The Record Industry's Decline
- Thread starter barry_abs
- Start date
stormfield
nohjin
Very interesting thread.
I wonder if Radiohead's success in their digital campaign is more due to the fact that they are a band i.e. they have a more "human" face and personality that fans can identify with and feel loyal towards.
Faceless underground producers might not command the same loyalty, though perhaps this is different if the music and their makers are presented properly e.g. in the case of Underground Resistance.
Just my 2 pence worth
Would add more, but not with the constraints of the day job...
I wonder if Radiohead's success in their digital campaign is more due to the fact that they are a band i.e. they have a more "human" face and personality that fans can identify with and feel loyal towards.
Faceless underground producers might not command the same loyalty, though perhaps this is different if the music and their makers are presented properly e.g. in the case of Underground Resistance.
Just my 2 pence worth
Would add more, but not with the constraints of the day job...
Gabba Flamenco Crossover
High Sierra Skullfuck
People were routinely paying that for albums back in the 90s. And the raw materials must have something to do with the cost. I think it generally served to undermine the credibility of the majors arguments that CDs weren't overpriced. Industry insiders had been saying that for years, but I think the advent of CD-Rs and such demonstrated it to the wider public.
Martin Dust
Techno Zen Master
Let them all fucking burn, I'd gladly light Thom up and start the fire with him - Rainbows was the biggest pr scam I've witnessed in a long time. Of course you downloaded it for free for your mum Thom, course you did and 15 years with a major label didn't help at all did it....I can't believe everyone got thrown by such a dummy.
Gabba, it's shops that charge double the price not labels or distributors.
Gabba, it's shops that charge double the price not labels or distributors.
hint
party record with a siren
I agree that £15 for a CD was always too much, but my point was that the average price has dropped significantly. It's rare to see a CD on domestic release for sale at over £10 these days, and many major label releases are available for closer to £5 within a year of their release.
Ingredients have been available in supermarkets for decades, but people still happily eat in restaurants.
Recording costs + mastering costs + artwork costs + duplication costs + distribution costs = a lot more than the cost of blank CDrs.
no shops don't charge double, if they did shops certainly wouldn't be closing down!
Hint is right of course a cdr is not the same as a finished album release, that's just silly.
Martin Dust
Techno Zen Master
Chef Napalm
Lost in the Supermarket
Gavin
booty bass intellectual
Hah, whenever I see artwork mentioned in cost I laugh because I think of all the IDM and rap I bought at the peak of my CD purchasing with shitty or non-existent cover art!
fokse vektaire xeven
Arab Nazi
I laugh when i see it because i'm an illustrator.
the markup on cds in this country was always disproportionately high. a good 1/3rd higher than america say. it was and is a fucking racket.
The success of radiohead in this arena has everything to do with how their fans buy into them as having some kind of comfortably vague oppositional stance. they present a certain morality if you like... i largely thought of it as a clever piece of publicity, and was also surprised it was taken on face value by anyone.
hint
party record with a siren
Well, it goes without saying that corners can be cut at any of those stages that I mentioned, but the price of a blank CDr is still one of the smallest parts of the equation.
noel emits
a wonderful wooden reason
Not like in my day etc..
Interesting that in that OMM article Napier-Bell says that the big companies originally got into the music biz as an indulgence and because it was a stupidly lucrative sideline. So of course the foundational attitude to selling 'pop music' has inevitably persisted.
"None of these companies had been set up first and foremost for music; they made records for extra profit. It was a wonderful trick they'd learnt. They bought vinyl cheaply; added a label, a song and a sleeve and sold it expensively."
crackerjack
Well-known member
Which is why record retailers are all so damned rich and why more shops are opening up all the time...oh, hang on.
Most things are cheaper in America. I can't speak about the mark-up there, but I do know that when I worked in music retail the mark-up was typically about 40% of the retail price.
fokse vektaire xeven
Arab Nazi
the mark up is not by the retailers...i did not say it was. most things may be cheaper in america but i was talking in relative terms. cds have historically been subject to a higher markup at source in the UK
Gavin
booty bass intellectual
Not like in my day etc..
Interesting that in that OMM article Napier-Bell says that the big companies originally got into the music biz as an indulgence and because it was a stupidly lucrative sideline. So of course the foundational attitude to selling 'pop music' has inevitably persisted.
"None of these companies had been set up first and foremost for music; they made records for extra profit. It was a wonderful trick they'd learnt. They bought vinyl cheaply; added a label, a song and a sleeve and sold it expensively."
Yeah, this goes back quite a ways I think... Records were a way to get people to buy electronics equipment, so you have electronics companies starting record labels. Really important before vinyl had been standardized and different companies were using different formats -- sort of like the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD wars.
crackerjack
Well-known member
support your local record shop
God bless Badu
God bless Badu
nochexxx
harco pronting
this is the second time i've heard this. :-( i so wanted it to be untrue. i't a real disgrace this has yet to be discussed in parliament.
nochexxx
harco pronting
"a shocking drop in the quality of vinyl pressings and mastering (some places are still good but it's harder and harder and more and more expensive.... just cos it's vinyl doesn't mean it's any cop)"
true dat.
many small labels are doing their own mastering, using vst plug ins as a means too saving pounds. some further scrimp by not bothering with test pressings, decreasing their outgoings that little bit more.......
true dat.
many small labels are doing their own mastering, using vst plug ins as a means too saving pounds. some further scrimp by not bothering with test pressings, decreasing their outgoings that little bit more.......
Martin Dust
Techno Zen Master
Like who? Mastering and cutting has got cheaper, we pay less for it than we did 5yrs again.
nochexxx
harco pronting
sure i agree with you that mastering and cutting is cheaper. i was trying to refer to the "just cos it's vinyl doesn't mean it's any cop" statement, because some labels hold out on mastering and test pressing costs, which can sometimes produce a bad sounding pressing.