Album Sales Take A Major Toll In 2009

It's no secret everyone seems to be downloading music for free instead of making purchases at the local record store, but how bad has the decline been?

According to Reuters, album sales are down 11.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2009 compared to last year. Provided by Nielsen SoundScan, these figures come even after the increase in sales with the re-releases of The Beatles' catalogue and the death of Michael Jackson. Both artists are said to have sold a combined 6.3 million in this quarter alone, which Michael Jackson's Number Ones being the biggest seller at 1.8 million copies.

Despite a year with highly anticipated releases, the total sales are still down 13.9 per cent from 2008, which also saw a decrease of 14 per cent that year. As Reuters pointed out, some bands such as Green Day, Dave Matthews Band and U2 have helped the situation with their releases, but they haven't been able to make a significant stand. We can only hope more releases this fall, like Weezer's new studio album, can change things around before the situation goes from bad to even worse.

Find out more about the decline in album sales at Reuters.

Comments

[Declan87]

wtf? no one's gonna buy weezer's album

[punXander]

CD's in general are dieing, just like vinyl... although I'd rather keep a vinyl then a CD (better quality)... I think everything should just go digital - people don't even burn DVD's/CD's anymore with the introduction of USB inputs in stereos... it's also a greener solution to our growing environmental problems as well... I still think artists should get royalties though, but take out the CD format and start with some newer, greener and something that appeals to the masses.

[guitar00000]

although i like weezer, they alone cannot save the record industry

[whoa_backoff]

I'll buy Weezer's album

[Bair]

LOL you're right. No ones gonna even download Weezer's album let alone buy it. haha

[Wolf Dog Moon]

I like punXander, also think CDs are dying and that vinyl is better quality (I kept my record collection). Downloading music is way more convenient. I also stream music for free rather than having the need to buy it. I can make my own cds via itunes. and have can share with friends. The last CD I bought was Audio Slaves ablum with Be Yourself (Self-Titled?) and that was years ago!

[justinb904]

ehh.. on day people will realize that record sails aren't where the real money is in music anymore.
Bands barely make any money off of record sales regardless of how well or not sales are doing(special thanks to itunes). The labels that adapt will be fine and the ones that don't will die off, but the ones that make the music will be fine.

[damg182]

anomaly¿?.... sonic boom¿?...

[sadistic_monkey]

The sales may be down, but major record labels are still making billions.

[FFFDFEFRFKFFF]

punXander wrote:

CD's in general are dieing, just like vinyl... although I'd rather keep a vinyl then a CD (better quality)... I think everything should just go digital - people don't even burn DVD's/CD's anymore with the introduction of USB inputs in stereos... it's also a greener solution to our growing environmental problems as well... I still think artists should get royalties though, but take out the CD format and start with some newer, greener and something that appeals to the masses.

I have to agree, although I hate to jump on the greener world band wagon. When I buy a cd now I just rip it and put the cd away. The only reason to buy a cd now is to support an artist or get the artwork/DVD included.

[Thrifty1]

cds a still way over priced.....
for example i'd love to get george harrisons ....all things must pass but not for 35 -38.00
when i can steal it for free....
i love to support the artist but at what price ?????

[Lotz222]

Provided by Nielsen SoundScan, these figures come even after the increase in sales with the re-releases of The Beatles' catalogue and the death of Michael Jackson. Both artists are said to have sold a combined 6.3 million in this quarter alone, which Michael Jackson's Number Ones being the biggest seller at 1.8 million copies.

Take note record companies, maybe its your poor choice of new music trying to shove down peoples throats. The dead guys are still making more money for you.

[Vendim]

The last album I bought was the Billy Talewnt III "Guitar Villain" Edition with guitar Tabs, the normal CD and a play-along CD without the guitar tracks for 21 Euro!!
Other CD's are just overprized.
Ich wpuld buy every album if the price doesn't get over 20 bucks except of double CD's or something like that.

[Soloist96]

Everyone just go independent. No one needs records companies anymore. Just make good music and sell it. Keep your rights.

[johnny blue]

album sales are down 11.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2009 compared to last year

Yeah,with the whole recession thing people are trying to buy food, not music, i can't eat weezers new album.

[Sen-si]

whoa_backoff wrote:

I'll buy Weezer's album

No. I'LL buy weezer's new album.

[madcowman19]

Well sadly there's really not much supporting George Harrison other than the Ganges. I'm all for getting deceased artists music for free, I mean they did a wonderful thing and it should be shared, and...they don't need the money.

The only album I've bought recently was ObZen by Meshuggah, because it was amazing.

If only I had a vinyl player in my car...

[ndschroede23]

Lotz222 wrote:

Provided by Nielsen SoundScan, these figures come even after the increase in sales with the re-releases of The Beatles' catalogue and the death of Michael Jackson. Both artists are said to have sold a combined 6.3 million in this quarter alone, which Michael Jackson's Number Ones being the biggest seller at 1.8 million copies.

Take note record companies, maybe its your poor choice of new music trying to shove down peoples throats. The dead guys are still making more money for you.

Yeah, Michael Jackson's CD is selling like crazy because new music sucks, not because he died like 2 months ago.

/sarcasm

[Mr. Chang]

Soloist96 wrote:

Everyone just go independent. No one needs records companies anymore. Just make good music and sell it. Keep your rights.

That's not so easy for new bands to do. They're the ones that are hurt most by this unfortunately.

[ffaf_kick_ass]

johnny blue wrote:

album sales are down 11.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2009 compared to last year

Yeah,with the whole recession thing people are trying to buy food, not music, i can't eat weezers new album.

you could but it wouldnt taste very nice

[ilovemusic41841]

johnny blue wrote:

album sales are down 11.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2009 compared to last year

Yeah,with the whole recession thing people are trying to buy food, not music, i can't eat weezers new album.

even if you could eat weezers new album, it'd probably taste like crap.

[ilovemusic41841]

damn beat to it!

[Pink Mist]

Just because you aren't a fan, doesn't many others aren't... of course Weezer is going to do well, though I also won't buy or download it, they always have.

[FearOfTheDuck]

I've bought a couple of new albums this year; Endgame and Feel the Steel and some various old ones to add to my collection. The only other CD i'll buy this year is Slayers new one.
I havent got enough money anymore to buy CD's or viynl every week like i used to.

[JFRules]

I say no more CDs. I would rather buy a metal tin with a USB key full of MP3s. Maybe have band name on the key and add a book with Lyrics. CDs are too fragile.

[Saikotic]

punXander wrote:

CD's in general are dieing, just like vinyl... although I'd rather keep a vinyl then a CD (better quality)... I think everything should just go digital - people don't even burn DVD's/CD's anymore with the introduction of USB inputs in stereos... it's also a greener solution to our growing environmental problems as well... I still think artists should get royalties though, but take out the CD format and start with some newer, greener and something that appeals to the masses.

I can't tell if you're a troll or really stupid...

[RockUAway]

Not surprising :P

[PanteraBread]

i love cd packaging!

[Jugulator_cro]

Well I bought Black Gives Way To Blue, at least something

[SlaveToThePower]

I'm kind of surprised, not at the record industry getting slaughtered, but at the fact that everyone seems to be all for complete digital. I'm really against the digital thing actually, because an album is more than just the music, which is why they pay tons for art direction, layout, etc. Honestly, when a new Tool album comes out, I'm always just as excited for the music as I am the creative packaging. It's true that I buy the albums for the music, but there is something to be said for creative album art, not to mention the lack of a physical copy. I personally wouldn't buy anything purely digital simply because of the DRM crap that's involved. Unfortunately though, the record industry sees "sales down" and thinks that's the problem, but really, it's just a symptom of the fact that mainstream music has been sterilized so badly that people are afraid to spend a couple bucks for music they haven't heard before. There's still a great stream of music coming out, but it's not from the "marketable" types, so it won't get the exposure, and therefore, won't make as many sales. If the record industry really wants to boost sales again, start pushing groups with talent and songwriting ability, not just a pretty face.

