever
Can someone give their INFORMED opinion on why sales are down? I think what Faux mentioned (Harlem's Soundtrack) is a little different from what the writer is talking about. He's again talking about sales and not popularity which are obviously two different things.
I think it's that things just go in cycles, that chunk of the buying that made Eminemn, Jay, Nelly sell so damn much are the same types that can/have gotten into Fergie or whatever pop shit is being pushed in the same place and in the same way as the aforementioned rap artists.
combined with Rap coming off it's all-time high in sales. That's naturally going to make any type of decline seem worse than it is.
to record label dudes the objective has always been sales. how is this different
b/w
what exactly qualifies something to 'sound good as a ringtone'? A catchy hook? If so how is this different than all pop music ever. Its not like pre-ringtones things were any different. this ringtone criticism is the laziest shit ever
Really? It is? Some dude that knows jack shit about music, only business, telling you to make your 'hook' redundant and simple enough that it'll attract people to blam it out of their 0.2"x0.2" speaker on their cell phone? Really? You think this is going to help make great music?
And how is this different? Well it wasn't always like this. Sales have always been the major focus, but do you think that Lenny Warnicker, Mo Ostin, Seymour Stein, Ahmet Ertegun, Walter Yetnikoff, Barry Gordy - real record men - would be thrilled to have records being made with ring tones in mind? I mean, new business is new business - and sales through new mediums is definitely welcome - but integrity is definitely taking a back, back, baaaacccckkkk seat here. The factor of sales wasn't as much of an issue in those times as the business was fledgling and low sales weren't a threat - because music wasn't nearly as accessible....now that it is - corners have to be cut. I don't want to see the record industry crumble due to the fact - but really dude - saying that "this ringtone criticism is the laziest shit ever" is a massive, massive pile of shit (it's ignorant).
Yeah, all this obsession with numbers is just stupid. What, did they think that the capitalistic honey-moon can last forever? Just like Most said, these things go in cycles. The corporate money makers will find a new horse to ride on, and rap will keep moving on to wherever it's going. Congratulations to all the artists who were able to make money off of the high season!
to record label dudes the objective has always been sales. how is this different
b/w
what exactly qualifies something to 'sound good as a ringtone'? A catchy hook? If so how is this different than all pop music ever. Its not like pre-ringtones things were any different. this ringtone criticism is the laziest shit ever
Really? It is? Some dude that knows jack shit about music, only business, telling you to make your 'hook' redundant and simple enough that it'll attract people to blam it out of their 0.2"x0.2" speaker on their cell phone? Really? You think this is going to help make great music? [/b]
And how is this different? Well it wasn't always like this. Sales have always been the major focus, but do you think that Lenny Warnicker, Mo Ostin, Seymour Stein, Ahmet Ertegun, Walter Yetnikoff, Barry Gordy - real record men - would be thrilled to have records being made with ring tones in mind? [/b] I mean, new business is new business - and sales through new mediums is definitely welcome - but integrity is definitely taking a back, back, baaaacccckkkk seat here.[/b]
it already has, yes they would, no it hasn't
i still don't know where u get yr evidence that things are any different between music from the pre-ringtone era and now. Please explain to me what the qualitative difference in the music is, and how it has made current music somehow inferior.
Can someone give their INFORMED opinion on why sales are down? I think what Faux mentioned (Harlem's Soundtrack) is a little different from what the writer is talking about. He's again talking about sales and not popularity which are obviously two different things.
I think it's that things just go in cycles, that chunk of the buying that made Eminemn, Jay, Nelly sell so damn much are the same types that can/have gotten into Fergie or whatever pop shit is being pushed in the same place and in the same way as the aforementioned rap artists.
combined with Rap coming off it's all-time high in sales. That's naturally going to make any type of decline seem worse than it is.
I tend to agree with the "things just go in cycles" line of reasoning. I also wonder if these cycles are linked to something larger. I mean, does the average person's music buying tendencies have something to do with larger social, political, or economic trends (i.e. war, employment, etc)? Is the average person more likely to enjoy "gangsta rap" in an environment where the economy is strong? Is he or she more likely to buy a Jay-Z album if there's a war going on? I don't know if there's clear answers to these questions, but I'd be interested to see.
Also, what about the larger racial dynamics? Assuming the bulk of album sales is from white folks, are white folks more or less likely to buy black music(s) in certain racial climates? Who knows? They might be MORE likely to buy black music(s) when racial tensions are high.
