Thursday, February 18, 2010
The day the music tried...
What has technology done to the music industry? Long before my time as a Claim Processing director here at Junk my Car, I managed a record store (that long forgotten place where you could actually go to buy music on cassette and compact disc).
People would walk in every Tuesday just to get their hands on that newest releases, leaving the store with that coveted tangibility.
The tech age has changed all of that. Record stores are a dying breed. In July 2009, the Virgin Mega-store in New York City closed it's doors forever!
Similar stores like the media powerhouse Trans World Entertainment, which operates the FYE chain, has closed at least 280 of its locations over the last two years.
Why is this happening?
In the face of widespread piracy, consumers' growing preference digital singles over albums, the record business has plunged into a historic decline.
According to Nielsen SoundScan, total music album sales in the U.S. reached only 428 million in 2008, which was a 14% reduction from 2007.
Compare this to it's Digital counterpart which had a billion songs downloaded in 2008, (a 27% increase).
Read more: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7013585191#ixzz0f4wo32tw
The major labels are struggling to reinvent their business models, even as some wonder whether it's too late.
According to music attorney Peter Paterno, who represents Metallica and Dr. Dre, "The record business is over."
How can you beat free?
With major bands like Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead issuing full length albums for free, it seems like Mr. Paterno isn't too far off. Bands have begun to realize that they are making little to no money from album sales.
According to the Almighty Institute of Music Retail a new album with a list price of $15.99 has the following breakdown:
$0.17 Musicians' unions
$0.80 Packaging/manufacturing
$0.82 Publishing royalties
$0.80 Retail profit
$0.90 Distribution
$1.60 Artists' royalties
$1.70 Label profit
$2.40 Marketing/promotion
$2.91 Label overhead
$3.89 Retail overhead
This means that the Label gets $7.01 per CD and retailers get $4.69 for a combined percentage of 73% of the price of each CD.
Royalties, artists, and manufacturing costs combined total only $4.29.
The good news
This radical change is not all bleak. In fact, this shift from tangible to digital has leveled the playing field for independent artists.
On Average it costs an independent musician somewhere between $12 and $18 to publish just one CD.
Now with the digital age, an independent band still needs to record, produce and master their music, but they can enjoy the same worldwide distribution that the Major Labels enjoy at a much lower cost.
Itunes
To get a song on Itunes it depends which company you use.
Example, Zimbalam charges $19.99 for a single and $29.99 for an album.
See also: cdbaby.com, dittomusic.com, & tunecore.com
Less storage space needed
An external hard-drive on average weighs under 5 lbs and has a footprint of 2.5", and with storage prices coming down you can get a Terabyte drive for around $100.
The major labels are struggling to reinvent their business models, even as some wonder whether it's too late.
According to music attorney Peter Paterno, who represents Metallica and Dr. Dre, "The record business is over."
How can you beat free?
With major bands like Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead issuing full length albums for free, it seems like Mr. Paterno isn't too far off. Bands have begun to realize that they are making little to no money from album sales.
According to the Almighty Institute of Music Retail a new album with a list price of $15.99 has the following breakdown:
$0.17 Musicians' unions
$0.80 Packaging/manufacturing
$0.82 Publishing royalties
$0.80 Retail profit
$0.90 Distribution
$1.60 Artists' royalties
$1.70 Label profit
$2.40 Marketing/promotion
$2.91 Label overhead
$3.89 Retail overhead
This means that the Label gets $7.01 per CD and retailers get $4.69 for a combined percentage of 73% of the price of each CD.
Royalties, artists, and manufacturing costs combined total only $4.29.
The good news
This radical change is not all bleak. In fact, this shift from tangible to digital has leveled the playing field for independent artists.
On Average it costs an independent musician somewhere between $12 and $18 to publish just one CD.
Now with the digital age, an independent band still needs to record, produce and master their music, but they can enjoy the same worldwide distribution that the Major Labels enjoy at a much lower cost.
Itunes
To get a song on Itunes it depends which company you use.