Anyway, I ramble. To my original point, am I the only one that really values a hard copy?

[Thrifty1]

i dont mean downloading it for free.... i believe that you should by it regardless if they are alive or now.... it was their creativity.... but come on.....
prices should be $10.00 per cd or $20.00 for a double cd..... no matter what

[piet10000]

I still buy a lot of cd's

[jimRH7]

it's because the singles market is in such a boom.

we've got Lady gaga, with poker face, and... uhhh, many more exellent records.

[Thrifty1]

and as for the beatles..... they were a head of their time and made great music..... but to ask 18-21 dollars per cd is unreasonable.....

and yes i value the hard copy

[Cafas]

I still buy CDs and vinyl all the time. I still download tons of music, but I like supporting the band in question. Am I going to bother shoveling money into Dave Mustaine's pocket these days? Fuck no. But there are plenty of bands in metal, and other genres, working hard at an original sound that deserve fan support. Then again, almost 100% of the metal frequently mentioned here doesn't apply.

[leprecon90]

Declan87 wrote:

wtf? no one's gonna buy weezer's album

yea.. i'll probably just download it xD

[Droid11]

I buy cds. Having burned cds in my truck is gay as hell. Burned cds are like JUNK!

[Shread_6009]

from tht little bit about weezer at the end, id say this whole thing is a plug for the new album, as well as a "public service anouncement" from failing record labels. why would a website like UG worry about how bad the music INDUSTRY is doing?

Checked.

[145186]

honestly i beleive albums should be sold for $9.99 unless its double disc/dvd included or whatever, people do not wanna pay 15 to 20$ for a cd, they dont understand that, especially in this economy. i mean you walk into walmart or target and for example Metallica's cd's will be anywhere from 16 to 20$ that is wack!!!! 9.99 is reasonable, and i think if that became national, they would see their everlonged sales increase...

[KurdtStaley]

"can change things around before the situation goes from bad to even worse."
this statement made me laugh. like whats gonna happen? musicians are gonna strike like in South Park? lol. Downloading is just a pure embracing of capitalism. The consumer has decided that a CD isn't worth the ridiculous price tag it carries (they aren't) and have under minded the industry. It's no surprise, why would you pay 12-15 dollars for a cd? so the artist can get 1 dollar and the label can make like a 1000% profit?
If an artists wants my money they need to make good music I appreciate, but on top of that, they need to get off their lazy ass and perform it live for me. You can't pirate a live performance, you're not gonna make counterfeit tickets, it's not like artists are going to lose their income from this. Only record labels that didn't deserve shit in the first place. Finally the greedy lazy idiots are obsolete like they should have been years ago.

[conroy91]

guitar00000 wrote:

although i like weezer, they alone cannot save the record industry

your wrong :P
Weezer can and Weezer will!!!

haha..
if only

['93]

i just get them form play...new are 11 (mor or less), old ones are like 5

[Buraac]

I'd like to see cost numbers relating the cost of recording, producing and putting out a new record versus what it takes to take, say, the Michael Jackson recordings already mixed and mastered, repackaging them and putting them on shelves. There has to be some disparity there that does not get translated to a decrease in price (not surprising).

I would argue though that the record industry caused this pirating madness. Maybe some was inevitable, but I remember being in middle school just before Napster got big and emptying my wallet for a CD priced at 25 dollars, which was, and is, absurd. Ill pay 5, 10 bucks for a CD even if I can get it for free, but not 17-20.

[dooms_day]

i personally don't think cd should die, there's just something about owning a hard copy rather than downloading it
granted i am as guilty as any man or woman when it comes to downloading music, but i will then go out and buy the album considering it's cheap enough
this whole situation i believe could be turned around by simply dropping prices
i walk into a shop and see an album i want, then the price sticker and put it straight down again
i'd feel so much better and a lot more prepared to buy if i walked into a shop and saw £5.99 rather than £11.99
in my humble opinion, cd's should be £7.99 upon release, then drop to £5.99 after a reasonable period like a month, maybe shorter, maybe even 2-3 weeks, and i'd like to hope i speak for many people on that

[drawnacrol]

What do they expect, I went to buy a new album in HMV last week,
it cost 28 FUCKING EURO!!!!! Not a chance was I paying that amount of money, If I want to buy an album I always buy it at a bands gig from their merch stand,that way they get the money straight up, no HMV middle crap

[Tengatu Man]

SlaveToThePower wrote:

I'm kind of surprised, not at the record industry getting slaughtered, but at the fact that everyone seems to be all for complete digital. I'm really against the digital thing actually, because an album is more than just the music, which is why they pay tons for art direction, layout, etc. Honestly, when a new Tool album comes out, I'm always just as excited for the music as I am the creative packaging. It's true that I buy the albums for the music, but there is something to be said for creative album art, not to mention the lack of a physical copy. I personally wouldn't buy anything purely digital simply because of the DRM crap that's involved. Unfortunately though, the record industry sees "sales down" and thinks that's the problem, but really, it's just a symptom of the fact that mainstream music has been sterilized so badly that people are afraid to spend a couple bucks for music they haven't heard before. There's still a great stream of music coming out, but it's not from the "marketable" types, so it won't get the exposure, and therefore, won't make as many sales. If the record industry really wants to boost sales again, start pushing groups with talent and songwriting ability, not just a pretty face.

Anyway, I ramble. To my original point, am I the only one that really values a hard copy?

no man i love just having a cd there to say "Hell yea it's awesome and i got it". Can't do shit with something you just downloaded. I hate downloading stuff because it almost feels like you don't even have it. We should never get rid of CD's unless we bring back the old records.
and maybe some CD's are overpriced but i would deal with it for a Boston or Yngwie CD.

[reignofrock]

As if anyone was surprised. Thank you, Captain Obvious!

[Johnathanmdean]

Be a fan and support the bands, go buy some albums
of course I'm not saying i've never downloaded a song off the internet, haven't we all?

[Johnathanmdean]

Oh and for the record I'll buy weezers new album!

[sonoflife]

Somebody like Tool can save the industry, i think. I too, look forward to the detailed packaging that comes with their music. Its like the music is the soul and the artwork is the face of this "entity". I like what Itunes is doing with the LP edition of albums though. I think that might be the wave of the future.

[RunawayKaren]

I like Buying CD's, but the fact that i have to buy them within a certain time frame is annoying. CD prices go UP after they get older. They start around $10 (for the sake of making first week sales higher) and then get increased.

[TheSilverBeatle]

What shocking news! Music industry continues to do very little to change and album sales are still dropping? I bet the exec's are just hurting their brains trying to understand such a concept.
"Hmm, maybe were not suing enough people for file sharing Bill!"
"Yeah! That must be it...or maybe were not making enough disposable one hit wonder pop music"
"Then it's settled let's sue more people and make more shitty music...I got a feeling...2010 is gonna be a good year!"

[COBHC_Erick429]

Album sales are in no way the ONLY way a band makes money, everybody seems to forget that when they read all of this "people are downloading too much" stuff.

Ive downloaded every CD ive listened to in the past maybe 7 years, but if theyre a good band and its a good CD, i gladly go out to buy it.

AND just as an added bonus, this is talking about owning the actual CD to gain a sale, they say nothing about iTunes or how other people pay to gain the songs, without the cd itself in hand. Stupid "news".

[Captain Cool]

Weezer's new album won't save the record industry, but they are releasing Pinkerton Deluxe soon which deserves to see so much more success than it did the first time around.

