|
Grex > Music > #29: The Twenty-Sixth "Napsterization" Item |  |
|
| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 87 responses total. |
bru
|
|
response 52 of 87:
| 
Oct 12 23:30 UTC 2006 |
Where did your long hair go
Where is the girl I used to know
How could you lose that happy glow
|
jep
|
|
response 53 of 87:
|
Oct 13 00:06 UTC 2006 |
Brian Wilson wasn't a good lyricist, but sure could put together a great
sounding song. "Pet Sounds" is hard to understand but I agree with
resp:50 that it's worth the effort. I don't know if I'd consider Brian
Wilson to be as talented as Lennon and McCartney but then I don't really
care about such measurements. He produced great music with the Beach
Boys before he checked out of reality. Lennon/McCartney produced great
music with the Beatles and afterward. I'm glad that we had both groups.
|
krj
|
|
response 54 of 87:
|
Oct 13 13:23 UTC 2006 |
The bad news for the music business is not going to be limited to the
loss of Tower Records.
> ...Tower has provided a lifeline for the independent sector, with
> many niche labels dependent on the retailer for selling its product in
> the US. "A whole bunch of smaller labels are going to disappear
> completely," said René Goiffon, president of the classical label
> Harmonia Mundi. "The smaller labels are probably going to lose 80% of
> their sales."
>
> With Tower gone from Los Angeles, he said, there would only be two
> serious music shops to cater for a city with a population of more than
> 4 million. "It's the end of an era for me and many others," said Mr
> Goiffon. "It was the biggest name, the last name that was synonymous
> with music, commitment, catalogue and knowledgeable buyers. We are
> left with Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart and K-Mart, which are all stores
> where companies like Harmonia Mundi have no presence whatsoever."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1890819,00.html
A commenter at the music business rumor board velvetrope.com who
claims to have worked in CD distribution was more optimistic;
he felt that jazz and classical labels would only lose 20-40%
of their sales, not the 80% forecast by the president of
Harmonia Mundi.
But, several weeks or months out, I expect to see a lot of dominos
falling among smaller music labels, especially the ones outside the
mainstream.
|
keesan
|
|
response 55 of 87:
|
Oct 13 13:24 UTC 2006 |
Can the smaller CD companies sell over the internet? How do libraries
purchase CDs?
|
mcnally
|
|
response 56 of 87:
|
Oct 13 16:52 UTC 2006 |
re #55:
> Can the smaller CD companies sell over the internet?
Sure they can, but how are you going to know which companies are
out there and what they have for sale? They need marketing to
drive sales, and most of these really small labels don't have
anything like the resources needed to compete in the new market.
|
richard
|
|
response 57 of 87:
|
Oct 26 22:16 UTC 2006 |
It was sad to be out at the Tower Records next to Lincoln Square
yesterday and see all the going out of business signs and shelves
going bare. There were really a lot of people in despair over in the
classical music room. That store is right next to the Met and got a
lot of business from people going to or from the opera. Tower was the
last remaining chain that had a huge stand alone classical section,
and its closing is said to be having reverberations in the classical
recording industry. Unlike other genres, the classical music buyer
tends to be older and tends to like to buy their music in person, not
on the internet. A lot of niche classical labels may well go under
now. There is a related article in today's new york times about this
(10/26)
|
richard
|
|
response 58 of 87:
|
Oct 26 22:16 UTC 2006 |
er whoops, I meant yesterday's new york times (10/25), my bad...
|
krj
|
|
response 59 of 87:
|
Nov 1 17:57 UTC 2006 |
Digital Music News continues with its rumorish reports of an impending
crash in CD sales. The hard numbers from the RIAA for the first half
of 2006 report a 15% decline in dollar value, and a 15.7% decline in
physical units shipped. (For simplicity's sake, we'll assume that
physical units are all CDs -- they are nearly all of it, anyway.)
> "In the current ((third)) quarter, several sources close to the data
> noted that the disc is starting to dive, and one projection included a
> plunge as deep as 20 percent."
http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/#102606drop
My speculative view is that CD sales will crash in the 4th quarter.
Sales were propped up in the 4th quarter last year because CDs made
easy holiday presents requiring little thought; but at some point
shoppers are going to realize that most people would rather not bother
with more CDs. (See http://whatacrappypresent.com :) )
The liquidation of Tower Records is a trailing indicator, but it is
also a clear sign to many consumers that the CD is a fading format.
|
mcnally
|
|
response 60 of 87:
|
Nov 1 21:31 UTC 2006 |
If anyone wants to send me CDs, both my birthday and Christmas occur
during the 4th quarter and I will be happy to accept them to do my
part to keep the record companies going..
|
tod
|
|
response 61 of 87:
|
Nov 1 21:43 UTC 2006 |
re #60
Do you accept boots?
|
mcnally
|
|
response 62 of 87:
|
Nov 2 01:22 UTC 2006 |
size 14 EEE.
|
tod
|
|
response 63 of 87:
|
Nov 2 15:23 UTC 2006 |
bootlegs!
|
mcnally
|
|
response 64 of 87:
|
Nov 2 18:28 UTC 2006 |
I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that it may incriminate me.
|
remmers
|
|
response 65 of 87:
|
Nov 15 20:06 UTC 2006 |
Michael Arrington of TechCrunch posted some software that lets you save
YouTube videos to disk and got a cease & desist order from YouTube.
