Is the music industry dead or dying?

I genuinely don't think it's dead or dying, it's changing; much like it constantly has.

Large recording studios are closing- because sales of home recording equipment and software has exploded. Sales of complete albums has decreased- because you can buy individual tracks, not just singles. The price of gigs has rocketed, festivals are more widespread than ever, and as a teacher, I see that more kids are learning instruments (specially drums/guitar/etc) than ever!

I don't think we should be pessimistic about changes, we should be creative, proactive and push things forward! Look for the opportunities in the new path ways in the industry!
 
Stumbled upon this article a bit ago... Found it extremely interesting and even a bit disappointing aha...

But enjoy as much as you can :)

http://elitedaily.com/music/how-one-generation-was-able-to-kill-the-music-industry/593411/

- Jake

Yeah, people point at streaming music, but the real killer is consumers eschewing the corporate media outlets altogether. For example, this morning I was watching the Ventures play wipeout, and thinking to myself this is pretty good but stale.
 
What was the music industry is gone, never to be seen again, and now a whole new kind of music industry is being created right before our eyes.
 
I'll say something definitive and say that it is in the process of dying. Recording equipment and software is cheaper now and there are youtube videos detailing how to record and mix music. There is no need for bands to spend shitloads at a studio and so less of a need for a label to sponser it. Furthermore, with illegal downloading being the problem it is, record labels are drying up and the ones that are alive need to sign artists that they know will sell. This leads to a lot of repetitive generic pop that is overplayed on the radio because they need to get their money's worth before the songs not popular anymore. This just leads to a bad, stale music scene altogether which is the reason more people are digging for music online. I'd compare todays music scene (on the surface at least) to the music scene of the late 80's. Pop metal was being done to death and people were starting to look elsewhere for good music.

I will disagree with the article on the grounds that musical teams are more dominant now than previously. Who are the dominant artists today? Katy Perry, Kanye and Kesha seem to be pretty constant, I'll agree to that. But everyone else is a flavor of the week. Lady Gaga had success with her first album but her work since has been sub-par. LMFAO had the hottest song a few years back but havnt done much since. The 90's had many more dominant musicians and bands that stayed relevant and weren't just a flash in the pan.
 
Yeah adding to what has already been said...

I was at KROQ's Weenie Roast just last saturday...

( KROQ being the premier alternative/rock/pop station of LA and basically a symbol of the changing industry...)

Anyways... All the bands that played were the overplayed groups featured on KROQ every single day.. Alternative bands like the Neighbourhood, Fall Out Boy, Bastille, Foster the People, Kongos, American Authors, and Avicii (a freakin DJ can you believe that?! They had a DJ headline a live music event?!)

Wasn't sure what to expect.... But my gosh some of these groups can really really play quite well. Notably Fall Out Boy, I was quite impressed by the musicianship and quality of live permofrmance with the vast majority of groups.

I know the radio seems to have almost poisioned the music industry, but it was refreshing to see firsthand that bands are still talented and still know how to put on awesome live shows.
 
I also have to think, in addition to all the points mentioned, is the supply of musicians.

M.I, LAMA, Berkely, and other schools keep spiting out more and more talented musicians every year (including myself) who had eyes on becoming a pro. And instructional DVDs, instructional videos on youtube, etc, add in ever more players who have the talent to do gigs. The number of musicians will to do a gig, writing music, and such, drives down the value of any one song/gig.

And, as mentioned in previous discussions, music in general faces a lot of competition from non-musical sources. Home theaters, video game systems, and other sources of home entertainment reduce the amount people who feel the need to go out to places where live music is featured, and may even cut into the amount of time people listen to music.
 
And, as mentioned in previous discussions, music in general faces a lot of competition from non-musical sources. Home theaters, video game systems, and other sources of home entertainment reduce the amount people who feel the need to go out to places where live music is featured, and may even cut into the amount of time people listen to music.

I disagree there are plenty of artists that compose specifically for theaters and game music. Some people even learn the game music themes and perform them live...
 
The music industry as we knew it died long ago at the hands of the fans that supported it.
 
I love how miopic we can be at times. The time of the album being the primary source of musical output is very likely dead, as I believe singles will again be the dominant musical output of musicians in the future. The funny thing is that music was made and released (for lack of a better term) one song at a time for most of human existance. The album was a marketing ploy by the music business to get fans to spend money on songs they may or may not even like. In the grand scheme of things, being able to hear music in any format but live is a new invention. Music was made without a "business" for thousands of years, and god willing it will be for thousands more. I, for one, hope the business is dead.
 
I disagree there are plenty of artists that compose specifically for theaters and game music. Some people even learn the game music themes and perform them live...

Yes, video games often feature music. And that does put money into some musicians pocket.

Still, the point remains, it's much different than say the 1920's or 1960's where if you wanted to do something on a Saturday night, you pretty much had to go somewhere, which often had live music.

These days, I know plenty of adults who have never been to a concert. Going to see a band isn't even on their radar.
 
It's all habits and expectations. People would buy music if they had to, or gave a crap about musicians.

If you can answer the question of why people will hand over $5 every day for a cup of to a billion dollar corporation like Starbucks coffee but won't spend $5 once to support their local bands, you might have the answer.

If I ever, ever see a local band that I like, I'll buy their CD. But people simply think music should be free these days. Thank Napster for starting the trend.
 
Yes, video games often feature music. And that does put money into some musicians pocket.

Still, the point remains, it's much different than say the 1920's or 1960's where if you wanted to do something on a Saturday night, you pretty much had to go somewhere, which often had live music.

These days, I know plenty of adults who have never been to a concert. Going to see a band isn't even on their radar.

I can agree with the sentiment, but my hypothesis is a little different. Basically rock and roll ran over itself, after a week of non stop road noise, lawn mowers, construction machinery, etc people just want some peace and quiet. I mean I can't go outside on a sunny afternoon and not hear a moron running a leaf blower.
 
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