Big 4 record labels: ‘total disconnect’
p2pnet news view | Music:- “All in all, it’s been a depressing summer for the delusional record industry,” says Simon Dumenco in Advertising Age.
We’re seeing a total disconnect between the labels’, “unrealistic, old-school revenue expectations and what the market can bear,” he says in a piece with “Labels Pull Albums off iTunes, RIAA Goes After Internet Radio — When Will They Ever Learn?” as the subhead.
He goes on »»»
On the streaming-music front in particular, the sad reality is that advertising revenue isn’t, and may never be, there to fully support the music industry’s wishful-thinking profit margins.
As Advertising Age Editor Jonah Bloom said to me last week, labels “can’t help looking at what they used to earn from a big band’s latest release and wondering why they can’t score that. … The trick is to get your costs in line with your anticipated sales based on current revenue rather than former revenue.”
But the music industry, stuck obsessing about exactly that — former revenue — would prefer that you only listen to music when and where they want you to. And that’s no way to figure out the path to future revenue.
Not to worry, though, Simon.
They’ll have it figured out by 2208.
Maybe.
(Cheers, John P)
Advertising Age – How the Music Business Spent the Summer Killing Itself, September , 2008
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September 12th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
How nice to see the real truth put out once in a while. The major labels I hope become financially disabled to the point of bankruptcy. Since they can’t get it in their heads they are not the big wheels they once were. The PR machine still works for now but even that is headed for a fall. Look at their sources to see the readers are abandoning the traditional outlets.
Because the majors treat their customers as trash, especially once they have your money, they are getting like in return at the brick and mortar stores. Worse, places like iTunes that are doing fairly well, they are wanting to raise the price on. I won’t pay 99¢ for a digitally locked file, why would I pay more?
One of these days, it is my hope to see this industry crater as it is now configured to run. Being a financial vampire to all that do business with it and treating customers and potential distributors alike, has left the public with a lack of interest in doing business with them. Couldn’t happen to a better industry as it is now configured.
So far, none other than iTunes is doing very well on line. Mainly because of the greed and the lock down of files. I won’t pay high prices nor put up with digital lock down for a minute. I sure as heck ain’t gonna pay more for less. Even the 99¢ price is too high for what it is, low quality and subpar music.
The majors always turn a deaf ear to addressing prices and quality but are quite willing to blame all their troubles on piracy. Most of their troubles are of their own making. Everyone and their bother has told them that suing your customers isn’t that bright a business move. Now that they are intent on turning a whole generation off to their products nor wanting to do business with them ever, their future is written on the wall for all but those with blinders to see.
The artists that allow the major labels to act this way on their behalf, as well as those that are getting ripped of by the majors deserve to go down with the same shipwreck the public sees the majors as being. The contracts that have imprisoned artists have been long known for what they are. If new artists can’t see the reality beyond the face that looks just like them, then they will have to deal with the lack of income the majors see as their threat.
I personally will not be doing business with digitals in it’s present form.
September 12th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
And IMHO, if iTunes is now doing well, it’s a fairly recent occurrence. But it was a neat dodge to launch a locked-up online front end for iPods, and then get users to pay for it.
Clever.
Cheers!
September 12th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
If I buy music online, I buy it from Amazon…usually get 320kpbs quality, no DRM, and they have a fairly decent selection. I myself flat out refuse to purchase anything that is DRM locked. Either the damn thing is being sold to me, or it’s not, end of story.
September 13th, 2008 at 8:01 am
Die RIAA Die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 13th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I am in hope that the RIAA will slip into bankruptcy and in as much as these old moguls are always sueing all types of people and as many times they have improperly sued folks and a few cases have turned around on them and slapped them in the face!
My hope is that a group of people will band together with a very clever law firm and mass sue the RIAA for a million dollars each or more in a group of a few thousand people and clean out the RIAA’s funds to put these dinosaurs into a long overdue expiration!
There will be no peace or significant growth in the music business or satisfaction for music fans, customers and artists until these old manipulative, greedy, slave driving, dictating mafia guised under the names of the RIAA, CRB and Sound Exchange ( Sony, Warner, EMI, BMG and susiduary corporate labels ) are offically expired!
September 15th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Disconnect is a verb, not a noun.