NPR: Record Labels Say 2002 Another Lousy Year

[snarkyman]

You can listen to the original story in Real Audio format: Record Labels Say 2002 Another Lousy Year

I composed an email response to NPR about this, though I don't think they'll read it over the air, so here it is:

I feel I must comment on this story. While the RIAA likes to blame their problems on music piracy, George Ziemann completed a unique statistical analysis of the the RIAA's own figures. RIAA's Statistics Don't Add Up to Piracy.

The page shows that while the RIAA's number of releases have dropped 28.8% from 1999 to 2000 and 2001, the number of dollars earned per release increased 41.6% from 1999 to 2000. These figures do show a decrease of 4.9% for 2001, however. This decrease for 2001 can easily be attributed to the state of the economy, the 9/11 attacks and even poor planning by the RIAA. But it does not add up to piracy.

Thus, even though the number of album releases dropped, the income per release has increased. The RIAA profit margin is quite safe.

Now a personal comment. There is very little of the drek released by the main-stream record companies I want to buy. I'll admit, I have downloaded many tracks from Napster and Kazaa, but many of the ones I downloaded are tracks I already own on vinyl or CD. I also rip mp3's from CDs I already own for the convenience of the mp3 format. Those few songs I download that I don't own are frequently from records that are out of print or are not available in the US.

That said, I still do buy CDs, as recently as yesterday. The CDs I buy are usually from small labels and relatively obscure unsigned artists, where I know that most of the profits from such sales go directly to the artists, not into the linings of RIAA executive's pockets. I also try to buy from local independent records stores rather than the large chain stores.

The real issue that the RIAA fears is it's own extinction. Once artists realize that they can sell their music as CDs, mp3's or whatever, bypassing the RIAA and even standard record contracts, the RIAA will become a relic of a bygone era. The RIAA is destined for the trash bin of history, much like buggy whip manufacturers once the Model T became the standard mode of transportation.

Bruce Davis
Medford, MA

Comments

It just don't add up

[sapphorlando.livejournal.com]

I've been trying to figure out all year why RIAA is on this anti-piracy kick. They know the figures don't add up, and they probably know that most artists know that, too (or at least their managers). It also makes them look bad. And if they somehow did manage to squash audio piracy, it would not actually benefit them financially. So I keep asking: What's in it for them?

The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics exhaustively outlines the state of the consumer economy over the last 10 years or so. Beginning well before '9/11', we were already gliding steadily into recession. In the wholesale manufacturing sector (which includes mass-market music and related products), layoffs began more than twelve months before the first plane hit. By the end of 2001, nearly 30,000 people had been laid off in this sector; hint: they were not all laid off in the last quarter!

Apparently, Clinton took his Midas gloves home with him, leaving Bush with an economy that went into a skid as soon as he got behind the wheel. Neither terrorists nor pirates are to blame. Yet the picture isn't even as bad as RIAA is painting it. The reality is that the entire US economy took a hard punch in the last 18 months. Estimates range from the high 7% range to the low 9% range, depending upon who's counting what and how. That means that statistically, a business posting a 'loss' of 4.6% actually gained over that period. Not a lot, but still positive.

As I read the BLS stat charts, it seems that while employment was in freefall and wages were in a steep dive, the consumer price index for nonessential goods only dipped about half as much. Translation: More people were making less or nothing, but CDs cost about the same as before; result: less CDs sold. I mean, fuckin' duh. Audio pirates, my ass. Most people during that period who'd be inclined to steal music either did so because they had no other option, or they didn't even have access to the means to steal music. Either way, RIAA's case is completely without basis.

Studies other than the one you note either show that piracy is not linked statistically to declined industry sales, or, in fact, the opposite: The ability to access a broad range of music at little or no cost actually stimulates sales, by increasing exposure. And we all know that exposure is the most critical factor of success for any music artist.

The reality may in fact be that RIAA and their industry cohorts have Napster to thank, more than anyone else, for cushioning their fall over the last two years. (Or is anyone really asinine enough to suggest that MTV still provides any help nowadays?)

I personally think that the deeper truth is that the market has some time ago figured out how to weather the storms by forced mainstreaming, so that only a very small percentage of artists ever make the big time, and those who do get all the candy. They have already mastered the art of forced-culture marketing; all that remains after that is to winnow out the select few who will get the big push and go on to become big successes.

Let's be honest: Would a band like Slipknot really be as big as they are if a truly open market had the ability to choose?

[number42.livejournal.com]

Very well put. I also know of a couple of bands that I was turned onto via mp3s. I have since purchased their discs.