MixRoom

Music technology today. Is it?

January 14, 2008

“Sales are down… Digital distribution is HOT… New tractors have 5.1…WHAAAAATTAAAA!!!!
By Tomi Pietilä, 13.1.2008

Last week I read from YLE Pop-news (4.1.2008 www.yle.fi) how deep music sales are in the U.S.A. We all know that. It has nothing really new. Anyway, I have to point out few interesting numbers and thoughts from that article.

Seven years ago (2000) total music sales was 758 million albums. 2007 sales was 500 million copies! It makes 36% decreases in total sales. That´s big amount of money. Even in the states. Both physical album and digital album sales are in those numbers. I don´t know Finnish numbers. I only have heard that in Finland we use music as much as Albanians. Yeah, right.

Digital sales are still rising. Not that much as previous year and we have to remember one point. Digital sales can´t cover the loss of CD-sales.

I think there was greatest wisdom in the next line:
“…while music industry has kept focus in digital distribution, they have lost whole generation of young customers who knows how to download music from internet. And for FREE.” (Reuters, AP)

It seems that music industry can´t see this fact…

Next big news for me came right after. I found out that even new tractors have 5.1-surroundsound systems! It is really absurd but that´s true. Technology seems passed music industry in that point. From left and right. Now I´m 100% sure that there is no supply for making the demand. If you want consumer (or music business) to find something, you have to offer it first. I think 99,99% of music producers and engineers are still in 80´s with stereo…

Let´s think about it from technological point.

CD-A is from 1982. Are you willing to buy telephone from 80´s instead of iPhone and put same amount of money into it? Exactly that hard wired phone that you couldn´t take with you. Okay, maybe you did with long cable. You just had to deal with everybody in the same room while you talk with someone…

Consumer electronics has developed so much since 80´s. I want to figure out why product (CD) didn´t made any progress when consumer CD-burners came?

That was quite big crossroad. Consumer made “identical” copy from music. It was also understood as a legal right to make it after they bought musical piece of art. Only because they could!

Still I´m wondering how the music industry can´t see ancient of CD…

Consumers believe that digital copying is a legal right that comes with every piece of music. They are saying it´s right to make “back-up” or they have to put it to computer for their library (and same time free for all friends in internet…). Yeah, RIGHT! Of course they can make the analogue copy to MD or whatever. But quality is not same…

Buy a book. You don´t take a copy of it in case that you lose or break original. No. You buy a new one. And of course that PDF doesn´t feel the same… Music and books are about the same. You are buying a content. Books survived through decades because there are no printing houses in the bedrooms. So, you can´t take exact copy. Yet.

CD didn´t took time as well as books. And picture is having same problems now some 10 years after sound. Democracy has come to music production. You can buy your toolbox with small amount of money and be a producer or artist. Quality you can make with those boxes is amazing. It´s all about you know what to do. Some think that democracy has widened supply. Also they believe that its good for music industry. There might be also different points of view. I think music have had a major inflation. Many ways.

It´s not very big thing when somebody releases new album. Anymore. Computers has lowered treshold of music publishing so much. It seems to be “everyman´s right” or duty to make an album. But computers can´t make a good song. There is still people needed… Fortunately.

Something about technical side. CD-A (16bit/44,1kHz) doesn´t give nothing more than download from i-shop. Resolution is about the same. There is and have been long time formats with way better resolution.

Example DVD-Video. Works in all DVD-players and CD-version you can put on sale in the net. You can have 5.1-surroundsound on DVD with DTS or Dolby Digital. LPCM (24bit/96kHz) is for consumers without 5.1. And that’s hi-res comparing to CD-A. Graphics or photos and videos can be on the same disk. Way more than CD or download. BlueRay and other formats have come and your imagination only limits the possibilities of content. With better copy protection.

Many of us think that it has to be CD because it covers widest range of consumers. BS. It´s underestimating consumer. Now they are buying couple of thousands worth new TV for digital transmissions instead of less than 100€ digi-receiver. And same time salesman is offering hometheater-system almost for free! Who wants CD-player with their HD-television? Even laptop computers don´t have CD-rom anymore. DVD, and probably burner…

Little bit statistics in the end.

88% of Finnish households have digital receiver. 25% of those have multichannel audio setup…

And new tractors have it.