1 edit | reply to McRat
Re: This site is like one huge megatroll I'm going to show my age here a bit, but CD's not only didn't come down in price compared to vinyl, they actually went up. In the mid-'80s, you could buy most albums for around $8.00 on LP, but the CD versions were priced around $15. The record companies said this was because there were only a limited number of manufacturing plants operating at the time, but as soon as more came online, the price of CD's would drop back to that of LP's. Everyone knew that was a lie then, and, in hindsight, we were all right. It WAS a lie.
And I'm sure the record companies want to blame lower sales on piracy. I can give them a better reason. Not only is mainstream music these days worse than it used to be, the big broadcasting companies, in an effort to squeeze more profits out of their stations, have pretty much destroyed commercial radio in this country. How does that tie in to record sales? Back in the day, people often discovered new music on the radio. You'd often have one or more DJ's who you liked because they would introduce you to new music you'd never find on your own. These guys really were experts at what they did. However, employing them cost money, so the big broadcasting chains got rid of them in favor of automation systems that were programmed by some consultant who supposedly knew what people wanted to listen to. Now you got to listen to the same "market-tested" rotation of the same songs that they played a few hours ago, over, and over, and over. In the past, stations reported their playlists, which were at least partially driven by listener requests, to companies like Billboard, which prepared top-40 lists, which stations' music directors looked at when creating their new playlists. In this way, listeners, through their calls, could affect the music on the air, pushing more popular songs to the top of the charts and weeding out the duds. Now, I challenge you to find a station that takes requests. So, if there are no requests, what input do listeners have in the programming process? None. The whole thing is driven by what the consultants, often influenced or outright paid by the record companies to play their music, say should be played. And given the record companies' track record of producing shittier and shittier music, you can see where this process ultimately leads. Do this long enough, and people stop buying your product, which is exactly what is happening. You can spend as little or as much money as you like buffing and polishing a turd, but, in the end, it's still a piece of shit. |
