By the end of 2001, magazines everywhere were reporting that album sales of that year (2001) was lower than the previous year.
In 2000 the biggest selling album in the US was No Strings Attached by Nsync, which sold 9.9 million copies, in that same year....

..fast forward to 2001, the biggest selling album of that year was Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory in the US, which sold only 4.8 million copies!

So base on these facts, the music industry has been struggling since 2001. If this is true, this is the longest numbers of years the music industry has been in a slump. There was a slump from 1979 to 1982 in record sales, but by 1983, thanks to Mtv and Michael Jackson's Thriller, album sales went up again.

So, when do you guys/girls think the current slump in the music industry is going to end??

Or maybe I'm wrong, the music industry is currently fine?

The rise of (illegal) downloading, which was around that time could have had something to do with it. NSYNC's "No Strings Attached" was the #1 album of 2000? I am not one of the near 10 million who bought a copy.

The rise of (illegal) downloading, which was around that time could have had something to do with it. NSYNC's "No Strings Attached" was the #1 album of 2000? I am not one of the near 10 million who bought a copy.


Not only that, but people can make a quick visit to YouTube to see the music videos. Some people might think "Why buy it if it is on YouTube?" It is also the reason that ratings for shows won't be as high as they could be. People can watch episodes of television shows on the internet.

Not only that, but people can make a quick visit to YouTube to see the music videos. Some people might think "Why buy it if it is on YouTube?" It is also the reason that ratings for shows won't be as high as they could be. People can watch episodes of television shows on the internet.


Yeah, but YouTube didn't come out until 2005. Before that, I remember watching music videos on Yahoo Music. Still, I like to listen to my music in a stereo device. Also even with legal mp3 downloads, you can now just choose a single track instead of having the buy an entire album.

So, when do you guys/girls think the current slump in the music industry is going to end??


It's never going to end. For all the reasons already mentioned here, the music industry will never see a return to the lofty album sales of the pre-Napster era. Just to illustrate how bad it really is, let's go back and take a look at the late 1990's, which will likely go down as the industry's last true "golden age". On the back of the teen pop explosion, and with the help of the fact that Napster itself had yet to completely take off, 1999 was a year that saw nearly absurd albums sales figures.

Check out the top 5 albums of 1999 (per Billboard):

1. Millennium - Backstreet Boys (11 million albums sold)
2. ...Baby One More Time - Britney Spears (10 million albums sold)
3. Come on Over - Shania Twain (10 million albums sold)
4. *NSYNC - *NSYNC (9 million albums sold)
5. Ricky Martin - Ricky Martin (9 million albums sold)

Now, let's compare that to the top 5 albums of 2012 (again per Billboard):

1. 21 - Adele (4.41 million albums sold)
2. Red - Taylor Swift (3.11 million albums sold)
3. Up All Night - One Direction (1.62 million albums sold)
4. Babel - Mumford and Sons (1.46 million albums sold)
5. Take Me Home - One Direction (1.34 million albums sold)

That's a huge difference! The top 5 albums of 2012 barely sold as many copies combined as the Backstreet Boys album from 1999. And the raw numbers are actually even worse. Overall album sales in 2012 in the U.S. fell by 4% to 315.96 million from 330.57 million in 2011. Physical CD sales were down another 13% in 2012 on top of that.

Yeah, but YouTube didn't come out until 2005. Before that, I remember watching music videos on Yahoo Music. Still, I like to listen to my music in a stereo device. Also even with legal mp3 downloads, you can now just choose a single track instead of having the buy an entire album.


and Youtube is still after 8 years a wonderful source for music.

Yeah even with itunes, a lot of people just download the songs they like and not the entire album. I rarely buy albums anymore. So it's really no wonder that album sales continue to struggle, it doesn't really have so much to do with the music industry struggling, as famous musicians are still making as much money as ever.

People can watch episodes of television shows on the internet.

Thee is also this site called Crackle which you watch television shows for free, no charge, if you have a PS3 you know what I mean.

Well not exactly, if you remember  the music industry bounced back slightly in late 2004 and 2005, I remember cnbc talking about how the 2001 slump was cured.  It obv wasnt  but  it  halted it for a lil bit. Also 2004 and 2005 were solid years for music so i can see how those albums did sell well.

Well not exactly, if you remember  the music industry bounced back slightly in late 2004 and 2005, I remember cnbc talking about how the 2001 slump was cured.  It obv wasnt  but  it  halted it for a lil bit. Also 2004 and 2005 were solid years for music so i can see how those albums did sell well.


