Keeping the music alive
January 14, 2007
First came the death of the 8-track tape, followed by vinyl and cassette tapes. Now music lovers are bracing themselves for several new realities. Could the death of the CD be just around the corner? Will music exist only in cyberspace? And is the revolution in downloading also sounding a death knell for traditional music stores?
Evidence is mounting that the answer is yes:
So the purchase and collection of CDs is getting a little harder -- but while the future of music leans toward cyberspace, experts also feel the CD and the record store will remain a part of the music industry. The song will remain the same, but the shops' roles will be different.
"Digital is the future; there's no denying that," said Patrick McNamara, of Insound.com, an online retailer for independent music. "But I think there also is a large group of people who are always going to want something tangible, to hold a CD, to read the liner notes, to build a traditional music collection."
When it comes to traditional record stores, the next few years will see the survival of the fittest. Even with the increase in online sales, few fans expect well-established local stores like Dusty Groove and the Jazz Record Mart to disappear. With big box stores like Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Target stocking only the chart toppers, such speciality stores are in a position to become even more important.
"We are definitely going to see the demise of the larger stores and will probably also see a decrease in the number of specialty stores, as well," said Steve Jones, professor of communications at University of Illinois Chicago. "The stores that become 'institutions' will survive."
But music fans in Chicago have the upper hand, as the city and suburbs offer a vast array of neighborhood record stores where music rules 24/7, much like the fictional store in Nick Hornby's High Fidelity.
John Laurie, owner of Laurie's Planet of Sound in Lincoln Square, says he is on track to beat last year's sales records, which were the best the store had ever seen. Offering a little bit of everything from indie rock to country and hip-hop, Laurie doesn't stock what's on Target's best-seller list.
"Music stores will be like the neighborhood bar, only we won't serve alcohol," Laurie said. "It's a place to hang out and discuss music and discover something new. As long as people like music, there will be record stores."
Adding value to the disc
For their part, record companies large and small are rethinking the CD and adding more value to the package via DVDs, books and other material.
"By the beginning of next year, none of our CDs will come without added value of some sort, to be accessed when you put the CD into your computer," EMI Music chairman Alain Levy told the London Business School Media Summit in November. "There will always be a need for the physical product -- you're not going to give your mother-in-law an iTunes download for Christmas, but you might give her a box set of classical music."
Big-box outlets continue to sell more CDs, the current hot sellers, than anyone else, online or off. Indie labels are mostly relegated to online retailers and smaller record stores. Over at Chicago-based Thrill Jockey Records, creating specialized CD packaging that keeps buyers interested is the key.
"The market is definitely changing and changing fast," said Thrill Jockey owner Bettina Richards. "Our goal is to really take it to the extreme in terms of artwork and presentation. We just have to find new ways to sell the music as brick and mortar stores struggle."
Insound and Thrill Jockey both recently joined the digital revolution. But there's a catch. Both are separately offering album-only downloads at their Web sites.
"We understand that the artist slaves away at these songs and for them the entire package matters," said Insound's McNamara. "We're a small fish in a big pond -- but working to protect the pond."
And perhaps downloaders haven't given the future of their music collection enough thought. The longevity of downloads as a musical collection is surrounded by questions. Computers and hard drives become obsolete; new systems of delivery will inevitably be born.
"There are no guarantees here," said UIC's Jones. "Anyone who uses a computer knows all to well how impermanent data can be."
For generations of older music collectors, the new impermanence of music stored in an iPod is hard to fathom. Younger music fans say it's only the music that matters and they don't want to be bothered with all the detritus; others feel that downloading music is like handing over money to get what feels like nothing in return.
The new disposableness and impermanence of music troubles Dolly Varden's Steve Dawson, who works at the Jazz Record Mart: "It devalues music and makes it more of a commodity. Maybe that's OK for the pop hit of the week. But a good record is like a valued story; it's full of artful decisions."
As for artists, not releasing music in CD form is pretty incomprehensible. Dolly Varden's new disc is due out in February; Dawson feels even though the entire scenario is in flux some things will never change.
"I make records because I love doing it," Dawson said. "Computers and the Internet will never change that. And I know there are music lovers out there who agree with me."
U.S. album sales in 2006 were down 4.9 percent from the previous year -- about 588.2 million albums were sold in '06 -- according to year-end sales figures released early this month by Nielsen SoundScan.
But digital sales increased by 65 percent over the previous year, with 582 million tracks sold, and digital album sales more than doubled, with nearly 33 million sold.
So overall music sales increased by more than 19 percent in 2006. And who got the most clicks?
How much time is left? According to a survey of music fans ages 18-24, documented last fall in Britain's New Musical Express, six out of 10 predict the CD will be dead in five years.