And what about just the fact that there are significantly less rap albums for sale these days? I have no idea the actual numbers, but it certainly FEELS like there's a significantly less number of albums that are actually being put out. Certainly a smaller number of albums means less diversity of product and less album sales.
I'd be interested to see how many rap albums were put out versus how many rock albums were put out, and look at the percentages involved in sales and how those have changed.
-e
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
There are no visible signs down here in Texas that yesterday's rap fans are now listening to some other form of music instead of rap.
Of course I never really considered hipster doofuses to be part of that group.
Why are sales down?
1. People are downloading instead of buying albums. 2. People are buying mixtapes instead of albums. 3. Many core rap fans buy albums from vendors that aren't hooked up with Soundscan.
Yes, there has been some criticism against lackluster rap that is real...but what is the point of dogging a Mike Jones or a Paul Wall when you haven't even bothered to listen to UGK, Devin, Z-Ro, Trae, K-Rino, KB da Kidnappa, Gerald G, Ryno, etc.?
1. People are downloading instead of buying albums.
This is an obvious factor (of course, discussed to death) ... but I think this factor is especially hard hitting for genres that focus heavily on singles. When a rock band like Radiohead comes out with a record, Radiohead fans want the whole thing. Same with bands like Arcade Fire or whatever. Fans want to sit and listen to the whole record rather than just a couple of singles. And it isn't always easy to find and download every song on a new record. So, if you have the cash, its easier to just grab the CD ... plus you get to cherish the "special" artwork ... blah blah blah.
Singles, however, are just easier to download.
I find this factor to be the case in my consumption of yacht rock. 95 singles on those 5 comps I made ... all downloaded.
There are no visible signs down here in Texas that yesterday's rap fans are now listening to some other form of music instead of rap.
Of course I never really considered hipster doofuses to be part of that group.
Of course not. I think most of us that live in urban environments where rap music is the music of choice have noted that there are no visibile signs of "yesterday's rap fans listening to something else." But, surely, the huge rap sales in the late 90s and early 00s were based at least in part on casual rap fans buying rap music, right? And, surely, the demise in folks buying rap music has something to do with the casual rap fan buying less rap records, right?
I tend to agree with the "things just go in cycles" line of reasoning. I also wonder if these cycles are linked to something larger. I mean, does the average person's music buying tendencies have something to do with larger social, political, or economic trends (i.e. war, employment, etc)? Is the average person more likely to enjoy "gangsta rap" in an environment where the economy is strong? Is he or she more likely to buy a Jay-Z album if there's a war going on? I don't know if there's clear answers to these questions, but I'd be interested to see.
Also, what about the larger racial dynamics? Assuming the bulk of album sales is from white folks, are white folks more or less likely to buy black music(s) in certain racial climates? Who knows? They might be MORE likely to buy black music(s) when racial tensions are high.
And what about just the fact that there are significantly less rap albums for sale these days? I have no idea the actual numbers, but it certainly FEELS like there's a significantly less number of albums that are actually being put out. Certainly a smaller number of albums means less diversity of product and less album sales.
I'd be interested to see how many rap albums were put out versus how many rock albums were put out, and look at the percentages involved in sales and how those have changed.
-e
Some interesting ideas being floated here but I don't think shifts in social tensions and attitudes would have a huge impact on music consumption trends, at least not in the way you're sketching out above. Did the expansion of R&B to white audiences benefit from the Civil Rights Movement? Probably (though I'm not sure what research has been done on this...might be something Craig Werner studied at some point though). However, we're not going through a very dramatic social revolution of any sort right now, at least not in terms of race relations.
We should also keep in mind: the demographic breakdown on who buys what when it comes to music is almost always pure conjecture and anecdotal. There's been next to no empirical studies done on who actually buys CDs since it's not like any of the major tracking services asks for that kind of data (racial or otherwise) from its partner retailers. That's why the much vaunted "70% of rap consumers are white" statistic has been shown to have almost no validity whatsoever - it's just a number that got thrown around enough that everyone believes it. It has very little basis in empirical data.
As for other reasons why CD sales are down, I think Harvey's three reasons are all on the mark. I'd also add that we're talking about declining ***CD sales***. As such, it doesn't take into account legitimate download sales or ringtone sales. It doesn't all even out - there's been a general decline in net music sales over the last few years - but, in the UK for example, sales are still higher now than they were 10 years ago and that INCLUDES the recent drop-off in CD sales.
