Major Label CEO’s & Wall Street Offer Varied Views Of Industry’s Future
"In the long term, this is going to be a very strong industry. The short term will have mixed results, and there have been some tough years, but as long as there are hits, people will want to buy music." – Universal CEO Doug Morris (1)
"In the next five years, digital downloads will increase sevenfold. Downloads have higher margins than physical CDs, they’re easier to sell and distribute — the industry is going to become more and more profitable." – Larry Haverty of Gabelli Asset Management (1)
"The numbers show reasonable growth in a global music market that is showing overall signs of stability, with an underlying migration of content through digital distribution channels," – Bridgewell Securities analyst Patrick Yau (2)
"We won’t know if we’ve turned a corner until this year’s fourth quarter."That’s when the bulk of sales occur. This is a pivotal year in determining if downloads will offset physical declines." – Andrew Lack Sony BMG (1)
"Sales of iPods and MP3 players are growing, but downloads are slowing. It’s proof there’s going to be a lot of volatility getting to a point where 100% of sales are downloads." – Pali Capital analyst Richard Greenfield (1)
On the 5000 music industry job cuts in recent years:"If you cut too deeply, you don’t have any business left," – Morgan Stanley analyst Patrick Wellington (1)
"The numbers show reasonable growth in a global music market that is showing overall signs of stability, with an underlying migration of content through digital distribution channels". – Bridgewell Securities analyst Patrick Yau (3)
Sources: (1) LA Times, (2)Reuters, (3) Register UK
Re: Larry Haverty’s comment,
Yes, digital music is easier to distribute than physical music. But easier to sell? The jury is way, way out on that. I don’t think digital songs are any easier to sell. You’ve still go to build awareness, and that takes time, skill, money and sometimes luck.
Re: Patrick Wellington’s comment,
A lot of jobs have been cut or farmed out in manufacturing, which won’t be needed in the shift to digital.