The Meek Shall Inherit the Music

The browsing is good at CD World -- Picture courtesy of CD World

by blogSpotter
This week's Rolling Stone has an interesting article about the decline of the recording industry, which has happened noticeably in the last 7 years. 36% of all record stores have closed since 2000. Global music revenue is down 14% since 2000. CD sales are down markedly, and thousands of record industry employees have been laid off. The article predicts that some behemoth companies will bite the dust, while others may diversify into related areas such as concert tours, TV/movie deals and product merchandising. The article points fingers at various technological phenomena, but ultimately places blame with myopic record company execs themselves.

Interestingly enough, the wee little iPod and iTunes get nary a mention. Apparently the record industry's slide to oblivion started a little bit pre-iPod, when file sharing services such as Napster and LimeWire came on the scene. Instead of looking for cooperative solutions, record companies sought to shut down the services and enforce strict DRM (digital rights management) limits on purchased music. The end result was a losing tug-of-war where high school and college kids did easy end runs around the copyright warnings and download restrictions. Now, late in the day, the record industry is finally learning how to "make nice" with technology. Media companies like NBC are figuring out how to leverage publicity and advertising from short clips on YouTube. A lot of material is given away freely, with subliminal ads embedded.

The Rolling Stone article didn’t mention one thing that plays a part. Music sucks nowadays – maybe my half century outlook is shading my opinion. In the 80’s, we had luminaries like Prince, Madonna and Michael Jackson. We had mega-groups like Duran Duran. In the 2000’s we have anemic wannabe’s like James Blunt or Maroon 5. Music that isn’t terrible is at best, blandly derivative. My fiftyness is probably showing – I remember when old people were putting down “my generation”. Now I guess it’s my turn to be the old wind bag. Somehow, I think my complaints are more legitimate though.

Given that record stores are collapsing before our eyes, where is an honest man supposed to go for his music? I might want the Police greatest hits CD or the new Paul McCartney CD. We have several options:

Online music sites – iTunes and Rhapsody
Online stores -- Amazon.com
Big box stores – Target and Wal*Mart
Trendy cafes -- Starbucks
“Little guy” CD stores

This last category is most interesting. Here in Dallas we have such emporiums as CD World, CD Universe and Blues Records. These little shops have been around a long time – in fact some might even predate the biggies like Tower, Virgin or Sound Warehouse. In days of yore, non-name CD shops were deemed as pathetic little quasi head shops. They now are your place to go if you want something unusual, hard-to-find or merely not in the Billboard Top 50. The little guys are also more likely to have freebies of new groups and local artists. You can unload your old CD’s at some of these places, while expanding your horizons.

Ecclesiastes said, “The race is not always to the swiftest”. Well now we have the proverb played out in front of us – the tortoise has out lapped and outlasted the hare. Do I miss Tower Records? You bet – I liked the endless rows of songs I could choose from, as well as the zany people at the checkout counter. But the internet is a “virtual” record store with a gazillion aisles. Instant downloads give instant gratification if you’re willing to forego the CD case and packaging. No brick and mortar store could hope to compete. There are times when I want that really obscure song or local artist; CD World beckons. I may smell some incense and have a 60’s flashback while I browse. So be it. I’m not bothered too much – this is after all what happens when the Meek inherit the music.

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