In other words, in the short view, music sales look bad but in the long view, the picture can look quite different. That said, I'd love to see the numbers on whether it all balances out. My sense is that overall patterns of consumption would show that hip-hop has been on the wane but whether that's temporary or permanent is hard to say.
Also, I'd like to raise this: if rap sales amongst the "core" audience (however you care to define that) are still healthy - what % of overall consumers does that core audience actually represent? Let's say it's 50% (which I think is grossly overinflated but just for the sake of argument). If that makes the other half "casual" fans - people who bought hip-hop when their tastes leaned that way but are just as happy to buy something else - what happens if 50% of your former buying audience no longer gives a fuck? A loss of 50% of your consumer base would be a disaster in any industry.
And what will hip-hop look/sound like in the long term if such shifts in consumer tastes prove to be permanent? The industry would survive but it'll need to go on a serious crash diet to deal with the reduced revenue.
One more thing to add, and this is going back to demographics: how will the increasing population of Latino Americans affect music consumption patterns? Obviously, a lot of brown folk buy rap CDs but ask anyone in Los Angeles where the most brisk new music sales are coming from, especially at the street level (i.e. outside Soundscan) and it's all Latino-flavored pop music.
I have no idea the actual numbers, but it certainly FEELS like there's a significantly less number of albums that are actually being put out.
It does feel like there are less albums being put out. Are they being replaced by mixtapes, tho?
I dunno about this fellas - when I see album release charts, it looks to me like there's MORE rap albums coming out than I remember.
I kinda go by the new releases section at HMV, which seems a little thin this summer. Do album release charts include the indy stuff or small label releases or just the majors?
I have no idea the actual numbers, but it certainly FEELS like there's a significantly less number of albums that are actually being put out.
It does feel like there are less albums being put out. Are they being replaced by mixtapes, tho?
I dunno about this fellas - when I see album release charts, it looks to me like there's MORE rap albums coming out than I remember.
I kinda go by the new releases section at HMV, which seems a little thin this summer. Do album release charts include the indy stuff or small label releases or just the majors?
Both though obviously, majors are more likely to make the list than the small small indies.
I could be wrong about the quantity. It could be that there are relatively fewer albums in release now (rap-wise).
Can someone give their INFORMED opinion on why sales are down? I think what Faux mentioned (Harlem's Soundtrack) is a little different from what the writer is talking about. He's again talking about sales and not popularity which are obviously two different things.
Yeah, of course it is--I was just answering Oliver's question.
The problem I have with the recent spate of articles, though, is that the two tend to be equated.
What is going on--in addition to industry-wide depressed sales--is that white people's interest in rap music has peaked and is now receding. It reached its highwater mark around the turn of the century and will now probably drop back to around where it was for most of the music's history. Big deal. That's very different from the idea that rap itself is moribund.
Also, I'd like to raise this: if rap sales amongst the "core" audience (however you care to define that) are still healthy - what % of overall consumers does that core audience actually represent?
Just to clarify: I wouldn't describe sales amongst rap's core audience as "healthy"--I would, instead, use the word static.
For example, there are no chain retailers left in Harlem and only a handful of mom & pop stores. This means that if you want to purchase the official CD without getting on the train, you're going to have to wait until very close to the release date and will pay something like 17.99. Official "sales" are not a very good measure of consumption in a community like that, where the means of choice of acquiring music is, and has been, bootleg and mix CDs, which are available up and down 125th Street at 3 for $5. Downloading is also a factor, although its more difficult to gauge, since it's not taking place in public.
Comments
My imagination was "Ridin' Dirty" and runnin' wild!
Lets see, they are brief snippets of songs used within a new context for a whole new purpose. Sounds kinda familiar, but I can't seem to put my finger on it.
And hold up...square-looking white people actually program rap ringtones into their phones???
What a complete shock that is to me and of course an absolute travesty!!! We need to put David Stern to work on this immediately!!!
the journalist isn't retreading the "hip hop is dead" issue at all
he's addressing real facts and figures like why album sales for rap are plummeting faster than any other genre.. but also in what ways rap is still relevant and prevalent
I JUST LOVE USA TODAY PIE CHARTS REALLY SPEAK TO ME.
