No Platinum Albums as Teens Buy Less Music

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jenifer of IL 2:05AM October 17, 2009

People who think it's because there's no good music are all way off base. Arguably, the opposite is true.

Brian McTear of PA 3:17PM April 07, 2009

This shouldn't be surprising, I guess. The fact is, as the dollar value of recorded music has dropped, so has the emotional value. I don't know why nobody has assumed this would naturally follow. People want what they can't have, and records...well, those are free unless you are stupid enough to pay for them! Who cares about music? What people really care about is the device that PLAYS the music!
I work with a small group trying to establish a non-profit called Weathervane Music (http://weathervanemusic.org) that hopes to reignite that emotional value. Check it out!

Brian McTear of PA 3:12PM April 07, 2009

Perhaps the main reason our teens are purchasing fewer CDs and less music is because the industry is producing copy cats, and cookie cutter bands. When you tune into your local radio station, you hear the same type music, sang by the same type artist, just in different context and different clothing. There are so many talented, independent artists out there who are fighting to get their music heard, and yet the radio stations still play the same 10 artists with their players on repeat. Grant it, these are the days of the DIY bands and musicians, and myspace is king, but it is still a daunting task. These kids need something new and fresh. Out with the old and in with the new.

Anonymous of FL 2:45PM April 07, 2009

What if the common practice of releasing music many decades before now was to release it for free or for a low price as an investment? People would have acquired as much as possible just like the youth of today if they didn’t have to pay. Evidently, times change and new technology and the issues surrounding it is causing most artists and labels to scramble and change the common practices pertaining to the music industry. The sad thing is all the scrambling and changing is being done for the sake of money instead of for helping people. Every artist has a message. What that message is another topic for another time, but any music connoisseur can see how the lack of quality regarding content in modern music has played a major role in leading music to be so devalued. Supply and demand of music is still high but the value and quality of music with good content is lacking.
For me as recording artist who has chosen to devote my life to create only positive music, it’s a challenge to reach the youth by the sounds they are accustomed to and at the same time provide something deemed as original. I’m also a visual artist who creates original artwork for my releases. So when I release records, people get real “art” directly from the artist, not from some producer or hired graphic artists who don’t care about the complete vision of the musician’s work. You would think at least that would add some value. Unfortunately to those who care, music today consists of less true art and more technology.
Technology is allowing more ways to share music so this has to be adapted to. However, if people can get music for free, they’ll find a way to get it whether you want them to or not. So that’s why I have now embraced technology as an art. I give away a lot of free versions of my music now, yet those who can afford it can purchase full albums for cheap. Technology has also allowed me to help reward those who purchase my music simply for choosing to support. Now who would rather get paid to download good music or be able to invest in an mp3 and reap a potentially huge profit instead of get free music and no profit? What if I did gain Platinum record sales and you got a piece of the pie? That would be nice, but record sales are not most important to me. Of course I need to make a living and we all do, but when we help others make a change for the better in their lives we all reap a benefit mentally, spiritually, and now financially. See my website to learn how at WWW.WHOL-E.COM.
WHOL-E: Mending broken hearts to become WHOLE for Eternity
Thanks in advance if you do choose to support. The more support of positive music will increase demand for value and good content in music.

TDG of TX 4:45AM April 07, 2009

There are many reasons why people are buying less music.
1) Poor Quality: Much of the music released these days is garbage. Very "cookie cutter". Everyone is just making what they think will sell and not what's good. As a DJ, I buy tons of music but it's because I have to not because I want to.
2) Oversaturation: Artists put out so much material these days it's insane. Everyone is trying to stand out from the crowd. I'm a DJ, Remixer and Musician and belong to record pools and I can tell you there is no shortage of music out there. I see some artists put out new songs every couple of days. It's hard to get excited about a song or an artist when you know a new song will be released tomorrow. I remember the days when an artist would put out an album every 2-3 years. They would release a single every 3-4 months and the song would get a chance to get into people's heads. People would get a chance to listen to the song, appreciate it and if it was a good song it would stick with you and build happy memories for you and stay with you forever. How often do you hear a song today that you will remember a few months from now much less many years from now? Now artists have 3 or 4 singles released at the same time sometimes before the album is even in the stores. Why would anyone go buy an album when all the good tracks have already been released all at once? There is also the fact that every jackass in the world now thinks their either a DJ or musician, which makes it more difficult for those of us who actually make their living doing this.
3) Internet: Yes, the internet has played a big role in this. Why buy an album when you can just download it? I still like buying music when it is from one of my favorite artists. I still especially like going to the store and getting a CD in my hand. I grew up in the day when you looked forward to that experience of going to your local record store, buying the album (in my case, vinyl records), rushing home and putting it on the stereo and looking over all the artwork and reading the inserts. When was the last time most people did that? Why would they now? Do you really want to consume your time reading "My humps, my humps, my lovely lady lumps.."? The industry has turned music into a can of corn, a commodity instead of the art that it is and should be. Most artists should embrace the internet because it's probably the only way anyone would ever hear their music. Some artists even leak the stuff themselves, complain about it, blame the public and then reap the benefits of it. Their anger and frustration is very misplaced. The artists should be mad at the record companies that give them only about 40-60 cents for every album sold. That's why they have to tour, sell merchandise etc. When a CD sells for anywhere from $10-18, whose making the real money? The record company. The artists are still rich and complaining too even after getting ripped off so it's hard to feel to sorry for them.

