Top 10 Reasons Why the Music Industry is Failing

[soul oasis]

I can think of many more but here a few compiled by Ramin Streets is a Singer/Songwriter and Entrepreneur from Chicago, IL


Click here for the rest of the list: http://rdstreets.hubpages.com/hub/To...try-is-Failing



You know what? I miss my vinyl records.

I miss going to the record store (a real community experience) and buying an LP for $10-$15. I miss the larger sleeves with the cover art and the inside liner notes which told you who wrote what and who played on which track.

The last time this reality was in full form was the late 80s (perhaps early 90s). And since that time a number of changes occurred which created the mess the music business is in today (most of it self inflicted).

So without further adieu, here follows the Top 10 Reasons why the Music Business is Failing from both the perspective of a fan and a singer/songwriter.
They don't make them like him anymore! Ahmet Ertegun was known for his gift of discovering, developing and nurturing new talent.
They don't make them like him anymore! Ahmet Ertegun was known for his gift of discovering, developing and nurturing new talent.
1. Record Labels Stopped Doing Their Job

At some point along the way (late 70s) label executives became hipsters vs. real A&R agents, becoming more interested in keeping their jobs and playing it safe vs. finding authentic and original talent to nurture and promote over the long haul. We used to have an industry focused on finding the next new and amazing thing. Now we have an industry where labels copy other labels both in artists and material. Gone are the days of breaking out of the mold. For the last few decades it's been about formula. So it is then no wonder that radio has become a second tier medium that is mostly ignored in the United States (of course unless there's a game on).
2. The Record Labels Became Too Big

Much like banks, record labels became too big to service the industry well. By becoming larger companies within ever larger umbrellas they became more beholden to their masters to execute quick profits or upticks in stock value which from the 90s on down to the present only led to a race to the bottom.


3. Lack of Talent and Personality

Signed artists no longer have the staying power, personality or song writing abilities of their predecessors. They may be more marketable initially, but they're just not that talented. As such for the most part we don't remember many artists or "hit" songs from the last 20 years. I have to believe there are still amazing artists and song content out there, but some artists cling to the belief that they should write their own material when they clearly shouldn't. Others do come up with great songs but probably shouldn't be singing or performing them. Further, many song artists have failed to understand that music is a calling, a passion. You do it to do it. Yes you want to make a living, but fame and celebrity is the afterglow, not the inspiration.
The Brill Building in New York City, which served as the launching pad for some of America's top songwriters and fueled the careers of so many of the Country's top artists
The Brill Building in New York City, which served as the launching pad for some of America's top songwriters and fueled the careers of so many of the Country's top artists
4. Traditional Roles Have Disappeared

The music business was once an industry where producers, songwriters and artists used to be siloed within their own core competencies. As such, there were clearly defined expectations and requirements that had to be met in order for someone to take on these titles. To our benefit, these lines got a bit blurred in the 50s & 60s. However since that time, with the dwindling of funds for music education in our public schools, we now have artists calling themselves songwriters with little knowledge of music theory, composition or song structure or appreciation for styles that came before (to our detriment). We also have people calling themselves producers with minimal studio experience and an extremely limited understanding of orchestration/arranging to better help an artist in realizing his or her full potential.
5. Fan Abuse

Over the past 20 years the music industry has abused fans in the U.S with both unnecessarily high CD prices and obscenely high concert ticket prices. CDs cost pennies to manufacture yet cost the consumer upwards of $20 for a product that in most cases has delivered 1-2 decent tracks at best with the remainder serving only as filler. Concert tickets are also overpriced with all sorts of made up fees included in the ticket transaction to further pad the profits of the vendors who service this side of the industry. Frankly we live in an age where there are just too many other options available out there to entertain us that provide much more bang for the buck.