Re: (New) Rock Is Dead, Lifehouse video & a small plug

["L. Bird" <pkeets@hotmail.com>]

>Implications? No more Rock/Pop artists, since they would not be able 
to do it for a living anymore. Not good.

Definitely a major change in the music industry, which has been 
rolling right along since the sixties.  I've got another article 
(following message) which talks about tours.

It's interesting that the usual youth demographic has failed.  I'll 
bet that scares the pants off the big companies.  


>I see they've failed to take into account the rise of the used CD 
stores in their survey. 

That would mean that new music isn't selling--just the tried and true.


>> Though the MP3 technology, computer users are able to sell or trade 
>> copies of songs through the Internet, an activity that's causing 
major headaches now for the music industry.

Anybody see Tom Petty on TV last night?  He said he'd been told 
singles were just for promotion and he didn't make any money from 
them, so he tried to do one as a free MP3.  His record company made 
him take it down.


>and MY prediction is that if they do the music will cost the same 
amount it does today despite no manufacturing and distributing costs.

No surprise, as that's established as the stardard.  Hopefully aritsts 
would get more of it, though.


>The biggest problem will be the lack of product after this 
selling trend grows. And that is why I've started carrying used DVDs.

That's expected to be the replacement tech for cds, isn't it?


>> The size of the young age group is shrinking, Rosen said.  The 
>> industry also has heard from many young people who didn't like much 
of the new music put out last year, RIAA spokeswoman Alexandra Walsh 
>> said.
>
>Now THIS is certainly a factor. I sell more Classic Rock than 
anything else, to young and "old."

It is great stuff--especially our farovite band.  :)  The trend is 
more than just nostalgia.  One thing I think is wrong, is that there's 
so much to choose from, and you have to search endlessly to find what 
you like.  Most people just give up and buy something they're sure of. 
 Fragmentation of the market?  


> Some of the biggest rock stars of the past decade, such as REM, 
Pearl Jam and U2, have discovered their influence on music buyers is 
>> dropping dramatically.

Well, you'd normally expect it, as their fans are getting older and 
have less discretionary income, but according to the survey (and 
Mark's gut feeling), that's the group that's now buying the most 
music.


>Ask me about the sales of artists like Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, 
311, Phish, Prodigy, Creed, Godsmack, Smashing Pumpkins, Widespread 
Panic, Metallica...I can tell you that I have them in my racks just 
until someone sees them.
>This is also true of many Classic Rock artists, like the Stones, Pink
>Floyd, Ozzy, Allman Brothers, & Led Zeppelin. Oh yeah; Lynyrd Skynyrd
>shouldn't be forgotten, no matter how hard I try...

So what have they got that other bands don't?  Any ideas?


>I find this figure to be the "odd man out," if you will. Rap, and to 
a lessor degree Dance, have a very short shelf life. With a few 
exceptions, after 6 months the hottest new bands are no longer 
sellable. Which makes it damned hard for a used store. As a result, 
mine is two-thirds Rock music.

Disposable music is no surprise--isn't the standard life span for a 
pop group about two years max?  But six months is noticibly short.

This survey results must have been out for a while, as I've seen stuff 
on VH1 and MTV.  One group of kids complained about the lack of 
"artist development."  I guess the record companies are considering 
them all disposable and plan to get what the can in the six months.

Moral:  Don't depend on the record company to help you out.


>> Cost-cutting retailers such as Wal-mart and Best Buy are taking up 
a larger share of the marketplace.
>
>That, more than anything else, proves that price matters. 

I'm surprised that the Internet didn't show up better.  Seems like 
most of what I've bought in the last year is obscure special order 
stuff that's not on the shelf locally at all.


>Although again we see used sellers being left out of the mix. 

This was predicted as a big influence on the industry when cds came 
out, but you're right they seem to have forgotten it here.  I'd guess 
the survey was to find out why the new music wasn't selling well.  I 
mean, you're supposed to want the latest thing, right?  Rush right out 
and buy it.

keets


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