Yes, kids who are too young to remember vinyl, the format of music you grew up with is celebrating 25 years of domination. But for how much longer can/will the CD dominate? It’s hard to guesstimate, but not hard at all to see that the mp3 format has changed things so significantly as to cause enough damage to the CD as to make it obsolete sooner than later. We now live in an iPod world where it’s all about the instant gratification. Fine by me. If it forces bands and labels to rethink the whole structure, as in makings album not 60-plus minutes long and getting down to the real nitty gritty – great hit singles and less chaff – who am I to argue? Back when vinyl was the standard, it was a big deal to have a double album. When the CD took over, it was odd if you didn’t have more than 15 songs trying to fill every last second of the disc.
If you could take the new business model, and bring back genuine artist development and such and not wait four years between albums so bands can either stagnate or their rabid fans lose interest while cookie cutter bullshit artists are sent out in droves just to capitalize on money that will be lost in the long run, I think the music industry could regain some footing. An honest pricing system wouldn’t hurt either. No one really thinks that $19.99 for a single CD at FYE is a good deal, or that $17.99 is a “sale price.” Oh, and you also have to stop treating the older consumers such as myself like we don’t matter anymore. We’re the ones who are in it for the long haul. The kids being catered to through NOW compilations aren’t the demographic that’s going to mean squat when it comes down to it. And lastly, the RIAA needs to just fucking stop suing everyone as if they really cared about the artists. No one’s ever bought that lie.
