Time To Recognize That The Recording Industry Is Not The Music Industry

from the remember-that dept

For a while now, we’ve tried very carefully to not make the mistake that is common in the press (and among politicians) to assume that “the recording industry” (i.e., the record labels) is “the music industry.” The two are quite different. In fact, by almost every measure, the music industry has been thriving over the past few years, while the recording industry is in rapid decline. And yet, the two are regularly confused. So it’s nice to see a new paper come out arguing that it’s time to stop inappropriately using “the music industry” to only discuss or identify a small subsegment of the overall music industry. This is important — because when you realize that the recording industry is only a piece of the puzzle, it suddenly makes you realize that the RIAA does not, in fact, represent “the music industry” at all, but rather a tiny segment of the industry.

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Comments on “Time To Recognize That The Recording Industry Is Not The Music Industry”

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14 Comments
Anonymous Coward says:

Re: ? (Smarmy Comments? Why yes, much expected.)

Indeed.
To me, this phenomenon and course of events are typical both when I stop commenting, or in real life, when I finish a project/job. Typically, people who think they are very smart will attempt to fill the void of my presence with regurgitated comments and half analyzed talking points based on their 15-degree perspective. (Perhaps if the ‘comment that broke the camels back’ could be captured in a picture, it may be perceived as something like this.) At which point, I say, “Okay, sure you’re right, so have at it and prove your point.” I shut up and in turn, successive ideas earn a type of smarmy pretension and various levels of scorn which are very fulfilling and the feeling can’t be bought at any price.

All of which make me feel somewhat pleased inside.

SeanG (profile) says:

I recently blogged about this myself. The RIAA are like politicians. I want to vomit in my shoes whenever I hear a politician claim they are representing “the American People” like they know what we all want and that we all want the same thing. The RIAA and it’s superstar artists do the same thing but they don’t know me, they don’t know what I need and want. And that’s why they are failing. At least politicians get elected.

Adam Wexler (profile) says:

i’ve been saying this for a number of years and glad to see it is being discussed again.

i think a similar dilemma exists in the digital music space, where common perception of “digital music startups” have led others to believe streaming sites right away. yet, there’s plenty of other digital music startups flourishing that do not require hefty licensing, etc fees.

hopefully everybody will wake up to that fact as well!

manicdrums (profile) says:

It's all about perspective...

True, from the Recording Industry’s own point of view, business is on the decline, but a reliable source last year stated that “up to 25% of the current Music Industry business falls outside the existing infrastructure.” And this figure is growing, much to the concern of the establishment. Maybe they should have invested in their futures more wisely?

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