Has the Internet DESTROYED the music industry...

...or has the music industry simply not capitalized on the Internet? I'm spinning this off the KISS re-issue discussion thread to help it stay on topic. But what do you think? Most of us who are collectors and big music fans seem to be in agreement that the 'Net, while a useful tool, has actually done more harm than good.

What say you?

Arttie
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Age : 34 Joined : 06 Mar 2007 Posts : 3552

The net has helped me find and have contact with bands I never would have before its advent. I say it's a good thing overall, but you just might never have the mega-sales for the big bands again.
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Man in Morph Age : 40 Joined : 08 Apr 2007 Posts : 7749

I think the jury is still out. There probably will be more bands but will any last and will they be able to put out the discography of the past if they have to keep other jobs?
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Well, I know if it wasn't for the Internet exposure helping to expand the fanbase, a lot of the heavy metal CD's you see in FYE would not be there in stock today. At the same time, they won't sell as many and therefore earn the success to keep doing it in the future, because of the downloading and all. And because the media has suddenly decided, for no real apparent reason, that CD's are obsolete.
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Age : 34 Joined : 07 Apr 2007 Posts : 2195

Most damage from the Internet has been self-inflicted by the music industry. Yes, illegal downloading has hurt. But when the recording industry likes to way overcharge for music, that is the natural byproduct. The costs of recording are not that high today. If the music industry wished to, they could sell MP3's for $0.49 each. Most music fans would pay that $4 to $6 for a digital album. But when the record companies want $9 - $11 for a digital album, which requires no costs for manufacturing and distribution, that is robbery. I'm not justifying illegal downloading. I'm just saying the record industry makes it awfully easy for people to justify it when they charge so much for a record download. They don't need that kind of profit.

As for the Internet....my gosh...where would I be without it?! I wouldn't have 75% to 80% of my music collection without it. I've found long lost gems from the past. I've discovered new bands that I never would have seen at my local record store. Most of the bands in my catalog have the Internet to thank for their sale of a record to me.

So, in my opinion, the Internet has been a HUGE positive, and where negative, its mostly a self-inflicted wound. I have not one bit of sympathy for the entire industry.

Joined : 09 Oct 2007 Posts : 287

They also could have tried harder to keep people buying hard copies of discs by dropping the price to 10 bucks..they could have done that a loooooong time ago. Personally I will always buy hard discs but I do use Itunes to download certain stuff i.e Stryper MBP or a certain song off of a soundtrack that my wife wants etc instead of going out to buy the whole disc. I think the internet has it's good and bad the good is artists can promote themselves rather cheaply and get their music to more of a worldwide audience without the juggernaunt of a record label.

Mission Of One Age : 38 Joined : 03 Jan 2007 Posts : 4928

I say that the Internet itself has kept the music industry alive regardless of genre. The web puts fans and artists together to interact that they never could before. Fans can search and find music in the styles they like without having to depend on what the programmers at the local radio stations play. Artists can market themselves more to the people they want to reach--and without the interference of record execs.

The downloading of illegal music coupled with flooding a market with less than stellar groups to just have product on the shelves is what is hurting the music scene. I'd rather buy 20 great CDs a year than 60 okay ones. Pushing artists to create their best rather than just pushing them for deadlines is never going to help bands to write their strongest songs.
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Age : 21 Joined : 18 May 2007 Posts : 2710

While the industry has it's own problems, the pricing aspect is one problem. The bigger problem traces not only to pricing, but to a general change in perception on every side of the market. People start downloading free songs off the internet (songs, not albums) and the response from bands and labels is what we've discussed: flooding the market with much shallower products and overcharging for it.

The downloading craze hurts music because, IMO, it removes the passion on either side of the deal. The passion of the musician who gives up stringing together a cohesive release and the passion of the consumer to actually hold the effort in their hands. This cheapens it to a good song that we've got locked away in our computer somewhere.

I can see why people would download for free though, since it's mindboggling to pay for something you can't physically hold unless you carry your hard drive with you or something. But I still think there should be something different in place than just downloads. Artists should be responsible and encourage their listeners to buy a physical copy (which is part of the experience).