[transplants182]

SlaveToThePower wrote:

I'm kind of surprised, not at the record industry getting slaughtered, but at the fact that everyone seems to be all for complete digital. I'm really against the digital thing actually, because an album is more than just the music, which is why they pay tons for art direction, layout, etc. Honestly, when a new Tool album comes out, I'm always just as excited for the music as I am the creative packaging. It's true that I buy the albums for the music, but there is something to be said for creative album art, not to mention the lack of a physical copy. I personally wouldn't buy anything purely digital simply because of the DRM crap that's involved. Unfortunately though, the record industry sees "sales down" and thinks that's the problem, but really, it's just a symptom of the fact that mainstream music has been sterilized so badly that people are afraid to spend a couple bucks for music they haven't heard before. There's still a great stream of music coming out, but it's not from the "marketable" types, so it won't get the exposure, and therefore, won't make as many sales. If the record industry really wants to boost sales again, start pushing groups with talent and songwriting ability, not just a pretty face.

Anyway, I ramble. To my original point, am I the only one that really values a hard copy?

[phone]

I love having a tangible copy of a CD, it just feels much better spending money on something you can listen to, read, look at, feel, etc. than something you can only listen to

[sticknick]

"It's no secret everyone seems to be downloading music for free "

I love how when ever the word "download" comes up, everyone instantly assumes that it's all free.

I download allmy music; the amount of money I've dropped on albums via iTunes is pretty substantial.

Honestly, I find iTunes wipes the floor with brick and mortar stores. I've found all kinds of awesome, obscure, local, non-local artists on iTunes that I can't find in places like HMV. And I can buy it *right now*. I don't have to pre-order it and wait weeks and pay a stupid price.

Online purchasing is the future and the record companies just don't get it. They'll take stats like the ones above and wave it in our faces and tell us how we're all criminals and how we're stealing money from the "artists".

Horseshit.

My money is on technologies like iTunes and the big bands like Radiohead and NIN who are showing that there are other ways to get music out there besides relying on the record companies.

[napalm890]

Saikotic wrote:

punXander wrote:

CD's in general are dieing, just like vinyl... although I'd rather keep a vinyl then a CD (better quality)... I think everything should just go digital - people don't even burn DVD's/CD's anymore with the introduction of USB inputs in stereos... it's also a greener solution to our growing environmental problems as well... I still think artists should get royalties though, but take out the CD format and start with some newer, greener and something that appeals to the masses.

I can't tell if you're a troll or really stupid...

[napalm890]

wtf...

anyway, I was about to say, its pretty clear to me who the troll is

[machineslave]

OH NO! The RIAA gonna lose money due to lack of sales! say it aint so.. who cares you wanna support the artist go to shows that will support the artist more than record sales and besides lets face it the state of popular music sucks there almost no new artists out there worth listening to (in my opinion) we need something new and its not this shit that the RIAA the radio and mtv is shoving down our throats. music now days is redundant and stale like reality tv which also sucks

[godberry]

Jugulator_cro wrote:

Well I bought Black Gives Way To Blue, at least something

twas a good album! i bought it as well. i got it at best buy the day it came out for slightly cheaper than it would have cost on itunes. aside from that, i think artists should offer incentives to buy the physical copy. for instance, include a live dvd or a download code for something like live footage, etc. times are changing. some day cds will be a thing of the past. for now they just need to give people more of a reason to go out and buy the album.

[-Collapse-]

I like how the article solely placed the blame on downloading and didn't take into account the global recession...

[riseagainst26]

i buy new cds of bands i like. if it already exists i will download it but new ones i will buy

[lao123]

I like having CD's. Having something tangible is a lot more satisfying than and MP3/AAC file on my computer. I downloaded (legally) the new Muse album with iTunes LP, and as great as this is it will never beat having an actual CD.

[flame843]

CDs are on the way out, for better or for worse. itunes/etc is currently the wave of the future for music business until some other idea drives it into the ground in a few years.

[Sean-Man]

punXander wrote:

CD's in general are dieing, just like vinyl... although I'd rather keep a vinyl then a CD (better quality)... I think everything should just go digital - people don't even burn DVD's/CD's anymore with the introduction of USB inputs in stereos... it's also a greener solution to our growing environmental problems as well... I still think artists should get royalties though, but take out the CD format and start with some newer, greener and something that appeals to the masses.

Vinyls actually on the rise!

[KurdtStaley]

godberry wrote:
twas a good album! i bought it as well. i got it at best buy the day it came out for slightly cheaper than it would have cost on itunes. aside from that, i think artists should offer incentives to buy the physical copy. for instance, include a live dvd or a download code for something like live footage, etc. times are changing. some day cds will be a thing of the past. for now they just need to give people more of a reason to go out and buy the album.

That wouldn't work. One person would go buy it and it would be up for download an hour later. That's what happened with BGWTB, they streamed it on their website on the 22nd, I downloaded it an hour later.

I think it's just time for a shift in the money making model the music industry has been employing. And it's a good thing. In fact a great thing. It's so much easier to produce an album now that bands really don't even need labels, and the reason CD's are so expensive is because the label's making a ridiculous profit per copy sold. The artist does all the work, the label pays some very minimal costs for recording ect, then the label enjoys like a 1000% return on investment per cd. I'm surprised anyone is willing to pay those greedy, lazy, shitheads for music. Music is a form or art and self expression and should be readily available free of charge. Bands should make money by getting their music out to as big of an audience as possible and then touring. Labels are just useless middle men robbing the consumers and the artists of what is rightfully theirs and it's about time they get phased out.
And anyone who prefers the superficiality of a CD to a downloaded copy is honestly just a materialist idiot. Sorry, but it's true. You're wasting space, materials, money ect for a plastic disc. Basically in your opinion the actual physical thing is more important than the music it contains.

[JohnnyChimpo241]

JFRules wrote:

I say no more CDs. I would rather buy a metal tin with a USB key full of MP3s. Maybe have band name on the key and add a book with Lyrics. CDs are too fragile.

i like this idea. I do still buy a shitload of albums tho. i havent really downloaded any music illegally since napster originally went down.
in last month alone, ive bought 7 or 8 cds.

[Imbalance]

Why buy albums, only a fraction of the money goes to the bands anyway, it's the record labels that are killing the industry.

[Freunleven]

It used to be that record labels were absolutely necessary to get your album recorded, mixed, mastered, distributed, advertised, etc - and then to get your merch distributed. That's not the case anymore. With a basic home computer, a USB interface, time and dedication, just about anyone can produce their own music; advertise it on Myspace, Facebook & UG; and then sell their music online via TuneCore. As for additional merch, upload a few JPEGs to CafePress, set up your storefront, and you're good to go.

The old model is extinct. Music has gone back to the garages and basements of the world, and I see that as a good thing.

Imbalance wrote:

Why buy albums, only a fraction of the money goes to the bands anyway, it's the record labels that are killing the industry.

without the record label there is pretty much no industry at all.

checked

[travislausch]

Maybe if more people put out good albums instead of insipid pop/rock, maybe people would want to buy more music.

A lot of great albums came out, granted, but you can't find any of it where I live, in the boonies of Canada.

[Imbalance]

without the record label there is pretty much no industry at all.

Bands like Enter Shikari seem to be doing well at the moment, and they do all the work themselves not with a record label, yeah granted they sell cd's through itunes and HMV but they are still cutting out the labels

[brentondig]

I haven't needed to download music in a long time. With my huge CD collection, I'm set, but sometimes I don't feel like shelling out $25 bucks to get an import CD as much as I used too. I've been buying online

[Nirvana00125]

punXander wrote:

CD's in general are dieing, just like vinyl... although I'd rather keep a vinyl then a CD (better quality)... I think everything should just go digital - people don't even burn DVD's/CD's anymore with the introduction of USB inputs in stereos... it's also a greener solution to our growing environmental problems as well... I still think artists should get royalties though, but take out the CD format and start with some newer, greener and something that appeals to the masses.

