Record sales plunge further...

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by PhilBorder, Mar 13, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. PhilBorder

    PhilBorder Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Sheboygan, WI
  2. ian christopher

    ian christopher Argentina (in Spirit)

    Location:
    El Centro
    I think us hard rock diehards will make 2018 better than 2017, what with high profile releases from Judas Priest, A Perfect Circle, Megadeth, My Bloody Valentine, Pearl Jam, and Voivod (among others)
     
  3. I Have Been Floated

    I Have Been Floated Duke of Kirkcaldy

    Location:
    SW Washington
    Maybe the stuff Timberlake, Swift and U2 are putting out is worth buying.
     
  4. the pope ondine

    the pope ondine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
  5. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    Young people of the present day are generally far more interested in their phones than in buying music. That's just the way it is. The people who wait on their edge their seats for new physical product are those in my age bracket (roughly 50 and older). And the majority of the "product' we spend the cash on isn't even the "new" but rather re-issues-in one form of another-of the "old".
     
  6. stoneknuckle

    stoneknuckle Forum Resident

    Location:
    reading pa usa
    In the case of U2 it's probably the fact that they are trying to appeal to too many different types of demographics instead of just delivering a solid consistent record that their fans between the ages of 40 and 60 want to hear...then again a lot of folks in that age group gave up buying new music aside from greatest hits comps a long time ago.
     
  7. GodBlessTinyTim

    GodBlessTinyTim Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    To be fair, none of the artists mentioned in that article are as big as they were half a decade ago.
     
  8. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    No plunging here! If anything, this record buying hobby seems to be an addiction that can't be stopped! :D

    But I do believe that the broad mindset of "music just being another form of general entertainment" (not that there's anything wrong with that) coupled with the fact that its ease of access makes it more...disposable...probably has a lot to do with it. But what can you do?

    I know what I plan to do - order more box sets that I have no room for! :uhhuh:
     
    fr in sc, SteveM, Dan G and 19 others like this.
  9. egebamyasi

    egebamyasi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Worcester, MA
    Not their best albums either so that doesn't help. Why buy when you can stream?
     
  10. OptimisticGoat

    OptimisticGoat Everybody's escapegoat....

    I think the reality is that you do not need to buy music in order to consume it. You watch it on You Tube, on your phone. I don't listen to it that way but just flicked across to You Tube and I can listen to Taylor Swift (single + video) on demand for $0.00.
    If I am a fan (and I'm not) why would I buy her album - even as a paid download? The horse has bolted. This is the way of the modern mass consumer. The people on this website and the (much fewer) younger consumers who like a deeper engagement with the artist/body of work are in decline (or there were fewer of them anyway - how many people in the 70s/80s bought entire albums for a couple of tracks?). Maybe "meeting the market" is just showing the true size of it?
     
  11. Turntable

    Turntable Senior Member

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    My daughter's are 20 and 17.

    Neither of them or ANY of their friends buy albums. They no longer buy music on the apple store.

    They all stream music via spotify.
     
  12. If I Can Dream_23

    If I Can Dream_23 Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    That's exactly it I think. I don't think it's any coincidence that the decline in physical media has corresponded with the general "nonchalant" mindset towards music. I'm speaking generally of course. Surely some of the biggest and most passionate music fans are around now, but in a general sense, I think music is taken for granted more today than ever. Thus there is a natural tendency for many casual listeners to approach it with a "Yeah, I like it, but I'll catch it on youtube later". Or "I might grab it on itunes but there is no hurry". Or "I'll just stream it over my phone when I get the chance".

    Contrast that with the look on a million young faces back in 1968, not being able to sleep because they were so damn excited to run up to the department store and pick up the new Beatles album in the puzzling plain white cover! As if their whole existence rested on getting it in their hands and onto their turntables. :)
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2018
    Sim2, angelees, caracallac and 27 others like this.
  13. the pope ondine

    the pope ondine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    yep that horse has fled and has been long gone for a couple years, physical media is going the way of the Betamax and why pay to download a song to your computer when its already there....for free....on your computer? most kids look at you like my dog looks at the tv when you bring up paying for music
     
  14. egebamyasi

    egebamyasi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Worcester, MA
    Look What You Made Me Do has nearly a billion views on YouTube. Someone's making money.
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2018
  15. aphexj

    aphexj Sound mind & body

    "Top" (read: terribly bland) artists in career comedown shocker
     
  16. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    They're into music. They're just using their phones as music players. I genuinely believe there's more actual music being listened to than when any of us were kids. Now whether that music is seeping into anyone's consciousness the way it used to is an entirely different issue. But they're still listening, in large amounts.
     
  17. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    The audio sounds the same from a stream as it does if they'd bought it from iTunes (or even played it on a dynamically squashed CD, assuming they could find a disc drive), so I'm not sure what the problem is, from a consumer/listener standpoint.
     
    klockwerk and sunspot42 like this.
  18. notesfrom

    notesfrom Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC USA
    The Swift record came out in November and has sold 2 million. That's not bad in any era, also considering that a lot of folks don't like her new direction.
     
  19. davebush

    davebush New Test Leper

    Location:
    Fonthill, ON
    That's a not so well written article that tells us....people aren't buying albums as much anymore? This was news?
     
    klockwerk, DeRosa, longdist01 and 4 others like this.
  20. Turntable

    Turntable Senior Member

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    From the consumer POV nothing.

    It does explain a lot of the drop in album sales.

    It will only get worse for the record companies and artists until they change the streaming model.
     
  21. MelodyFair

    MelodyFair West Coast Suburban Hausfrau

    Location:
    British Columbia
    As a musician who was on Spotify once, I agree with this statement. We just want a fair amount for the product we have produced.
     
  22. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law

    And yet.....
    The new 7-disc Zappa box set actually CHARTED!!!

    .......double-edge sword, that is!
     
  23. EdogawaRampo

    EdogawaRampo Senior Member

    "Remember U2? Their sales used to be huge."

    Remember The Partridge Family? There sales used to be huge. In 1971.
     
  24. JNTEX

    JNTEX Lava Police

    Location:
    Texas
  25. Yohoo? :laugh:
     
    caracallac and Brian W. like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine