By Rik Salmon
The recent announcement that EMI was set to cut up to 2,000 jobs came as no surprise to many music fans. While it could be argued that any business willing to pay this man £80million in return for Rudebox deserves everything it gets, the news provided further fuel to the supposed ‘death of the music industry’ tale we keep hearing so much about.
Ever since the early 1990s, the public has had to pay upwards of ten pounds for an album on CD, because no other option was available. The record labels were all too aware of this and happily maintained the status quo. The rise of high speed broadband connections in the home, however, has shifted the power back into the hands of the consumer.
With the Big Four labels now frantically pointing fingers and sending the BPI scuttling out to do their bidding, the rise of online music downloads has predictably been credited as the primary factor in a downturn in profits. But is it just the case that the majors were simply too slow in reacting to a shift in consumer behaviour, and are now paying the price for not establishing an online presence sooner?
As they belatedly arrive years behind everyone else screaming foul play, they would have us believe that ‘illegal downloads’ are contributing to the demise of a much loved art form. But is the music industry really in such a bad state?
For years now, independent labels have led the way by adapting to the market and actively working alongside music bloggers, sending them new releases to be hosted free of charge online for an ever-growing community. It is this kind of proactive and forward thinking action that has enabled the independents to move with the times, whereas the majors maintain their defensive and uncooperative stance.
With recent developments such as Radiohead’s pay-what-you-like release of In Rainbows, and Prince’s free album giveaway with hip taste-maker the Sunday Mail in support of an unprecedented run of 21 dates at London’s 02 Arena, it is now clear that artists are regaining control and exploring other more lucrative revenue streams than traditional music releases.
So while it’s always regrettable for people to lose their jobs, it’s hard to feel too much sympathy for the crumbling super powers of the music industry because they’ve been lining their pockets for quite long enough.
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