The major problem with going digital is that 1. it's easier to upload things to P2P websites, 2. people who don't have internet access or have limited internet access are screwed, 3. some people like having actual physical copies of a cd, and 4. record labels would make LESS money(as a majority of people still buy cds) and many record companies would go out of buisiness(due to the fact that many indie labels already don't sell much, and without cds on the shelves they would just lose money(due to, again, the fact that a majority of people still buy cds) and so there would be tons of bands without labels.

[chrismyers32]

transplants182 wrote:

SlaveToThePower wrote:

I'm kind of surprised, not at the record industry getting slaughtered, but at the fact that everyone seems to be all for complete digital. I'm really against the digital thing actually, because an album is more than just the music, which is why they pay tons for art direction, layout, etc. Honestly, when a new Tool album comes out, I'm always just as excited for the music as I am the creative packaging. It's true that I buy the albums for the music, but there is something to be said for creative album art, not to mention the lack of a physical copy. I personally wouldn't buy anything purely digital simply because of the DRM crap that's involved. Unfortunately though, the record industry sees "sales down" and thinks that's the problem, but really, it's just a symptom of the fact that mainstream music has been sterilized so badly that people are afraid to spend a couple bucks for music they haven't heard before. There's still a great stream of music coming out, but it's not from the "marketable" types, so it won't get the exposure, and therefore, won't make as many sales. If the record industry really wants to boost sales again, start pushing groups with talent and songwriting ability, not just a pretty face.

Anyway, I ramble. To my original point, am I the only one that really values a hard copy?

[phone]

I love having a tangible copy of a CD, it just feels much better spending money on something you can listen to, read, look at, feel, etc. than something you can only listen to

Indeed.

[sonoflife]

the record label promotes you & gets your name out there. also gives you the money to get your album recorded. which can be SUPER expensive. In return, they profit from the actual sales of records. Musicians live the active tour life but dont make much money. Im a struggling musician who would be happy to live on 25k a year by only playing music. Without someone (labels) promoting you, its virtually impossible to get a substantial amount recognition. But I have a plan...

[Nirvana00125]

I actually agree with Freunleven, bands could easily record without the need of a label and just self release their music. The only problem is that then they couldn't play at large venues due to the fact that record companies pay for shows. Also, the equipment needed to record an album with GOOD quality is pretty expensive. then again, if a band practices enough they could head into a studio and pay like 100-400 dollars and just upload the tracks onto a website. So I think that may be the next step for smaller bands. But bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Cannibal Corpse, etc. would just be in some weird limbo because they all have like a thousand CDs in every FYE lol so idk. But self releasing would be awesome.

[Zyph73]

I saw an interesting article a while back about how they are reducing the amount of different albums produced as well. If that holds true it's no wonder they are losing sales. Also, maybe if they'd stop whoring out certain artists and focused more on the entirety of things and payed the artists a bit more then maybe they'd get more sales. Bottom line, produce more quality music, not re-releasing old stuff and standard new stuff.

[KurdtStaley]

"without the record label there is pretty much no industry at all."

How's that? The product the industry is selling is music, entertainment, not CD's.
If these people had any understanding of economics at all they would; give their music away, put it everywhere they can for free in order to gain a large audience. Then tour, and make money off of merchandise and tickets. Ticket costs would likely increase as a result of this model but it would be better overall. The consumers would probably still spend just as much money on music/entertainment, they would just get more for their money, and the leeches/labels wouldn't be sucking all the money out of the industry for their own personal gain.

[GIBSONroks6167]

If some of the bands that were struggling really loved playing music, they would realize that there are plenty of other ways to make a decent living playing music aside from joining a band...

[godberry]

KurdtStaley wrote:

godberry wrote:
twas a good album! i bought it as well. i got it at best buy the day it came out for slightly cheaper than it would have cost on itunes. aside from that, i think artists should offer incentives to buy the physical copy. for instance, include a live dvd or a download code for something like live footage, etc. times are changing. some day cds will be a thing of the past. for now they just need to give people more of a reason to go out and buy the album.

That wouldn't work. One person would go buy it and it would be up for download an hour later. That's what happened with BGWTB, they streamed it on their website on the 22nd, I downloaded it an hour later.

I think it's just time for a shift in the money making model the music industry has been employing. And it's a good thing. In fact a great thing. It's so much easier to produce an album now that bands really don't even need labels, and the reason CD's are so expensive is because the label's making a ridiculous profit per copy sold. The artist does all the work, the label pays some very minimal costs for recording ect, then the label enjoys like a 1000% return on investment per cd. I'm surprised anyone is willing to pay those greedy, lazy, shitheads for music. Music is a form or art and self expression and should be readily available free of charge. Bands should make money by getting their music out to as big of an audience as possible and then touring. Labels are just useless middle men robbing the consumers and the artists of what is rightfully theirs and it's about time they get phased out.
And anyone who prefers the superficiality of a CD to a downloaded copy is honestly just a materialist idiot. Sorry, but it's true. You're wasting space, materials, money ect for a plastic disc. Basically in your opinion the actual physical thing is more important than the music it contains.

thanks for calling me a materialist idiot. i agree that labels make more profit off an album sale than the band, but there is nothing wrong with wanting to own an album by an artist that is special to you. i bought the new AIC album because they write music that is really important to me. generally, i download my music (legally), but sometimes i like to own the physical copy. the point i was originally trying to make was that the music industry is declining. they are failing to adapt to the new conditions. eventually all music will be free (as it should be). in the meantime, artists and labels can make more money and promote their music by offering some kind of incentive. just an idea.

[OingoBoingo21]

KurdtStaley wrote:

"without the record label there is pretty much no industry at all."

How's that? The product the industry is selling is music, entertainment, not CD's.
If these people had any understanding of economics at all they would; give their music away, put it everywhere they can for free in order to gain a large audience. Then tour, and make money off of merchandise and tickets. Ticket costs would likely increase as a result of this model but it would be better overall. The consumers would probably still spend just as much money on music/entertainment, they would just get more for their money, and the leeches/labels wouldn't be sucking all the money out of the industry for their own personal gain.

How desperately I want to have faith and believe in this model, but it still sounds idealistic to me. With hundreds of thousands of bands all giving everything away for free on the internet, there becomes less of a chance of standing out in the crowd.

Yes, I'd like to believe that the truly good music will cut through above the rest, but I think a good deal of it will still come from luck and connections (so in some ways things will stay the same!)

[strat0blaster]

#1.

We can only hope more releases this fall, like Weezer's new studio album, can change things around before the situation goes from bad to even worse.

From bad to even worse? Yes - gods forbid we don't buy the CDs that cost 18c to make for $20 and line the pockets of some A&R guy who's already stinking rich. That'd be a real shame.

#2. The title of this article is "Album Sales Take A Major Toll in 2009." They take a major toll? On what? It should read something like "Downloads take a major toll on album sales." or "Album sales take a major plunge due to downloads." If you're going to use the language, learn how, please. I wouldn't expect this to be okay for them any more than I'd expect an angerless response from a native Japanese speaker if I'd try to use it convincingly.

[HarvesterofPain]

If we're talking physical CD sales, I'll tell you why I went digital. It's nothing against any corporation or business, it's just that a lot of the bands I listen to aren't heavily supported by retailers or big labels, hence I can't find their albums anywhere in this area.

It's not spite at all, because I can completely understand why they don't carry the bands I like. I guess the best way to say it is that I'm in a musical minority in some cases, and it just wouldn't be worth it for them to push sales in a place with few buyers. Digital makes sure that music is available no matter what area I'm in.

Anyone else find themselves in this situation?