Yeah 2004 and 2005 were really the peak of the rap era.  Not everybody had broadband yet either at that time so there was still a need for albums and physical media.

Well not exactly, if you remember  the music industry bounced back slightly in late 2004 and 2005, I remember cnbc talking about how the 2001 slump was cured.  It obv wasnt  but  it  halted it for a lil bit. Also 2004 and 2005 were solid years for music so i can see how those albums did sell well.


You're right about the industry bouncing back in 2004/2005. For example, Usher's Confessions, which was HUGE, sold 8 million copies in '04 and is the second best selling album of the 2000s. And yes, I was one of those 8 million. ;) Good album!

You're right about the industry bouncing back in 2004/2005. For example, Usher's Confessions, which was HUGE, sold 8 million copies in '04 and is the second best selling album of the 2000s. And yes, I was one of those 8 million. ;) Good album!


10 million copies now!  :D

Yeah 2004 and 2005 were really the peak of the rap era.  Not everybody had broadband yet either at that time so there was still a need for albums and physical media.



Bsb,Madonna,willsmith,gorillas,kanye,blackeyedpeas,foo fighters,usher,  There was something for everyone including Kelly clarksons album.  Listen to a song like aphrodisac by brandy and u can really get addicted to the songs of that era

Bsb,Madonna,willsmith,gorillas,kanye,blackeyedpeas,foo fighters,usher,  There was something for everyone including Kelly clarksons album.  Listen to a song like aphrodisac by brandy and u can really get addicted to the songs of that era.
Don't forget about albums by Green Day, and Mariah Carey in 2005.

It's never going to end. For all the reasons already mentioned here, the music industry will never see a return to the lofty album sales of the pre-Napster era. Just to illustrate how bad it really is, let's go back and take a look at the late 1990's, which will likely go down as the industry's last true "golden age". On the back of the teen pop explosion, and with the help of the fact that Napster itself had yet to completely take off, 1999 was a year that saw nearly absurd albums sales figures.

Check out the top 5 albums of 1999 (per Billboard):

1. Millennium - Backstreet Boys (11 million albums sold)
2. ...Baby One More Time - Britney Spears (10 million albums sold)
3. Come on Over - Shania Twain (10 million albums sold)
4. *NSYNC - *NSYNC (9 million albums sold)
5. Ricky Martin - Ricky Martin (9 million albums sold)

Now, let's compare that to the top 5 albums of 2012 (again per Billboard):

1. 21 - Adele (4.41 million albums sold)
2. Red - Taylor Swift (3.11 million albums sold)
3. Up All Night - One Direction (1.62 million albums sold)
4. Babel - Mumford and Sons (1.46 million albums sold)
5. Take Me Home - One Direction (1.34 million albums sold)

That's a huge difference! The top 5 albums of 2012 barely sold as many copies combined as the Backstreet Boys album from 1999. And the raw numbers are actually even worse. Overall album sales in 2012 in the U.S. fell by 4% to 315.96 million from 330.57 million in 2011. Physical CD sales were down another 13% in 2012 on top of that.
True about album sales but the industry really judges itself I think by how many digital downloads of singles that it can make money off of rather than album sales.

Am I the only person who thinks the demonetization of music is actually a good thing?

Am I the only person who thinks the demonetization of music is actually a good thing?


You mean the decline of music?  ???

Am I the only person who thinks the demonetization of music is actually a good thing?


You mean the demonetization of the 'music industry'? Music isn't evil, I think the industry, which cares only for money, CAN BE bad!

Am I the only person who thinks the demonetization of music is actually a good thing?


Yes.

Do you have any idea how much musical instruments and sound equipment costs? The stuff ain't cheap. So many full-time musicians live out of their vans or on people's couches and are away from home for 6-8 months playing night after night, living a hard, impoverished life so they can do what they love. If I go to a nightclub and see a band I really like then I'll gladly shell out 10 bucks for one of their CDs. And if they're an obscure band that I like but they're not from my area then I'll either buy their album at a record store or off Amazon, or I'll download it off iTunes or Amazon, so long as they get paid for it.

People like to piss and moan about how there's no good music anymore, but one big reason why is that since no one wants to pay for music anymore, musicians can't make a decent living so they say the hell with it.

If you hear an artist that you truly love and you want their album then pay for it. Help support them.

Yes.