average joe of NC 12:04AM April 07, 2009

All good points here. I'd say it's good old economics. Supply and demand. As the supply far surpasses the demand, the demand goes down. We are experiencing an over-saturation of music that people genuinely do like but the fact that they can hear it online, scoop and .mp3 off a peer-to-peer network or from a friend simply dilutes the consumer base.
Even further dilution may be related to the fact that musicians such as myself are cranking out tunes out of a home studio that people really like - and that music has entered into the pool to send available supply through the roof! On this same note, the average music listener just likes music that makes them feel something and their baseline criteria for what is "professional" or what they will listen to is much lower than music connoisseurs such as ourselves.
The music industry has become what it is today because in the past they were doing something that could not be done by the puny average Joe...and this generated huge demand for a much smaller supply and even created the idea that is was only something that could be done on the professional scale. Today average Joe is on roids has an army of friends who all probably have a terabyte of pirated music...who all think that big industry music is "corporate" crap...which of course, much of it truly is for points already made above.

Kevin of WA 5:41PM April 06, 2009

Or maybe people just want something for free. I won't deny that there's a lot of crap on the radio . . . but radio is free so who cares. We all know that technology is vast enough and music is abundant enough that anyone can find something they like. The fact is that many people won't even purchase the music of their "favorite artist." Oh how many times I've heard the likes of "I just burned the new Cold Play album, I love it." or "Yeah, Adele's album is amazing, I'll burn a copy for you." The fact is that people don't have enough integrity and sense to support the creators of the music they enjoy.
It's not like piracy started as a response to bad music. It's more like record companies have to shoot for what sell's because they don't have the funds to risks/invest into what "might" be a hit.
Bad "cookie cutter" music is irrelevant. I you like a song enough to burn it or pirate it, you should be willing to pay for it. It's really as simple as that. I've never been able to make sense of not supporting an artist that I enjoy. Why? I WANT THEM TO CONTINUE MAKING MUSIC THAT'S WHY! To do that, they need money in return for their talent.
And you know what? If money is an issue (The "I'm a poor college student." excuse), then go without. Music is not a life sustaining essential like air, water or food. When I don't have the money to buy an album I really want, I simply go without having the album until I get the money . . . or maybe I never get the money, whatever; that's where the radio, myspace, and the slew of other legal avenues come into play.

Rico of FL 5:11PM April 06, 2009

I haven’t heard a really great sounding record in years. Loud records, yes. Pleasant records, no.
It seems that the entire recording community has decided to compress and limit the hell out of everything now that digital recording has the ability to squeeze sound to oblivion. Dynamic range has been reduced to the point that everything is louder than everything else. It’s like trying to hear someone tell a great story while ten other people are yelling their version of the tale at the same time.
To better visualize the problem, imagine this: jumping up and down on a bed when you were a kid. As a small child, you could bounce as high as the mattress could project you. Sometimes, you might even be able to touch the ceiling. On those really big bounces you could feel the energy and power. A really great bounce was exhilarating.
That distance from the bed to the ceiling is literally analogous to what is known in the recording industry as “headroom.” Now imagine what would happen to those great jumps if the bed was a little higher. You wouldn’t be able to jump quite as high before hitting the ceiling and the exhilaration would be proportionately lessened.
Now imagine what would happen if the bed was even higher yet; so high that you could literally reach up and touch the ceiling without even having to jump. How exciting would that be?
That’s what’s been happening to modern recordings. The average volume level of a modern recording has become so high that there’s no room left for those soaring leaps that were so exciting.
Likewise, all of the subtle and interesting detail that used to lurk in the background of recordings is no longer there (go pull up an old Beatles record if you’re unsure what I’m talking about). Indeed, there is no background at all; everything is pushed to the front, loud and proud.
The result is some of the most boring, uninteresting music ever. What’s worse is that it doesn’t have to be that way.
Mark my words, we”ll look back at records produced in the last 20 years and wonder “What were we thinking?”

Bryan Mace of MO 4:26PM April 06, 2009