[Screamin' Eagle]

Well im still a major fan of going out and buying cd's (and vinyls...more so if my vinyl player worked) its turned into somewhat of an addiction, I'm aiming for at least 700 piece collection, im only at 300 atm so I'v got a wee way to go, but when you have the cd or vinyl you actually have something solid to look at and almost show off. with dowloading music its like barley owning something at all and it can all be wiped if ya computer or hardrive or divce crashes. At least people are still listening to music though!

[pinata89]

Declan87 wrote:

wtf? no one's gonna buy weezer's album

LOLOLOL Agreed.

[The-Red-Sky]

I laughed at that. Weezer will save the world!!!

[Superperfex]

its ironic that i bought like 6 albums and havent listened to them yet, but listen to them on youtube and shit like that. =/

[killermusic]

this sucks that the music industrys coming to this. there no real profit in the industry because of downloading. and only one song??? no you gotta get the whole album if you wanna download. it really sucks because having something tangible is so much more meaningful than just downloading. i buy all my cds and love it. when i was younger i was a victim to the digital thing but iv found it way more rewarding to have cds. id get records if i acually had a record table.

[Freunleven]

There's a band in Seattle called Abney Park. In a recent interview, the singer actually commented on being approached by a major label and turning them down because they make more money as independent artists.

http://community.yourfindit.com/Interview.aspx?m ediaid=235&profid=903

Enjoy.

[sparrow2008]

HOnestly I haven't stopped buying the albums I liked because of the economical situation. I mean sure if there's 1-3 songs only you like on a Cd one will be tempted to rip them but otherwise I'm a big fan of supporting the bands I like and, like it was already said, - to have the real thing with the artwork
just lately I bought the new Chevelle, 3 days grace, Breaking Bnejamin, muse albums basically if I like what I here I'll buy unless the thing costs over 20 bucks of course
good music has to continue and for that one should buy the real thing if one can

[Sam Wotrey]

Cassettes FTW :P
My car's CD player broke, so I went to a thrift store and bought plenty Megadeth tapes for a buck each.
Smartest move on my behalf.

[JayPresto]

lol yeah, weezer will fix everything, dumbasses

Checked

[anthonyd3ca]

maybe if there was actually good music to buy, people would buy music.

[ProgMetalDT]

If I download a digital album, I still go buy it. Having cds is just so awesome

[pootoob]

according to the website, rock albums sell approx 80mill a year compared to rap's 50 mill.

So, atleast there's some good news aye boys?

[bassboy 999]

Personally I still buy albums, but I don't have anything against those who choose to download.

In the long run, it's better off for an artist to have their music shared around by lots of people rather than taking some pathetic 5% cut from their sales.

[x_Pr1cK_x]

I'll tell ya one thing. i dont like his music, but Kid Rock had a point.
he said on my local radio station: " Listin up kids, i'm NOT making money off of my albums, not enough to live anyway, so i'm giving you permission to STEAL MY $H!T. do it, them fat cats in the industry, are making MILLIONS OFF OF ARTISTS LIKE ME.. So DOWNLOAD MUSIC, but keep if you really want to SUPPORT YOUR ARTIST, CHECK OUT A SHOW..." then he gave himself props... its TIME TO BURY THE RECORD INDUSTRY, EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS RIGHT HERE ONLINE!! YOU CAN USE FACEBOOK-TWATTER-MYSPACE, YOUR BRAIN AND SOME OF YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY TO GET YOUR MUSIC GOING!!
RIP CD'S, TAPES, VYNAL, 8TRACK, BATA, LAZERDISKS, AND MY FAVORITE VHS

EMBRACE THE FUTURE.

[EC_AL_JH_GH]

KurdtStaley wrote:

"can change things around before the situation goes from bad to even worse."
this statement made me laugh. like whats gonna happen? musicians are gonna strike like in South Park? lol. Downloading is just a pure embracing of capitalism. The consumer has decided that a CD isn't worth the ridiculous price tag it carries (they aren't) and have under minded the industry. It's no surprise, why would you pay 12-15 dollars for a cd? so the artist can get 1 dollar and the label can make like a 1000% profit?
If an artists wants my money they need to make good music I appreciate, but on top of that, they need to get off their lazy ass and perform it live for me. You can't pirate a live performance, you're not gonna make counterfeit tickets, it's not like artists are going to lose their income from this. Only record labels that didn't deserve shit in the first place. Finally the greedy lazy idiots are obsolete like they should have been years ago.

1. Musician's usually write music that relates to them in some way, and hope that it reaches out to people, they do NOT write music for YOU.

2. Yes, you can pirate a live performance, it's called Bootlegging. Also, people do make counterfeit tickets and sell them online.

[RukiaTH]

I'll support artists I like by buying shirts and going to shows. They make more money off that then they do record sales.

[Freunleven]

You can't bootleg the experience of seeing a band live - you can only record it. Its nowhere near the same thing. Its like the difference between pr0n and sex.

[think11270]

I don't understand why they don't just lower the cd prices to even $5-14. They would probably sell many more that way, and at least people are paying SOMETHING for it rather than stealing it.

[DragTheWaters11]

Am I one of the few people who actually still buy albums?

I used to download them all the time.. but then I realized how much I'm really ripping these people off, and it makes me feel awful. Since then I've bought like 20 CDs.. and am not looking back on it as a waste of money... You're welcome Nile, Behemoth and Opeth (Bands that I've bought their entire catalog since starting buying CDs again)

[DragTheWaters11]

EC_AL_JH_GH wrote:

1. Musician's usually write music that relates to them in some way, and hope that it reaches out to people, they do NOT write music for YOU.

2. Yes, you can pirate a live performance, it's called Bootlegging. Also, people do make counterfeit tickets and sell them online.

That's not his point, Einstein. His point is, if the musicians aren't making music that appeals to him; he wont buy it.

[Covin]

I still buy CDs and I'm proud of the fact that I don't pirate music. Stealing is stealing, it doesn't matter who from. Record labels may not have the best intentions, but no one can say that they would've found every band they listen to without a label.
Fuck piracy.

[DragTheWaters11]

Covin wrote:

I still buy CDs and I'm proud of the fact that I don't pirate music. Stealing is stealing, it doesn't matter who from. Record labels may not have the best intentions, but no one can say that they would've found every band they listen to without a label.
Fuck piracy.

It's good to see there's still people out there with some good will. *thumbs up*

[rockinrunner90]

a wise man once said, "an industry cannot live on weezer albums alone." i don't even know why they brought up the new weezer album, it won't help at all.

[rip3149]

Freunleven wrote:

It used to be that record labels were absolutely necessary to get your album recorded, mixed, mastered, distributed, advertised, etc - and then to get your merch distributed. That's not the case anymore. With a basic home computer, a USB interface, time and dedication, just about anyone can produce their own music; advertise it on Myspace, Facebook & UG; and then sell their music online via TuneCore. As for additional merch, upload a few JPEGs to CafePress, set up your storefront, and you're good to go.

The old model is extinct. Music has gone back to the garages and basements of the world, and I see that as a good thing.

if you're correct in your assumption, we may never hear from axl rose again....i'm all for it!

but you gotta remember, bands like a7x that put so much more than themselves into the recording. all those orchestra sessions cost money. and guess who fronts that money to the band....the record label.

[x_Pr1cK_x]

i DISAGREE with the WEEZER comments. Weezer aint worth 20$ a cd/album EVER... TOOL YES. WEEZER.. NO!

[x_Pr1cK_x]

Your albums, when you die, will probably end up in a landfill... especially THE WEEZER ONES!! lol i'm kidding... kinda. your taste is not MINE.

[rhellsten]

i buy albums

[OverUnderOnward]

There's something about buying a c.d that says "I liked his music" to me. The art, the booklet, the physical c.d... I dunno. I usually buy c.d's after having downloaded them because they're something I like, but I'm developing a collection pretty quickly. I definitely hope C.D's as a medium stick around.

