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The Record Business Is Not The Music Business

Volumes have been written on the troubles facing the music business: illegal downloading is decimating sales, broadcast radio’s dominance as a promotional tool has bee diminished by new media, music creation, distribution and discovery is now in the hands of the many rather than the chosen feBroken_recordw. All are causing seismic shifts in the music business.

The problem with this doom and gloom is that they are talking about the record business and not the music business.

Other sectors of the music business are doing quite well, thank-you.  People are still flocking to live shows.  Almost anyone can shoot and video and there have never been so many outlets for showing them.  Merchandise sales are up and online stores extend their value beyond the live show. A large musical middle class is emerging that is not constrained by the major label industrial complex.

So the next time someone says the music business is hurting, please correct them.  The record business is hurting.  The music business is doing just fine.

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1 Comment

  1. First things first, I want you to know that I love hypebot and read it religiously as an up and comer to the business. And almost every time, I agree with you.
    That being said, I’d like to argue your distinction between the record business and the music business, and perhaps challenge your definition of both. I would like to point out that there is (I believe) a difference between music culture and the music business. Things like the activity of going to a live show is part of music culture. The emerging musical middle class and the new outlets for sharing creativity are part of music culture. The way these things become monetized is what comprises the business aspect of things. These kinds of things are now improving the music business along with all of the other conventions that make up the Music 2.0 that you commonly (read: primarily) write about. But when people say that the music business is hurting, they are almost certainly referring to what we consider to be the old model of doing business. Because it’s not just recording a record, it’s how artists are managed and the traditional definition of the ‘label’. It’s the whole process, and most importantly, the revenue. So I guess the best way to sum up the way that I see it is that new aspects of music CULTURE are emerging that will help improve the music BUSINESS. But the old model of the music BUSINESS is hurting, not just the business of producing records (the record business). Does any of that make sense?
    Just a friendly counterpoint. Keep up the good work!

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