If I stepped outside right now and discovered that the soundtrack to summer in Harlem was ironic mashups or "rock" or whatever else the people at USA Today are claiming has superseded rap.
I like this as a litmus test.
Btw, reggaeton make any inroads into your neighborhood?
I hate Coolio - always did. I think most people on here would agree. Skee-Lo was really corny - annoyingly so. But you know - at least dude had a sense of humor about shit, rapped over a Bernard Wright break that was beefed up really well...and the song was actually about his insecurities. I mean I'm not saying that Skee Lo broke any ground or anything like that - but shit - at least that song was about something different and was boogie'd out - that's a lot more than I can say for 99.9% of the shit coming out now.
Agreed - it is definitely about making money. However - when selling ring tones becomes a major objective in the actual "creative" process - that's not a good look. A&Rs will consistently remind their artists to make hooks that 'will work as a ringtone.' Good is no longer a priority.
b/w
what exactly qualifies something to 'sound good as a ringtone'? A catchy hook? If so how is this different than all pop music ever. Its not like pre-ringtones things were any different. this ringtone criticism is the laziest shit ever
I think it's that things just go in cycles, that chunk of the buying that made Eminemn, Jay, Nelly sell so damn much are the same types that can/have gotten into Fergie or whatever pop shit is being pushed in the same place and in the same way as the aforementioned rap artists.
combined with Rap coming off it's all-time high in sales. That's naturally going to make any type of decline seem worse than it is.
Really? It is? Some dude that knows jack shit about music, only business, telling you to make your 'hook' redundant and simple enough that it'll attract people to blam it out of their 0.2"x0.2" speaker on their cell phone? Really? You think this is going to help make great music?
And how is this different? Well it wasn't always like this. Sales have always been the major focus, but do you think that Lenny Warnicker, Mo Ostin, Seymour Stein, Ahmet Ertegun, Walter Yetnikoff, Barry Gordy - real record men - would be thrilled to have records being made with ring tones in mind? I mean, new business is new business - and sales through new mediums is definitely welcome - but integrity is definitely taking a back, back, baaaacccckkkk seat here. The factor of sales wasn't as much of an issue in those times as the business was fledgling and low sales weren't a threat - because music wasn't nearly as accessible....now that it is - corners have to be cut. I don't want to see the record industry crumble due to the fact - but really dude - saying that "this ringtone criticism is the laziest shit ever" is a massive, massive pile of shit (it's ignorant).
KRS sounds weaker again and again.
i still don't know where u get yr evidence that things are any different between music from the pre-ringtone era and now. Please explain to me what the qualitative difference in the music is, and how it has made current music somehow inferior.
I tend to agree with the "things just go in cycles" line of reasoning. I also wonder if these cycles are linked to something larger. I mean, does the average person's music buying tendencies have something to do with larger social, political, or economic trends (i.e. war, employment, etc)? Is the average person more likely to enjoy "gangsta rap" in an environment where the economy is strong? Is he or she more likely to buy a Jay-Z album if there's a war going on? I don't know if there's clear answers to these questions, but I'd be interested to see.
Also, what about the larger racial dynamics? Assuming the bulk of album sales is from white folks, are white folks more or less likely to buy black music(s) in certain racial climates? Who knows? They might be MORE likely to buy black music(s) when racial tensions are high.
And what about just the fact that there are significantly less rap albums for sale these days? I have no idea the actual numbers, but it certainly FEELS like there's a significantly less number of albums that are actually being put out. Certainly a smaller number of albums means less diversity of product and less album sales.
I'd be interested to see how many rap albums were put out versus how many rock albums were put out, and look at the percentages involved in sales and how those have changed.
-e
Of course I never really considered hipster doofuses to be part of that group.
Why are sales down?
1. People are downloading instead of buying albums.
2. People are buying mixtapes instead of albums.
3. Many core rap fans buy albums from vendors that aren't hooked up with Soundscan.
Yes, there has been some criticism against lackluster rap that is real...but what is the point of dogging a Mike Jones or a Paul Wall when you haven't even bothered to listen to UGK, Devin, Z-Ro, Trae, K-Rino, KB da Kidnappa, Gerald G, Ryno, etc.?