[jrcsgtpeppers]

I don't have a local record store to go to. If I did and the white stripes or chili peppers released their latest upcoming albums on vinyl i'd buy them in a heart beat.

[AstheticsOfHate]

Honestly, if it didn't take me 3 months for my record store to order the stuff i want, and then cost me 50-60 dollars per cd, hell i'd probably buy cd's.
Even Itunes fails at supplying the music i want
The only real answer for musicians with obscure tastes is to download.

[cooljew]

yes yes, i agree with you all, long live weezer!

[TheFerret]

I have to disagree with music being entirely free. I mean, I am a strong believer that they shouldn't be $20, but there should be a small fee (I'd be willing to fork over $5).
As for iTunes, I tried using it awhile back, but since I didn't have an iPod, but just some mp3 player, it wouldn't let me rip it onto the mp3 player because it was in mp4 format. Then when I tried to change it to mp3 it told me "sorry, but you can't do that", and it pissed me off to no end. I mean, I paid for the file, so why are you telling me what format I can or cannot have it in? It's kind of like when you get legal copies of DVD's and then they don't let you skip through the trailers. Why should I keeep giving these companies money, when they make it so much less convenient than just stealing it?
I digress. I think that music consumers have this sense of entitlement that they deserve free music, and that bands should cater to them, like music just happens at no expense. There are recording fees, promotion fees, expenses for going on these tours that are supposed to give them infinite money. That's why I feel $5-10 isn't unreasonable to pay for an album.

[jcarrig]

they should create some 'digital album' thing where you buy a cd online and when you play it in your media player or something, the album booklet that would have been in the physical case of a cd comes up as a kind of interactive image that you flip through. sounds pretty lame i know, but if digital is gonna kill physical releases then something needs to be done to at least try to save the art, lyrics and production credits that go with it.

[KurdtStaley]

OingoBoingo21 wrote:

How desperately I want to have faith and believe in this model, but it still sounds idealistic to me. With hundreds of thousands of bands all giving everything away for free on the internet, there becomes less of a chance of standing out in the crowd.

Yes, I'd like to believe that the truly good music will cut through above the rest, but I think a good deal of it will still come from luck and connections (so in some ways things will stay the same!)

I think good music would have more of a chance of rising because you wouldn't have musician's propped up by record labels, everyone would have more of an equal platform.

[jonathan_5150]

CD's are way too ****ing expensive nowadays, I usually go to garage sales with CDs and records, I just got a lot of Metallica at the last one, along with some NIN and Megadeth! Only for like a quarter each, so kickass! No where around here sells reasonably priced CDs, except a few at Wal-Mart. I'll be going to Megadeth soon, put some actual cash in their pockets, not pennies.

[jethro bob]

even though its all been said before, i feel that radiohead had the best idea with in rainbows. pay what you want for our music, we don't care. unfortunately, i had to buy the album from walmart, just to turn around and download it because walmart fails at selling music. but more people should embrace that concept, and we wouldn't have to pay 20-30 dollars for a cheap piece of plastic that most of us will only use once to rip to our mp3 players.

oh and btw..those who still want to pay for music but hate itunes, use rhapsody. its not perfet, but id rather pay 15 dollars to get all the music i want instead of just one cd.

[xcrunner1]

death to the music industry, free music for everyone!!

[grind]

Lotz222 wrote:
Take note record companies, maybe its your poor choice of new music trying to shove down peoples throats. The dead guys are still making more money for you.

boom.

[grind]

jethro bob wrote:
and we wouldn't have to pay 20-30 dollars for a cheap piece of plastic .

TheFerret wrote:

I am a strong believer that they shouldn't be $20, but there should be a small fee (I'd be willing to fork over $5).

x_Pr1cK_x wrote:

i DISAGREE with the WEEZER comments. Weezer aint worth 20$ a cd/album EVER... TOOL YES. WEEZER.. NO!

Does Minnesota just have outrageously low CD prices, or are you guys grossly exaggerating? When I see $17 a disc at a small music shop, I think to myself "No way, man." Best Buy, Target, Amazon, iTunes, or buying used is the way to go. As much as I'd love to help out the little guys...

[tom1thomas1]

grind wrote:

jethro bob wrote:
and we wouldn't have to pay 20-30 dollars for a cheap piece of plastic .

TheFerret wrote:

I am a strong believer that they shouldn't be $20, but there should be a small fee (I'd be willing to fork over $5).

x_Pr1cK_x wrote:

i DISAGREE with the WEEZER comments. Weezer aint worth 20$ a cd/album EVER... TOOL YES. WEEZER.. NO!

Does Minnesota just have outrageously low CD prices, or are you guys grossly exaggerating? When I see $17 a disc at a small music shop, I think to myself "No way, man." Best Buy, Target, Amazon, iTunes, or buying used is the way to go. As much as I'd love to help out the little guys...

are we talking dollars US, Canadian, Australian?

[cotton3434]

Haha, mainstream bands sales are suffering. Which is great, because this might somehow translate to an upgrade in quality, seeing as they aren't making as much money...

Not that I'm too hopeful for that.

[jthm_guitarist]

WOW, just WOW! Their big expected sales were a few catalogues of decades old material? Of course album sales are down! HARDLY ANYONE IS MAKING ALBUMS ANYMORE!

[LPDC]

BRING BACK VINYL!

actually, that probs won't do much...
and unless if you get some major artist only releasing in vinyl, it won't come back

[LPDC]

jrcsgtpeppers wrote:

I don't have a local record store to go to. If I did and the white stripes or chili peppers released their latest upcoming albums on vinyl i'd buy them in a heart beat.

white stripes normally release their albums in vinyl. they've done it with all of them except Get Behind Me Satan.

[ndschroede23]

jcarrig wrote:

they should create some 'digital album' thing where you buy a cd online and when you play it in your media player or something, the album booklet that would have been in the physical case of a cd comes up as a kind of interactive image that you flip through. sounds pretty lame i know, but if digital is gonna kill physical releases then something needs to be done to at least try to save the art, lyrics and production credits that go with it.

Those totally exist. It's fairly new, but lots of artists are taking advantage of it. I know Dave Matthews Band released their newest album in that format via iTunes, and Muse did too. I'm sure plenty of other bands have too, I just don't know who in particular.

[Spl!nTeRgu!tAr]

I think a reference to my South Park episode is in order.

I don't feel bad that Green Day are stuck driving around in a silly old Mercedes instead of a Rolls Royce. But some bands really don't get enough from thier CD sales to even survive a tour. I'm talking about the new and orginal talents that get bad label support. If you're going to download, at least supprt the bands that need this boost rather than those that can live without it.

My 2 cents.

[jannick]

punXander wrote:

CD's in general are dieing, just like vinyl... although I'd rather keep a vinyl then a CD (better quality)... I think everything should just go digital - people don't even burn DVD's/CD's anymore with the introduction of USB inputs in stereos... it's also a greener solution to our growing environmental problems as well... I still think artists should get royalties though, but take out the CD format and start with some newer, greener and something that appeals to the masses.

HAHA WTF? first of all cd's ARE and will always be better quality than vinyl. though many prefer the warm vinyl sound. second: dump cd's? if that happened... can't imagin not having a REAL, touchable album...

ps. all that greenpeace shit... really sucks... sorry

[SkepsisMetal]

Well theres something to be said for being on an indie label I suppose..
But its gettin a bit late for that, even now.
The music industry is just facing another change, people will adapt

[Idiot_Son]

people are downloading stuff for free because they don't wanna pay for a half arsed attempt to make money. if bands released better quality material instead of the first dozen songs they record, maybe people would shell out for the cd.

Checked.

