[Illbay]

...a further indication that online music sharing sites are hurting the recording industry, a trade group said Monday.

From time to time during my life, I have observed that sales of recorded music slump. Prior to this time, no one EVER tried to allege that it was because of piracy--even though recording onto cassette tape from LPs and the radio and CD were always done (remember "C30, C60, C90 GO!" by Bow Wow Wow?)

No, at that time the consensus was that sales were down because

THE CURRENT STATE OF POP MUSIC SUCKED!!!!!!

Now, isn't it JUST POSSIBLE, JUST POSSIBLE mind you, that this is the case today?

Britney Spears. I rest my case.

[rs79bm]

How's this: Stop charging $14.99 for a f****ing CD and then maybe people will start buying them. Are you listening RIAA???

[FreePaul]

I'm sure the recording industry will be able to bribe enough lawmakers to pass laws forcing everyone to buy their products. I notice that they don't attribute thier declining market to the trash they are trying to market.

[DeaconBenjamin]

Maybe RIAA will dump their hard-left, sewage on two legs president.

[Hunble]

Napster was the best avertising they had. Once they eleminated my ability to sample music prior to a purchase, I have refused to buy any CD's.

They got greedy and lost!

[Skooz]

When Robert Johnson, Son House, or Django Reinhardt release some more CDs, I'll buy them. Nothing even remotely in their league is being released today.

[Richard Kimball]

The poll did not provide information about consumer attitudes on other factors widely considered to be affecting CD sales, including the quality of new releases and the lack of easy-to-use online services from the major recording labels.

As was so eloquently stated by an earlier poster, the absurd price of CD's also has a lot to do with it. Just as an example, I went out and bought "Lord of the Rings" on DVD for twenty bucks. In addition to the movie, there were lots of extras added. The movie is less than a year old, and cost approximately $100 million to make. I can buy "Animal House", "Back to School", "CaddyShack", and lots of other DVD's for ten bucks or less. A Hank Williams CD, which was the exact same album I owned in 1972 (including the cover art) was going for $13.99. It probably cost less than $1000 to cut the entire CD in the forties. These guys want nearly as much for twenty minutes of fifty year old audio that was recorded on seriously inferior equipment as the movie industry is getting for two hours of audio and visual entertainment made within the last year.

[proxy_user]

On the other hand, LP sales are up consistently about 20% from year to year, at least over the past two or three years.

However, it will still take a long time to get back to where we were...

[aruanan]

I can tell you why I'm buying less CDs. Now that I can burn my own and have the wonderful iTunes to work with, I'm going back through all my many hundreds of CDs and making playlists of my favorite songs. They're really enjoyable and their new compilation context gives them a whole different sound.

[Polonius]

What Barbara Streisand! I can't believe that MP3 sharing would still be having such a negative impact since the demise of Napster (which, to my knowledge, was better than anything since, at least in terms of having a wide variety of MP3s available). It's obviously a combination of the economy as a whole and the fact that CDs are overpriced and everyone knows it. The RIAA should obey the will of the market or quit its griping.

[LibKill]

A LOT of the music stinks (Britney, report in for your spanking at once!)

The CDs are expensive.

People are cutting back on luxuries, I know I have. I like to have a month or two of money in the bank just in case my job is the next one that goes belly-up.

[TomServo]

..a further indication that online music sharing sites are hurting the recording industry, a trade group said Monday.

It couldn't be that the music sucks - or the economy. Nah!..

[Big Bunyip]

...a further indication that online music sharing sites are hurting the recording industry, a trade group said Monday. Nah, that's not the reason, just maybe a small part of it.

The real factor at work here, in this deaf ol' rocker's humble opinion, is that most of us have replaced our old vinyl and cassette versions of favorite albums. Used to be I'd enter HMV or Virgin to buy a new disc and notice that the labels had reissued some old favorite on CD. So I'd buy it, and maybe a few more besides. Now that I've got a fat collection of CDs, enough to keep my Denon busy pretty much all the time without repeating an album, the boredom factor is minimized and Sam Goody isn't getting anywhere near as much dough as he used to.

[cmsgop]

I just bought the "Starland Vocal Band"

Afternoon delight Afternoon delight!

[goldstategop]

Its their overpriced CD's no one wants to buy that's the primary reason the music industry's sales are declining. File-sharing isn't the cause of their plight but the result of it. When RIAA and the music label giants start listening to consumers then the industry will rebound. Somehow I think they'll go broke and for us consumers its no great loss. Even John Ashcroft can't force people to buy their CDs.

[SW6906]

Let's see, do you think poor artist music quality and A RECESSION might have something to do with declining sales?!!? What morons.

Rather than embrace new technology and figure a way to work it to your advantage, they continue with their obsession to stop the unstoppable......

[MarkL]

Of course, this wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that there just isn't that much new music that's worth buying, or even listening to!

I know that years ago, I'd buy at least one or two albums a week... I was thinking about it lately, and I don't think that I've bought more than 3 new CDs this year, although I've been buying a number of older albums on CD that have been out of print for years (Jon Anderson's Olias of Sunhillo, Chris Squire's Fish Out of Water... Yup, a big Yes fan!)

The reason that the record industry hasn't been making money off me is simply that IMHO, much of the new music out today really sucks. On the other hand, the bargain bins to have some good stuff! I recently found some great used jazz and blues.

Mark

[Arthur McGowan]

Maybe the fact that nobody is writing, performing, or recording anything but garbage has something to do with it. I'll bet the sales of reissues of popular music and jazz from 1925-1950 are holding steady.

[Looking4Truth]

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Compact disc music sales decreased 7 percent during the first half of the year, a further indication that online music sharing sites are hurting the recording industry, a trade group said Monday.

I was going to post my thoughts without even reading the replys but post number 2 says it all.

Thinking people are sick and tired of the crap that passes for popular music these days. I wish I was better at keeping track of my own posts and links but I've posted those feelings and thoughts on many threads.

The long and the short of it is: "We're tired of your 'formula' crap."

[Jimbaugh]

The revenge of NAPSTER. The music stinks ! ! !