Do you have any idea how much musical instruments and sound equipment costs? The stuff ain't cheap. So many full-time musicians live out of their vans or on people's couches and are away from home for 6-8 months playing night after night, living a hard, impoverished life so they can do what they love. If I go to a nightclub and see a band I really like then I'll gladly shell out 10 bucks for one of their CDs. And if they're an obscure band that I like but they're not from my area then I'll either buy their album at a record store or off Amazon, or I'll download it off iTunes or Amazon, so long as they get paid for it.

People like to piss and moan about how there's no good music anymore, but one big reason why is that since no one wants to pay for music anymore, musicians can't make a decent living so they say the hell with it.

If you hear an artist that you truly love and you want their album then pay for it. Help support them.


I pay for artists's CDs too if I really consider myself a fan and like a lot of their songs. Still though, I'm not gonna pay $15 for a CD of a band who only has 1 or 2 awesome songs and the rest is filler.

I see what you're saying, though. I do think if you truly love a band, it's selfish not to support them financially.

I pay for artists's CDs too if I really consider myself a fan and like a lot of their songs. Still though, I'm not gonna pay $15 for a CD of a band who only has 1 or 2 awesome songs and the rest is filler.

I see what you're saying, though. I do think if you truly love a band, it's selfish not to support them financially.


I totally agree about not wanting to pay $15 for an album with 1 or 2 good songs and 10 crappy ones. It's a business model that the record companies had followed for far too long and I think part of the reason that people were so quick to embrace file sharing services like Napster, Kazaa and Limewire was just so they could say FU to the major labels for this very practice.

And to be honest, I don't get all that bummed out when I hear the major labels complaining about losing money, I almost say that it serves them right for screwing us for all these years. It's just that the smaller indie labels are suffering as well and although it's always been hard for up and coming artists to support themselves, it's even more difficult than it used to be.

But I'm glad to hear that you feel the same as I do when it comes to supporting artists you like.

It's never going to end. For all the reasons already mentioned here, the music industry will never see a return to the lofty album sales of the pre-Napster era. Just to illustrate how bad it really is, let's go back and take a look at the late 1990's, which will likely go down as the industry's last true "golden age". On the back of the teen pop explosion, and with the help of the fact that Napster itself had yet to completely take off, 1999 was a year that saw nearly absurd albums sales figures.

Check out the top 5 albums of 1999 (per Billboard):

1. Millennium - Backstreet Boys (11 million albums sold)
2. ...Baby One More Time - Britney Spears (10 million albums sold)
3. Come on Over - Shania Twain (10 million albums sold)
4. *NSYNC - *NSYNC (9 million albums sold)
5. Ricky Martin - Ricky Martin (9 million albums sold)

Now, let's compare that to the top 5 albums of 2012 (again per Billboard):

1. 21 - Adele (4.41 million albums sold)
2. Red - Taylor Swift (3.11 million albums sold)
3. Up All Night - One Direction (1.62 million albums sold)
4. Babel - Mumford and Sons (1.46 million albums sold)
5. Take Me Home - One Direction (1.34 million albums sold)

That's a huge difference! The top 5 albums of 2012 barely sold as many copies combined as the Backstreet Boys album from 1999. And the raw numbers are actually even worse. Overall album sales in 2012 in the U.S. fell by 4% to 315.96 million from 330.57 million in 2011. Physical CD sales were down another 13% in 2012 on top of that.


That is a huge difference but, among other things, downloading songs legally allows a person to pick and choose what they want from an album rather than having to buy the entire album and be stuck with the good, bad and the ugly tracks like in 1999.

I do ask myself whether people would have considered downloading legally if CD prices were cheaper (even in 1999 they were about £10/$16-ish?). As much as I want to blame the music industry for this 'music pillaging revolution' I can't (even though it certainly didn't help matters). Free music will always be better than cheaper music. People got what they could while the going was good.

That is a huge difference but, among other things, downloading songs legally allows a person to pick and choose what they want from an album rather than having to buy the entire album and be stuck with the good, bad and the ugly tracks like in 1999.

I do ask myself whether people would have considered downloading legally if CD prices were cheaper (even in 1999 they were about £10/$16-ish?). As much as I want to blame the music industry for this 'music pillaging revolution' I can't (even though it certainly didn't help matters). Free music will always be better than cheaper music. People got what they could while the going was good.