[RaKooN13]

SlaveToThePower wrote:

I'm kind of surprised, not at the record industry getting slaughtered, but at the fact that everyone seems to be all for complete digital. I'm really against the digital thing actually, because an album is more than just the music, which is why they pay tons for art direction, layout, etc. Honestly, when a new Tool album comes out, I'm always just as excited for the music as I am the creative packaging. It's true that I buy the albums for the music, but there is something to be said for creative album art, not to mention the lack of a physical copy. I personally wouldn't buy anything purely digital simply because of the DRM crap that's involved. Unfortunately though, the record industry sees "sales down" and thinks that's the problem, but really, it's just a symptom of the fact that mainstream music has been sterilized so badly that people are afraid to spend a couple bucks for music they haven't heard before. There's still a great stream of music coming out, but it's not from the "marketable" types, so it won't get the exposure, and therefore, won't make as many sales. If the record industry really wants to boost sales again, start pushing groups with talent and songwriting ability, not just a pretty face.

Anyway, I ramble. To my original point, am I the only one that really values a hard copy?

trust me, your not alone. its just not the same wen its digital, you completely lose the experience of the actual disk. for example, this past june i bought Alice In Chains Dirt album on Itunes just becuz i had a gift card to spend. I love the music, but im really curious as wat it looks like inside. its just not the same lookin online for pics n shit like that. same goes for Tool, which i myself am a HUGE fan of. If I could, i would go and buy every single album of theirs, even both versions of Undertow just so i can see both first hand and own them. Hell, me and my brother are willing to pay however much we can to get the special edition Tool issue of Revolver. It just comes down to authenticity, which digital can do for shit.
hehe ya, i ramble as well. but ya, i agree with ya. your not alone. LONG LIVE the COMPACT DISC!!

[TheEsupremacy]

I still buy compact discs. In fact, I picked up the new Kiss cd yesterday. Long live cd's.

[coheed_kyle08]

I buy an album, put it on my computer, play it, read the lyrics as I go along if they are available in the booklet, if not, go online and read then I put the booklet in my CD case along with the CD behind it, which is basically my collection of music I take pride in. Share with friends. Since USB's are so popular now, I see it as a better way of sharing music PC to PC, since there is that risk, that your buddy may lose your CD, or, "misplace" it. Music will live forever, it won't die, it'll simply evolve, as it did from vinyl records and casettes to compact discs. Singles are more popular than the entire albums these days anyway. I used to have a lot of friends who would buy, I don't know, let's say Avenged Sevenfold's City of Evil album, and only listen to the singles. Why? Because it's popular, and MTV doesn't give a shit about an entire album, just what's cool and what makes the dough. Thanks to all the teenie bopper, pop culture bitches, who jump on the band wagon in whatever is "cool." Fuck all.

[devilex121]

RaKooN13 wrote:

SlaveToThePower wrote:

I'm kind of surprised, not at the record industry getting slaughtered, but at the fact that everyone seems to be all for complete digital. I'm really against the digital thing actually, because an album is more than just the music, which is why they pay tons for art direction, layout, etc. Honestly, when a new Tool album comes out, I'm always just as excited for the music as I am the creative packaging. It's true that I buy the albums for the music, but there is something to be said for creative album art, not to mention the lack of a physical copy. I personally wouldn't buy anything purely digital simply because of the DRM crap that's involved. Unfortunately though, the record industry sees "sales down" and thinks that's the problem, but really, it's just a symptom of the fact that mainstream music has been sterilized so badly that people are afraid to spend a couple bucks for music they haven't heard before. There's still a great stream of music coming out, but it's not from the "marketable" types, so it won't get the exposure, and therefore, won't make as many sales. If the record industry really wants to boost sales again, start pushing groups with talent and songwriting ability, not just a pretty face.

Anyway, I ramble. To my original point, am I the only one that really values a hard copy?

trust me, your not alone. its just not the same wen its digital, you completely lose the experience of the actual disk. for example, this past june i bought Alice In Chains Dirt album on Itunes just becuz i had a gift card to spend. I love the music, but im really curious as wat it looks like inside. its just not the same lookin online for pics n shit like that. same goes for Tool, which i myself am a HUGE fan of. If I could, i would go and buy every single album of theirs, even both versions of Undertow just so i can see both first hand and own them. Hell, me and my brother are willing to pay however much we can to get the special edition Tool issue of Revolver. It just comes down to authenticity, which digital can do for shit.
hehe ya, i ramble as well. but ya, i agree with ya. your not alone. LONG LIVE the COMPACT DISC!!

and YOU guys are not alone either

here in my country, piracy is just all over the place so we never get original stuff anyway

but whenever i AM outside the country i ALWAYS make sure i buy some cds of my favourite artists before i leave for my country again

such as...this summer i bought Dream Theater's new album

and yes i ramble a bit too...

did i also mention i'm a huge fan of Tool? XD

[hellview_666]

SlaveToThePower wrote:

I'm kind of surprised, not at the record industry getting slaughtered, but at the fact that everyone seems to be all for complete digital. I'm really against the digital thing actually, because an album is more than just the music, which is why they pay tons for art direction, layout, etc. Honestly, when a new Tool album comes out, I'm always just as excited for the music as I am the creative packaging. It's true that I buy the albums for the music, but there is something to be said for creative album art, not to mention the lack of a physical copy. I personally wouldn't buy anything purely digital simply because of the DRM crap that's involved. Unfortunately though, the record industry sees "sales down" and thinks that's the problem, but really, it's just a symptom of the fact that mainstream music has been sterilized so badly that people are afraid to spend a couple bucks for music they haven't heard before. There's still a great stream of music coming out, but it's not from the "marketable" types, so it won't get the exposure, and therefore, won't make as many sales. If the record industry really wants to boost sales again, start pushing groups with talent and songwriting ability, not just a pretty face.

Anyway, I ramble. To my original point, am I the only one that really values a hard copy?

You're not the only one. I love CD artwork and being able to hold it in my hands. True, I use an MP3 player but without the CD medium I wouldn't have it - I'd much rather buy the physical copy and copy it to my MP3 player than just download the thing.

[Mr Pringle]

personally, i think they should have USB'S as an option to include film clips, interviews, hidden things, etc, etc. ALTHOUGH i love buying CD's and i don't mind having the occasional vinyl lying around but I think it's clear that if the record industry wants to make more money is to get rid of downloading moosick and have the USB as an OPTION not the only source of physical musical packaging.

[tomm35live]

Buy an item of band merch rather than a CD?
That way the money goes mostly straight to the artist.
In saying that, I still buy CD's. So whatever.

[AFallenJake]

punXander wrote:

CD's in general are dieing, just like vinyl... although I'd rather keep a vinyl then a CD (better quality)... I think everything should just go digital - people don't even burn DVD's/CD's anymore with the introduction of USB inputs in stereos... it's also a greener solution to our growing environmental problems as well... I still think artists should get royalties though, but take out the CD format and start with some newer, greener and something that appeals to the masses.

If you want to talk sound quality, you should really listen to a CD and then, an mp3 back to back. CD's have a much better sound quality than the widely used "digital" formats... I can back a fully digital turn, but only on two conditions, full albums sold with prominently available linear notes, and the vinyl revival actually taking hold... I want to see full albums release on nothing but the raw, high quality digital, and the warmer, but poorer quality vinyl... But that's just my stance...

[smittyanthrax]

well i bought megadeths pearl jams and alice in chains new albums and if anthrax kept their shit together i would have bought theres.pearl jam had the right idea with theirs mines had a choice of two live shows from a selection of 8.if more band did this surely it would get a bit better.

[CptRevell]

The FYEs around here recently had a deal that all single CDs were 9.99. When I went in there the shelves were extremely low stocked. So I think the $10 CD thing would def. boost sales numbers, at least.

