This is an outstanding analysis of what has happened to the U.S. music industry since 1973. Here are the facts that jumped out at me:
In 1973, Americans spent $47 per capita -- in 2011 dollars -- on music (mostly 8-tracks and vinyl). By 1978, that figure had risen to $63 per capita (you see, disco really was popular). After that, expenditures declined. In the early 1980s, the average American was spending less than $40/year (again, all figures are in 2011 dollars) on music.
But then CD's were invented. And the economy got better. And spending on music soared. Per capita music expenditure rose almost every year, reaching $71 in 2000.
Since then, however, music purchases have literally collapsed. In 2009, the average American spent only $26 on music.
This analysis makes sense to me, and it is consistent with my understanding and memories of the last three decades. It also makes me somewhat nervous, as I am apparently one of the few people in America who still buys CDs.
Anyway, there is a lot more information in the link. You'll find the whole thing interesting.
The one thing I wish they had talked about in this article was the cost of production and distribution in relation to these sales. I would be interested to see how the costs match up.
ReplyDeleteOf course I believe the best model is the subscription model. All of the album reviews I have done for this blog were done by streaming the music through Rhapsody. That is around 150 albums in about 7 months. That is around 20 albums a month at $15 a month. That doesn't include all the other music I've put on my player or Margaret has streamed or put on her player. Still just counting the albums that comes out to about 75 cents per album.
Yeah, but does the subscription model work for the music industry?
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question and I'm not sure. I have never heard anyone give a good detailed description of how the subscription model works.
ReplyDelete