Who destroyed the music industry?

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 21 Apr 2015 10:04 am

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicb ... sic-piracy

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 22 Apr 2015 6:31 am

Great read.. I didn't realize that actually knew who pirate zero was..

Joe Casey · Post by **Joe Casey** » 26 Apr 2015 5:48 am

Whew!! For a moment I thought I was going to get blamed for it.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 29 Apr 2015 4:57 pm

Funny, I would'a thought it was Gates and Jobs.

Niels Andrews · Post by **Niels Andrews** » 1 May 2015 6:39 am

Don"t tell Taylor Swift the industry is dead, she won"t understand where her 250 million dollars came from. The music industry has changed and evolved and as we old folks have done through time, we are proclaiming the "end". I remember my own father predicting the "end of music" in 1964 when the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan.
Two days ago I went and saw Merle Haggard, I was among the youngest there at 62! Many of us don't like the changes but "Change is the only constant in life", so it is up to us to try to find our spot and enjoy the journey!

LJ Eiffert · Post by **LJ Eiffert** » 1 May 2015 7:40 am

C, Niels Andrews! The door to door happy days of neighbors who go feed the hunger strike homeless is about as dead as Traditional Country Music and it Artist History. Only the one's who have paid the right price to stay on top of the politics like Merle Haggard who is the common folk of the " Fightin' Side Of me " keeps our flag alive to support what others are afraid of,Change. Change is a good thing. Remember " Willie Nelson ", what he stands for keeping Pot hot and everybody rich who needs to stand by him for their gold. Just 50 years of the Academy Of Country Music History to get in a book that only a few names will get all the credit of,It was my dream. Who wrote that? So,Change will come to a end and new will kill what the old gave.Just like our Brothers & Sister who gave up their life for this USA & those Musicians of Southern California Country Music Neighborhood History that no body will never know who they was but those who lived it with them. So, who will keep this Steel Guitar Forum going when Bobby Lee Judgement day comes like all of us will face? Just a opinion of asking a ? Uncle Leo J Eiffert Jr. PS: Will this History go away to after he's gone?

Niels Andrews · Post by **Niels Andrews** » 1 May 2015 9:05 am

The World has changed, and Willie and Merle are at least are staying somewhat in the picture. But for the most part their music is 50 year old. When most of us played popular music in out teens, it was not 50 year old music. Same today.
There is little value being named in a history book for as you know few in this World read history or really care about the past. The "Victors" write the history, and unfortunately those involved with SoCal Country Music apparently didn't win? Enjoy your memories and if you don't write them down, in time they will fade into further obscurity.

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 1 May 2015 12:59 pm

Great find Barry!

I clicked on the link to the long article from The New Yorker that was part of the Guardian piece, and this to me was a telling paragraph:

"In 1998, Seagram Company announced that it was purchasing PolyGram from Philips and merging it with the Universal Music Group. The deal comprised the global pressing and distribution network, including the Kings Mountain plant. The employees were nervous, but management told them not to worry; the plant wasnâ€™t shutting downâ€”it was expanding. The music industry was enjoying a period of unmatched profitability, charging more than fourteen dollars for a CD that cost less than two dollars to manufacture. The executives at Universal thought that this state of affairs was likely to continue. In the prospectus that they filed for the PolyGram acquisition, they did not mention the MP3 among the anticipated threats to the business."

The sentence above in italics, only one piece of the puzzle in this whole thing - but when greed rears its ugly head in the world of consumer products, opportunists are going to sooner or later find a way to get around it.

Les Cargill · Post by **Les Cargill** » 3 May 2015 9:57 am

Mark hit the nail on the head, although it's kinda hard to label it "greed" until after the fact.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 4 May 2015 10:00 am

who destroyed the music industry?

Kevin Klimek · Post by **Kevin Klimek** » 24 May 2015 7:47 pm

Who destroyed the music industry as it applies to us road dawgs playing the local club scene? Answer, two culprits: 1) DJ's (not radio DJ's but rather these button pushers calling themselves "live music", and 2) Karaoke.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 24 May 2015 7:52 pm

Kevin Klimek wrote:Who destroyed the music industry as it applies to us road dawgs playing the local club scene? Answer, two culprits: 1) DJ's (not radio DJ's but rather these button pushers calling themselves "live music", and 2) Karaoke.