According to Arrington, the YouTube terms of service don't forbid this.
It's kind of ironic to see YouTube getting all huffy about intellectual
property issues. The full story is here:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/11/15/huh-youtube-sends-techcrunch-a-cease-
desist/
Or, if you prefer: http://tinyurl.com/ssoh7
|
krj
|
|
response 66 of 87:
|
Nov 24 07:43 UTC 2006 |
I've been meaning to get around to a response on the copyright
issues involved in YouTube. Since Google bought them, it appears
that YouTube is going to become a magnet for suits, now that there
is some money to be extracted.
|
naftee
|
|
response 67 of 87:
|
Nov 24 10:15 UTC 2006 |
They should just go to Moore's.
|
krj
|
|
response 68 of 87:
|
Nov 25 19:30 UTC 2006 |
Back to music retail issues for a minute:
Sony BMG, one of the four major labels, is reported to have nearly
wiped out its classical music division. What's left of the classical
music division has been reassigned to be part of the "Commercial Music
Division," which seems to be oriented mostly towards historic reissues
and licensing for movies/tv/ads/etc.
My interpretation of this is that there will be few/no new recordings
of classical music from the Sony-BMG operation, which brings an end to
the great classical music legacy of Columbia and RCA Records. The
"Commercial Music Division" doesn't appear to have anything to do with
new recordings.
http://www.musicalamerica.com/news/newsstory.cfm?archived=0&storyID=14985&c
ategoryID=1&cookies=1
I speculate that this is direct fallout from the closing of Tower
Records, and the continuing cutbacks at Borders. Beyond Borders,
there is no significant in-store retailing of classical music left in the
USA.
|
denise
|
|
response 69 of 87:
|
Nov 25 21:53 UTC 2006 |
That's so sad to hear!
|
keesan
|
|
response 70 of 87:
|
Nov 25 23:08 UTC 2006 |
I will take good care of my LPs.
|
krj
|
|
response 71 of 87:
|
Dec 2 14:21 UTC 2006 |
Here's a dire report on Borders, the Ann Arbor-based chain which is
the last nationwide storefront retailer with much of a
pretense to covering less popular genres such as jazz, classical, folk
and world.
http://www.coolfer.com/blog/archives/2006/12/friday_morning_40.php
I am not an expert on reading the underlying Securities & Exchange
Commission filing, but it sounds like CD sales are a lead balloon
dragging down the entire Borders chain.
Quote:
> "Comparable stores sales in the music category were down 17.8% for
> the 13 weeks ending October 28, 2006."
*** !!! down 17.8% !!! ***
My speculative guesstimation is that Borders will try to get out of CD
retailing over the next two years. I saw one Internet rumor that
Borders planned to cut the number of CD titles in stock by
about 1/2 this quarter.
(( Borders is also reducing the space devoted to books in the stores
I frequent, and they seem intent on turning into a greeting card retailer.))
|
remmers
|
|
response 72 of 87:
|
Dec 2 14:52 UTC 2006 |
(( I've noticed the same thing, even in Borders' flagship Ann Arbor store.
Bummer. If I want to patronize a brick-and-mortar bookseller these days,
it's usually Barnes & Noble. ))
|
slynne
|
|
response 73 of 87:
|
Dec 2 16:40 UTC 2006 |
I dont have a problem with bookstores selling stationary type items and
greeting cards and the like. But they do seem to go overboard with it.
It would be too bad if Borders cut back on their music section but I
have to admit that as a consumer, even with a 33% discount on most
music, I still find the prices too high to justify it to myself. For
that matter, I seldom buy books there anymore either for the same
reason.
|
cmcgee
|
|
response 74 of 87:
|
Dec 2 20:52 UTC 2006 |
I always check first with Nicolas, in West Gate shopping center. Locally
owned, can order practically everything in print.
|
slynne
|
|
response 75 of 87:
|
Dec 2 21:33 UTC 2006 |
Nicolas is a good bookstore
|
denise
|
|
response 76 of 87:
|
Dec 3 00:27 UTC 2006 |
Border's becoming mainly a greeting card type store would be very sad indeed.
|