As mentioned above, some of the music industry's problems are a result of consolidation in radio broadcasting. But a lot of the blame should be dumped right back on the "suits" that run the five majot record labels.
When you start treating your customers like criminals, with various copy protection schemes that serve noone but the record company; fail to bring to market acts people really want to hear; try to screw your own artists out of millions of dollars in royalties; have a product that is grossly over-priced in relation to actual costs; and make marginal efforts to promote your new acts - you can pretty easily understand why the major record companies are in trouble. And I haven't even talked about the so-called new audio formats that are launching at a snail's pace.
Yes - the stations owned by Clear Channel and Infinity really leave a lot to be desired. Not only do they all seem to play the same "Top 40" and "Light Rock" drivel, but they compress almost everything they broadcast. And if you find the music less than pleasing, you can add insult to injury with the 20+ minutes of ads they run each hour. About the only stations still broadcasting un-compressed music these days are college stations, PBS and public owned stations, and a ever-smaller group of independent holdouts from the 90s. (Most in small markets - I might add.)
Given all the negatives in the radio market, it's pretty clear that radio is also helping with the music industry's demise.
When you start treating your customers like criminals, with various copy protection schemes that serve noone but the record company; fail to bring to market acts people really want to hear; try to screw your own artists out of millions of dollars in royalties; have a product that is grossly over-priced in relation to actual costs; and make marginal efforts to promote your new acts - you can pretty easily understand why the major record companies are in trouble. And I haven't even talked about the so-called new audio formats that are launching at a snail's pace.
Yes - the stations owned by Clear Channel and Infinity really leave a lot to be desired. Not only do they all seem to play the same "Top 40" and "Light Rock" drivel, but they compress almost everything they broadcast. And if you find the music less than pleasing, you can add insult to injury with the 20+ minutes of ads they run each hour. About the only stations still broadcasting un-compressed music these days are college stations, PBS and public owned stations, and a ever-smaller group of independent holdouts from the 90s. (Most in small markets - I might add.)
Given all the negatives in the radio market, it's pretty clear that radio is also helping with the music industry's demise.