[COBHC_Erick429]

notice on the Reuters article they say nothing about metal album sales, only rock, r&b/rap, and country.

Metalheads know the value of a good cd.

[Jet_Black88]

COBHC_Erick429 wrote:
Album sales are in no way the ONLY way a band makes money, everybody seems to forget that when they read all of this "people are downloading too much" stuff.

No, everyone realizes that artists don't make much money off of CD sales. The problem is that if an artist isn't selling records with a record company, it won't make the record company money, and the band will be dropped from the label. Major labels have something that independent labels don't have - promotional power. They are really able to get your name out there, get people to buy the record, make someone famous. Almost all of the records I've bought or wanted to buy this year are of bands that have been around for 20 years or so, or are made up of famous people already. It's much harder for people to break through on their own, with the giant sea of myspace pages and other sites that bands use, there's no unique way for a band, no matter how talented, to really get word out about themselves. It'll be interesting to see where we are in 10, 20 years in forms of the format music is available in, what bands have broken through and how they broke through, and where major labels will be.

[GrungieTal_Boy]

COBHC_Erick429 wrote:

notice on the Reuters article they say nothing about metal album sales, only rock, r&b/rap, and country.

Metalheads know the value of a good cd.

Way to go on the stereotyping, im a metalhead and i hate CDs with a passion, why should ai pay a label £25 for a CD when they just pocket most of the money and give shit all to the band working their asses off, and then bring out more party bands like Kids in Glass Houses
¬_¬

[ESPVpr104]

sonoflife wrote:

Somebody like Tool can save the industry, i think. I too, look forward to the detailed packaging that comes with their music. Its like the music is the soul and the artwork is the face of this "entity". I like what Itunes is doing with the LP edition of albums though. I think that might be the wave of the future.

TOOL FTW!! GOOD JOB MAN!

[Emenius Sleepus]

GrungieTal_Boy wrote:

COBHC_Erick429 wrote:

notice on the Reuters article they say nothing about metal album sales, only rock, r&b/rap, and country.

Metalheads know the value of a good cd.

Way to go on the stereotyping, im a metalhead and i hate CDs with a passion, why should ai pay a label £25 for a CD when they just pocket most of the money and give shit all to the band working their asses off, and then bring out more party bands like Kids in Glass Houses
¬_¬

independent distros that lie outside of the major labels are generally a very different beast than say someone like Sony or EMI. When it comes to metal, downloading is a good way to discover bands, but when you buy the album, the band gets a better share of the profits, and they're the ones where it usually pays to get the artwork too.

[vans1170]

i say no to digital. as i've learned many times, when a computer crashed, you lose everything. and even if you have it backed up onto an external hard drive or something, they can still corrupt. there needs to be some sort of hard copy, such as a cd.

[TallNerdGuy]

Something needs to happen in the music industry to help modernize it and not make it such a cluster-****. Whenever music became a business and albums were sold to the public, the people who formed the process had no idea that one day people would be "taking" the music their artists were making for free. Also, I'm guessing they didn't know that the future version of the business would be struggling with itself...physical albums versus digital. One thing that I've seen happen every so often that I could really get behind is record companies and distributors offering special deals to fans. Releasing a new album with exclusive merch or music in various-level packages, in addition to also making the album available to download digitally, gives people a choice. If they just want the music, they could buy it off iTunes or purchase the CD, but if they are big fans and want the extra merch, there are people out there who would gladly pay $50-60 for the CD and maybe a vinyl copy, a shirt, and a poster.

The thing is, physical CD sales are actually beating the sales of full digital albums (but its vice versa for the sales of singles). There are people who are die-hard physical, die-hard digital, and die-hard digital-and-don't-want-to-pay-anything. It is hard to sway these people and their preferences, so why not make it available in all versions? It wouldn't cost too much more, and the extra money made from the more expensive exclusive packages would easily make up for the cost of the extra goodies. True, this wouldn't be fathomable for up-and-coming artists with a smaller fan-base, but for the talented artists with the large amount of dedicated fans, I think this would be a powerful way to sell music. It offers the right level of enticement to the right people, and could possibly liven up the now drab music industry by making its two realms (digi vs. phys) work in parallel rather than against one another.

[euan_soad]

Freunleven wrote:

You can't bootleg the experience of seeing a band live - you can only record it. Its nowhere near the same thing. Its like the difference between pr0n and sex.

This.

I've also got to laugh at the Americans complaining about paying $15 or $20 for a CD. Some can be as much as $30 in the UK, so quit yer moaning

[DimeLvR]

Once the musicians gain 50-75% of the proceeds of album sales I will continue to DL my music. I support bands I like by going to their shows and buying merchandise. Only CD's I buy anymore are in pawnshops. Tho I did buy Endgame but I heard it first, St. Anger was the album that convinced me to never buy CD's again because if it sucked you were stuck with it.

[GBcommander]

Alot of the problem with popular music is that the band or artist focuses on making a "hit" single rather than creating an amazing whole album which in turn just leads people to download that one song than purchase the whole album.

As for downloading, the only time Ill do it is if I want 2 albums but only have enough for one. Like a Devin Townsend album vs a Led Zeppelin album. Ill buy the DT one because Im sure Jimmy Page already has enough money.

[05McDonaldT]

Tengatu Man wrote:

SlaveToThePower wrote:

I'm kind of surprised, not at the record industry getting slaughtered, but at the fact that everyone seems to be all for complete digital. I'm really against the digital thing actually, because an album is more than just the music, which is why they pay tons for art direction, layout, etc. Honestly, when a new Tool album comes out, I'm always just as excited for the music as I am the creative packaging. It's true that I buy the albums for the music, but there is something to be said for creative album art, not to mention the lack of a physical copy. I personally wouldn't buy anything purely digital simply because of the DRM crap that's involved. Unfortunately though, the record industry sees "sales down" and thinks that's the problem, but really, it's just a symptom of the fact that mainstream music has been sterilized so badly that people are afraid to spend a couple bucks for music they haven't heard before. There's still a great stream of music coming out, but it's not from the "marketable" types, so it won't get the exposure, and therefore, won't make as many sales. If the record industry really wants to boost sales again, start pushing groups with talent and songwriting ability, not just a pretty face.

Anyway, I ramble. To my original point, am I the only one that really values a hard copy?
no man i love just having a cd there to say "Hell yea it's awesome and i got it". Can't do shit with something you just downloaded. I hate downloading stuff because it almost feels like you don't even have it. We should never get rid of CD's unless we bring back the old records.
and maybe some CD's are overpriced but i would deal with it for a Boston or Yngwie CD.

You are completely right

[05McDonaldT]

Emenius Sleepus wrote:

GrungieTal_Boy wrote:

COBHC_Erick429 wrote:

notice on the Reuters article they say nothing about metal album sales, only rock, r&b/rap, and country.

Metalheads know the value of a good cd.

Way to go on the stereotyping, im a metalhead and i hate CDs with a passion, why should ai pay a label £25 for a CD when they just pocket most of the money and give shit all to the band working their asses off, and then bring out more party bands like Kids in Glass Houses

independent distros that lie outside of the major labels are generally a very different beast than say someone like Sony or EMI. When it comes to metal, downloading is a good way to discover bands, but when you buy the album, the band gets a better share of the profits, and they're the ones where it usually pays to get the artwork too.

very true. Metal albums have awesome artwork, look at Ascendancy by Trivium, magnificent artwork. Metal bands also need the money.

[05McDonaldT]

vans1170 wrote:

i say no to digital. as i've learned many times, when a computer crashed, you lose everything. and even if you have it backed up onto an external hard drive or something, they can still corrupt. there needs to be some sort of hard copy, such as a cd.

The other problem is when tracks on cds join into one another. On the cd the change is fluent and you don't notice it, but on a computer there is a big gap between each track which is really annoying