The internet is helpful for finding CD's you can't find anywhere else, hearing about bands you typically wouldn't hear about in most other media (which is especially relevant to a lot of us here) and to listen songs or watch videos. But like most things, it's clear abuse is hurting all sides of the industry...and it is not all the fault of the label.
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Age : 39 Joined : 28 Feb 2008 Posts : 124

my band would be nowhere were it not for the internet.

Age : 33 Joined : 09 Apr 2007 Posts : 671

"diversity of entertainment options" has killed the music industry just like it has killed the movie industry, TV ratings, comics sales, etc. etc.

There is no money in music anymore, which kinda puts the industry roughly back where it was in the 40s/50s/early 60s or so. A tiny number of big stars and a large number of musicians not getting paid.
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Play it LOUD!! Age : 51 Joined : 06 Jan 2007 Posts : 11093

This is a

Good thread topic. Twisted Evil

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*Real* life interferes.

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Age : 49 Joined : 06 Apr 2007 Posts : 292

Absolutely not it has great enhanced my metal greatly. One thing though it has hurt the big record companies which is good for the greedy aholes. The internet has allowed all of us I'm unsure with such huge amounts of band otherwise not known if not for internet!

Wargod48
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Joined : 12 Mar 2007 Posts : 929

Not only "big" companies, whom most of us posting here don't buy a lot of material from anyhow... but also small companies, more of whom you would think have good intentions towards bands and helping the scene, etc.
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Joined : 06 Apr 2007 Posts : 239

No internet = No heavy metal.
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Mentally Yours Age : 36 Joined : 06 Apr 2007 Posts : 770

Age : 33 Joined : 06 Apr 2007 Posts : 4825

Basically, the "music industry", and those involved in it and the way it has worked in the past, have completely and utterly failed to capitalize on it. They've failed to understand the change that has occured in the consumer psyche, and they have faile dMISERABLYin their attempts to "get with the times".....you can't "half do" something, and expect people to just GO with it. You're either in, and change, or your withered carcass will be left mummifying in the desert. This is EXACTLY where the "old guard" is headed. All the litigation and legislation in the world can't put the lid back on Pandora's box...It's too little, too late, and half of THAT just harbors negative feelings and resentment.

Now, there are NEWER people in the uindustry, who saw this stuff coming, and got into it on the ground floor. With myspace, you can get your band "out there" without the labels. You can get fans in areas of the world you will likely NEVER see in person. You can get online distribution, both for files, AND physical products, without ever dealing with an oldschool label. You can sell merch straight off a myspace, or a band website......And actually, sometime in the next week or two, I intend to order a CD and possibly shirt from a band based in Argentina, that I wouldn't have EVER known about without the internet.

Now....I'm not a "collector", either. I don't have a multiple thousand CD collection, or am a band comletist, or anything like it. I've got about 250-ish in the collection right now, and 20-30 on the "to buy" list.....but a little over 8 years ago, the collection was MAYBE 20 discs, I got all my infor from print mags that were 3-4 months behind the happenings of RL, and even then, I had tremendous difficulty finding CDs from half the bands I read about....and THAT was on the SECULAR side of things. Christian metal....forgetaboutit.

It hasn't destroyed the music industry, but is has DEFINITELY changed it......
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Age : 34 Joined : 07 Apr 2007 Posts : 2195

Good post, exo!

Cool Mamma Jamma Age : 52 Joined : 11 Mar 2007 Posts : 361

The music industry as it was, needed to change and still needs to change. It's not about the music anymore - it's just another corporate America business. Therefore the only destruction that has been done is to it's profits.

For the musician, the Internet is, and probably will continue to be, THE BEST form of getting their music out to the masses for exposure and circulation. "Back in the day" it was limited by radio, tours, clubs, and magazines. How would a music fan from a tiny town in Florida ever find out about a band like Nightwish? Certainly not from your local so-called "rock" radio station! Rolling Eyes

Personally, I don't see any real negativity in what the Internet has done for the musician. Yes, the music industry, but like others have said, I don't feel sorry for them at all. When greed or mega-millions is your goal, the foundation is shaky to begin.
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