You forgot the bad cover bands.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 24 May 2015 8:14 pm

Joe Casey · Post by **Joe Casey** » 25 May 2015 7:01 am

Leo I know what your trying to say. One thing we all should have learned in life is you can't swim against the Tide. "Change" comes and goes with each generation.Those that swim with it don't drown. I'm happy to have lived and had fun during my time in the pervevial "Barrel". Musicians may make changes but it's the public that makes it happen. The KISS system(keep it Simple Stupid) died because of sales. And this new whatever it's called thrives because of the same. Country Music of our generation won't Die as long as there are some people like yourself to play it and places to play it. At 78 I still find good music to listen to and avoid what I don't enjoy. I listen to Traditional Country,Big band swing era,Jazz,good Rock (yes there was plenty) ,Doo Wop and anything easy listening from Tony Benette to Frankie. There truly are only two types of Music . Good or Bad. Each of us has our own opinions. I'm content to feel that in my time Country Music was right for me. Still a Hag Fan. [/url]

LJ Eiffert · Post by **LJ Eiffert** » 25 May 2015 9:40 am

Thanks you Joe Casey! What I'm trying to say is. " When you wake up dead,you have nothing ". When folks try to change you for them, you still have nothing. So,if you want change what's happen to you, don't cry about it,just get up and close the doors. Just crate what it is you are not getting from your music no matter what style it is. Respect to the art of a musician talent. If you want to sell your Heart,Mind,and Soul to be happy. Good luck with the Music Business Industry and remember,when they tell you you don't have enough money to get back what we steal from you,they mean it. Is that what I am trying to say Joe?

Again,thank you my friend,Uncle Leo J Eiffert Jr the under cover of the Academy Of Country Music's History from my late friend Bill Boyd & widow Fran, the late Gene Weed who Reba loved & our late dear friend Mr.Dick Clark and his production Co. Staff family of mine in the 60's.70's,80's 90's til 2001.

Geoff Noble · Post by **Geoff Noble** » 18 Jun 2015 3:15 am

Van Morrison once said - "I love music, hate the music industry"

For me the bottom line is - What do people really want to listen to? If the majority of the public are happy to listen to what I would consider IMHO to be twaddle then that is their prerogative.

At the moment the killer seems to be that label executives go for the biggest amount of dollars and currently most commercially available music is almost totally computer generated to statistically include all the known hooks and catches that will generate sales/cash. At this point it is no longer what I would consider to be music and becomes soulless pap.

However if that is what the public really really wants, that's what the public will really really get

Thankfully there's is a lot of great original music available on the net.

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 18 Jun 2015 8:03 am

Thankfully there's is a lot of great original music available on the net.

Geoff,
I'm assuming that you know Fairport Convention. I think that this band sounds a lot like them. I bought a vinyl album not to long ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OBrewG5Hns

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 18 Jun 2015 8:36 am

The music industry was enjoying a period of unmatched profitability, charging more than fourteen dollars for a CD that cost less than two dollars to manufacture. The executives at Universal thought that this state of affairs was likely to continue. In the prospectus that they filed for the PolyGram acquisition, they did not mention the MP3 among the anticipated threats to the business."

Now with streaming, they don't even have to manufacture a physical product, they just charge us for access to it!

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 18 Jun 2015 10:17 am

And, all this time it was me that destroyed the music biz. $:\$

Tom Quinn · Post by **Tom Quinn** » 18 Jun 2015 5:39 pm

Easy. Mothers Against Drunk Driving and restrictive smoking laws. Next?

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 18 Jun 2015 7:16 pm

Tom Quinn wrote:Easy. Mothers Against Drunk Driving and restrictive smoking laws. Next?

Well, at least local live music.

Tom Quinn · Post by **Tom Quinn** » 18 Jun 2015 7:31 pm

I played many a night at Marty's Top of the Hill...

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 19 Jun 2015 8:23 am

Kevin Klimek wrote:
Who destroyed the music industry as it applies to us road dawgs playing the local club scene? Answer, two culprits: 1) DJ's (not radio DJ's but rather these button pushers calling themselves "live music", and 2) Karaoke.

You forgot the bad cover bands.

Bad cover bands have been around forever, long before nightclub DJs and Karaoke. In my experience, their effect has been minimal compared to the other two factors mentioned.

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 19 Jun 2015 8:57 am

We're talking live music in bars and nightclubs as far as the effect of more stringent drunk driving surveillance. That doesn't have anything to do with the invention of the MP3. If the MP3 still did not exist, live music in clubs would still be down compared to where it was say 30 years ago.

Smoking not being allowed in clubs is a very small factor in the big picture. It's been 20 years now here in California, water way under the bridge, no big deal. The percentage of Americans whom smoke has steadily declined in each decade since the mid 1960s once it was proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that it's bad for one's health .

As already discussed in the thread, the rise of the MP3 and the ease of electronically sharing music files is the culprit. Period. Before all that CD sales and prior to the advent of CDs vinyl record sales were doing just fine.

John Booth · Post by **John Booth** » 20 Jun 2015 6:10 am

Garth Brooks and Shania Twain

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