This is an obvious factor (of course, discussed to death) ... but I think this factor is especially hard hitting for genres that focus heavily on singles. When a rock band like Radiohead comes out with a record, Radiohead fans want the whole thing. Same with bands like Arcade Fire or whatever. Fans want to sit and listen to the whole record rather than just a couple of singles. And it isn't always easy to find and download every song on a new record. So, if you have the cash, its easier to just grab the CD ... plus you get to cherish the "special" artwork ... blah blah blah.
Singles, however, are just easier to download.
I find this factor to be the case in my consumption of yacht rock. 95 singles on those 5 comps I made ... all downloaded.
Of course not. I think most of us that live in urban environments where rap music is the music of choice have noted that there are no visibile signs of "yesterday's rap fans listening to something else." But, surely, the huge rap sales in the late 90s and early 00s were based at least in part on casual rap fans buying rap music, right? And, surely, the demise in folks buying rap music has something to do with the casual rap fan buying less rap records, right?
-e
Some interesting ideas being floated here but I don't think shifts in social tensions and attitudes would have a huge impact on music consumption trends, at least not in the way you're sketching out above. Did the expansion of R&B to white audiences benefit from the Civil Rights Movement? Probably (though I'm not sure what research has been done on this...might be something Craig Werner studied at some point though). However, we're not going through a very dramatic social revolution of any sort right now, at least not in terms of race relations.
We should also keep in mind: the demographic breakdown on who buys what when it comes to music is almost always pure conjecture and anecdotal. There's been next to no empirical studies done on who actually buys CDs since it's not like any of the major tracking services asks for that kind of data (racial or otherwise) from its partner retailers. That's why the much vaunted "70% of rap consumers are white" statistic has been shown to have almost no validity whatsoever - it's just a number that got thrown around enough that everyone believes it. It has very little basis in empirical data.
As for other reasons why CD sales are down, I think Harvey's three reasons are all on the mark. I'd also add that we're talking about declining ***CD sales***. As such, it doesn't take into account legitimate download sales or ringtone sales. It doesn't all even out - there's been a general decline in net music sales over the last few years - but, in the UK for example, sales are still higher now than they were 10 years ago and that INCLUDES the recent drop-off in CD sales.
In other words, in the short view, music sales look bad but in the long view, the picture can look quite different. That said, I'd love to see the numbers on whether it all balances out. My sense is that overall patterns of consumption would show that hip-hop has been on the wane but whether that's temporary or permanent is hard to say.
Also, I'd like to raise this: if rap sales amongst the "core" audience (however you care to define that) are still healthy - what % of overall consumers does that core audience actually represent? Let's say it's 50% (which I think is grossly overinflated but just for the sake of argument). If that makes the other half "casual" fans - people who bought hip-hop when their tastes leaned that way but are just as happy to buy something else - what happens if 50% of your former buying audience no longer gives a fuck? A loss of 50% of your consumer base would be a disaster in any industry.
And what will hip-hop look/sound like in the long term if such shifts in consumer tastes prove to be permanent? The industry would survive but it'll need to go on a serious crash diet to deal with the reduced revenue.
It does feel like there are less albums being put out. Are they being replaced by mixtapes, tho?
I dunno about this fellas - when I see album release charts, it looks to me like there's MORE rap albums coming out than I remember.
I kinda go by the new releases section at HMV, which seems a little thin this summer. Do album release charts include the indy stuff or small label releases or just the majors?
Both though obviously, majors are more likely to make the list than the small small indies.
I could be wrong about the quantity. It could be that there are relatively fewer albums in release now (rap-wise).
Yeah, of course it is--I was just answering Oliver's question.
The problem I have with the recent spate of articles, though, is that the two tend to be equated.
What is going on--in addition to industry-wide depressed sales--is that white people's interest in rap music has peaked and is now receding. It reached its highwater mark around the turn of the century and will now probably drop back to around where it was for most of the music's history. Big deal. That's very different from the idea that rap itself is moribund.
Just to clarify: I wouldn't describe sales amongst rap's core audience as "healthy"--I would, instead, use the word static.
For example, there are no chain retailers left in Harlem and only a handful of mom & pop stores. This means that if you want to purchase the official CD without getting on the train, you're going to have to wait until very close to the release date and will pay something like 17.99. Official "sales" are not a very good measure of consumption in a community like that, where the means of choice of acquiring music is, and has been, bootleg and mix CDs, which are available up and down 125th Street at 3 for $5. Downloading is also a factor, although its more difficult to gauge, since it's not taking place in public.