Yeah, I don't there's really much the recording industry could have done post file sharing to keep the current status quo from happening. Back in 1999, even your average 8-year-old girl probably owned all five of those albums I listed, while today, most of the people that still buy large amounts of music on a physical medium tend to be older people like my parents that haven't totally "adapted" to the internet yet. The truth is, as long as people can get something for free, and are assured of little chance of it landing them in legal trouble, they're probably going to take advantage of it.

I used to buy several CD's a month when I was in high school myself. But times changed, high speed internet got even faster and more affordable, and once it became easy for me to download just one song off an album where the other 11 were mediocre at best, I followed the herd.

Yeah, I don't there's really much the recording industry could have done post file sharing to keep the current status quo from happening. Back in 1999, even your average 8-year-old girl probably owned all five of those albums I listed, while today, most of the people that still buy large amounts of music on a physical medium tend to be older people like my parents that haven't totally "adapted" to the internet yet. The truth is, as long as people can get something for free, and are assured of little chance of it landing them in legal trouble, they're probably going to take advantage of it.

They may have owned those albums because there was no flexible or cheaper alternative back then rather than the fact they worshiped the band/singer and enjoyed every song on there. Even my favourite albums I don't like everything (I like about two thirds of my favourite albums usually) and the rest I could do without.

I will probably be more happier with the legal downloading process when we get to a point (internet/hard drive space capacity) of downloading WAV files or equivalent to our computers/mp3 players (each music WAV file lasting about 3.5 mins - 4 mins is approx. 40,000 mb). They are at least lossless in comparison to the 256 - 320 bit rate quality we get now. I think that is a matter of time though. We must remember that the CD we buy, like legal downloads, is only as good as the original source it's taken from. I bought a cheap legitimate CD album some years back and the quality was awful.

I used to buy several CD's a month when I was in high school myself. But times changed, high speed internet got even faster and more affordable, and once it became easy for me to download just one song off an album where the other 11 were mediocre at best, I followed the herd.

Yes, like you, I bought a lot of CDs and don't regret it. I still have the choice to rip my music in anyway I wish and I do like something solid to show what I have paid for. You're right. Once the internet changed from dial-up to broadband, everything we knew pretty much went up in the air and it's going to change even more as we live our lives dependent on it. Now we see providers dishing out over 100gb broadband connections! I've got this vision of the future where people say; "You've got 500tb broadband? A bit slow isn't it?"  ;D

I used to buy several CD's a month when I was in high school myself. But times changed, high speed internet got even faster and more affordable, and once it became easy for me to download just one song off an album where the other 11 were mediocre at best, I followed the herd.

I don't buy as many CDs as I used to nowadays you can listen to a song or a full album via internet.

I totally agree about not wanting to pay $15 for an album with 1 or 2 good songs and 10 crappy ones. It's a business model that the record companies had followed for far too long and I think part of the reason that people were so quick to embrace file sharing services like Napster, Kazaa and Limewire was just so they could say FU to the major labels for this very practice.

And to be honest, I don't get all that bummed out when I hear the major labels complaining about losing money, I almost say that it serves them right for screwing us for all these years. It's just that the smaller indie labels are suffering as well and although it's always been hard for up and coming artists to support themselves, it's even more difficult than it used to be.

But I'm glad to hear that you feel the same as I do when it comes to supporting artists you like.


Downloadable songs from itunes or equivalent has solved the 'all or nothing' issue with tracks on a standard CD. Sadly, this was only done to react to the effects piracy had on the music business not to charitably give consumers freedom of choice with what they want to listen to from an album. If piracy was not an issue, the music business would still go about it's merry way selling expensive CDs to people and telling them to like what's on them or lump it.

I was a regularly buyer of CDs and have only illegally acquired stuff I can't find. Once I find it I buy it.

Downloadable songs from itunes or equivalent has solved the 'all or nothing' issue with tracks on a standard CD. Sadly, this was only done to react to the effects piracy had on the music business not to charitably give consumers freedom of choice with what they want to listen to from an album. If piracy was not an issue, the music business would still go about it's merry way selling expensive CDs to people and telling them to like what's on them or lump it.

I was a regularly buyer of CDs and have only illegally acquired stuff I can't find. Once I find it I buy it.


mp3 is not better than cd quality    there is compression

mp3 is not better than cd quality    there is compression


That's right. I mentioned it a few posts up.  :)

That's right. I mentioned it a few posts up.  :)

haha my bee

haha my bee


Heh heh. I have seen that face that has replaced Mickey Mouses's on your profile banner before but have no idea what it is or where it has come from. Do you know, thenewtattoo?