You know physical retail is on its last legs when Bruce Springsteen creates a special product for Wal-Mart.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s like there’s a flood and everyone has retreated to high ground.\u00c2\u00a0 In this case, the one location that seems able to sell physical product.\u00c2\u00a0 But it’s really more like a drought.\u00c2\u00a0 The consumer is no longer raining money.\u00c2\u00a0 And it’s even worse, there’s not enough food at Wal-Mart.\u00c2\u00a0 Bryan Adams’ album didn’t sell there.\u00c2\u00a0 Not everything moves in the big box store.\u00c2\u00a0 Not everything is moving period.<\/p>\n
Pete Wentz is in every gossip blog known to man.\u00c2\u00a0 The tiny dork is now part of the Simpson family and just like with his sister-in-law Jessica, the public is losing interest.\u00c2\u00a0 Fall Out Boy’s "Folie A Deux" not only didn’t debut at number one, it fell into the chart at number 8, selling a whopping 110,000 fewer copies than last year’s effort.<\/p>\n
As for Web-craziness, Soulja Boy’s album debuted at number 43, selling less than half of his previous effort, a measly 46,000 in total.\u00c2\u00a0 AND THIS IS CHRISTMAS WEEK!<\/p>\n
Blame it on the economy.\u00c2\u00a0 Be my guest.\u00c2\u00a0 Bury your head in the sand.\u00c2\u00a0 But sales were off before it turned out the Wall Street masters of the universe were raping and pillaging our country, creating undervalued derivatives comprised of mortgages that people couldn’t pay.<\/p>\n
Yes, they’re not going to buy CDs either, but they will still acquire music.\u00c2\u00a0 Digital files.\u00c2\u00a0 Albeit for free.<\/p>\n
This is the end my friend.\u00c2\u00a0 This is the last hurrah.\u00c2\u00a0 And the record business does not employ enough people to warrant a government bailout.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, GM has been mismanaged for even a longer period of time, but by digital standards, the record companies were exposed to the canary in the coal mine first.\u00c2\u00a0 But they’d listened to too many hard rock records to realize the chirping was gone, they only heard the tinnitus in their ears.<\/p>\n
No one’s got any sympathy for the record companies.\u00c2\u00a0 Who are now in land grab mode, their 360 deals no different from kings hoarding the goods of peasants.\u00c2\u00a0 As for the acts…\u00c2\u00a0 Too many had lifestyles equivalent to the Wall Street players.\u00c2\u00a0 Consumers like supporting your music, they’re not so happy about financing your lavish lifestyle.<\/p>\n
But musicians think they’re immune.\u00c2\u00a0 Very few remember the pre-Beatle days.\u00c2\u00a0 When stardom did not mean vast riches, diamond selling albums, private jet lifestyles. They just can’t believe they’re not entitled to wealth.\u00c2\u00a0 So, when record sales tanked, they just raised ticket prices, as if the public didn’t notice.\u00c2\u00a0 But it’s interesting, people only want to pay a lot to see the legendary, classic acts.\u00c2\u00a0 Or maybe the new ones once.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re not building any infrastructure.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re just throwing crap against the wall.\u00c2\u00a0 And now our cupboards are bare.\u00c2\u00a0 The audience has moved on.\u00c2\u00a0 They’d rather buy wiis.\u00c2\u00a0 They deliver more entertainment value.<\/p>\n
Sales last week were off THIRTY THREE PERCENT from the equivalent week last year.\u00c2\u00a0 If you can find a silver lining in this fact, you probably believe Bernie Madoff is going to take it all back on Passover, saying he just wanted to play a practical joke on his investors.<\/p>\n
The record companies, the publishers, they’ve made music free.\u00c2\u00a0 All in the name of saving it, of protecting its value.\u00c2\u00a0 Good work guys.\u00c2\u00a0 And now even your pension money is in jeopardy, you had to put those double digit millions somewhere.\u00c2\u00a0 You fucked it up really good.\u00c2\u00a0 You said people would rather listen on physical discs.\u00c2\u00a0 You thought music was best when it was ten tracks for almost twenty bucks.\u00c2\u00a0 You thought the iPod was overpriced and then demonized Apple for creating an online market to capture some digital sales money.\u00c2\u00a0 You deserve to lose your jobs.\u00c2\u00a0 Your companies should be turned over to twentysomethings who know how people truly acquire music these days.\u00c2\u00a0 You were building the equivalent of SUVs for years, but now the bottom has fallen out.\u00c2\u00a0 Because people don’t want overhyped product with very little lasting satisfaction at the center.<\/p>\n
It’s a new day.\u00c2\u00a0 The future paradigm is how does one get people to listen to your tracks from the vast assembled multitude of music they pay very little for.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s a heyday for listeners, everything’s at their fingertips.\u00c2\u00a0 The labels could have monetized this acquisition, if only they’d owned up to reality.\u00c2\u00a0 But if you never used Napster, how could you realize how great it was?<\/p>\n
You can’t sell CDs in defunct Circuit City stores.\u00c2\u00a0 You can’t sell them in the indie shops that have gone under.\u00c2\u00a0 Wal-Mart may move some product, but it’s taking fewer titles.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s like a game of musical chairs.\u00c2\u00a0 Sony’s happy AC\/DC broke through, but nothing else has.\u00c2\u00a0 Time to change the game.\u00c2\u00a0 Time to stop running for the hills and to build a boat.\u00c2\u00a0 Time to realize the nineties are over.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, MTV not only isn’t airing any music, its numbers are tanking and it’s banking on reality shows.\u00c2\u00a0 They missed the Internet too.\u00c2\u00a0 Stop looking at your old partners and start dealing with reality.<\/p>\n
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