Example, Zimbalam charges $19.99 for a single and $29.99 for an album.
See also: cdbaby.com, dittomusic.com, & tunecore.com
Less storage space needed
An external hard-drive on average weighs under 5 lbs and has a footprint of 2.5", and with storage prices coming down you can get a Terabyte drive for around $100.
1 TB = 250,000 Audio tracks (more or less)
Greener option
Digital mediums are not only more portable, more accessible, and cheaper, but they are also greener. just think of all the plastic, and paper saved for each downloaded song/album.
Instead of burning compilation disc after compilation disc only to discard them after several listens you can now put all of your music on digital devices(Hard Drive, Mp3 player, Phone, Computer, etc.) and swap as needed.
The Drawbacks
Tangibility - As an avid collector of music (with over 700 compact discs in my personal collection) I can honestly say that there really is nothing quite like purchasing a brand new disc or better still a vinyl album, cracking it open and reading the lyrics, or checking out the amazing artwork found inside.
Regardless of which side of the debate you are on, digital mediums are here to stay and will continue to thrive in this need it now society that we live in.
Now we have to wait and see what the music industry does to re-invent itself and change with the times instead of fighting the tide.
Instead of burning compilation disc after compilation disc only to discard them after several listens you can now put all of your music on digital devices(Hard Drive, Mp3 player, Phone, Computer, etc.) and swap as needed.
The Drawbacks
Tangibility - As an avid collector of music (with over 700 compact discs in my personal collection) I can honestly say that there really is nothing quite like purchasing a brand new disc or better still a vinyl album, cracking it open and reading the lyrics, or checking out the amazing artwork found inside.
Regardless of which side of the debate you are on, digital mediums are here to stay and will continue to thrive in this need it now society that we live in.
Now we have to wait and see what the music industry does to re-invent itself and change with the times instead of fighting the tide.
Labels: Junk my Car, music industry, technology
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Dance In The Rain
When I was about 6 years old, my mom, stepdad, brother and I were on our way home from some outing. We got caught up in traffic, during a huge storm, and my stepdad ended up getting off the highway to find a "better" way home. I don't even know where we were, all I know is it was pitch black on some old back country road in Eastern CT, when all of a sudden some old song came on the radio, and My Step Dad pulled over and got us all out of the car. He put the radio way up, and there, with the only light being the headlights beaming from the car, in the pouring rain, we all danced in front of the car for what seemed like hours (I'm sure it wasn't really that long, but things seem so much longer when you're a kid).Soaking wet, the four of us then piled back into the car, and headed home. To this day, I can't even remember where we went that day; All I can recall is how much fun it was to dance in that rain storm.
Years later, when I was about 14 years old, a whole bunch of family friends, my aunt, younger cousin, and I were driving alongside the Brooklyn Bridge one night, and it began to rain.
I remember everyone in the caravan of cars that were with us pulled off onto the side of the road and we all went out and spent some time singing and reflecting on all the things we had to be grateful for, again, in the pouring rain. It was something that sounded so crazy, yet it was so refreshing.
Years later, here I am at the age of 25, and I realize that those two nights may have been when I learned the most valuable lesson I have ever learned. See in the physical act of playing and rejoicing in the rain, it showed me something so important--I learned how to appreciate the rain; How to dance in it. Instead of bickering and complaining, that we had to be stuck in the middle of nowhere in the rain, my stepdad taught my brother and I, that night, how to dance in the rain, how to look at something that the world would see as negative, and find a reason to rejoice about it, and years later alongside the Brooklyn Bridge, I was reminded again, not only to play in the rain, but to be thankful for those seasons of life.
See, I've come to realize that it's not whether you go through a storm or not that makes you who you are, It's how you choose to go through it. You can either be miserable, and focus completely on the circumstances that surround you, or you can dance in the rain; rejoice through the storm, and see it as an opportunity expand your knowledge, experience, and ultimately make you a better YOU.
So, the next time you’re faced with a storm in life, take a moment to reflect, and decide to dance in the rain.
Labels: dance, Junk my Car, rain
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