Quote:
Originally Posted by lefty12357
Another factor to consider is the quality of the products being offered by the record companies. Maybe sales are partly down because of a lack of imagination and foresight on their part as to what artists they sign and what music they promote. I find myself having to go farther afield to find music that interests me. French pop, for example  . |
I keep coming back to this, and I do recognize the differences, but exactly the same thing is happening in publishing. Falling sales and profits over the past decade or more have destroyed such courage as ever existed in the industry. Now, only old established writers or musicians who can almost be guaranteed to sell well can obtain an outlet in the traditional way. It's the kiss of death, because the only way to reverse the decline is to take risks and offer the new and different, but the industries have become so cautious and timid that they have lost the ability to do this. The consolidation of control into a few giant companies is not the cause of this, I think, but a parallel symtom.
Ultimately, the only way out of the bind is going to be the removal of the middleman.