jambrose.com

Dr. Bakker uses an objective tone, rational arguments and an abundance of references to show that the traditional music industry is defending its interests with inconsistent logic and rhetoric in “The end of the CD as we know it… Shifting consumer behaviour and changing business models in the music industry”. The article clearly explains the position of the music industry by citing reports by the RIAA and the IFPI that show declines in the sales of CDs, and a detailed explanation of the industries dialogue with the public.

The industry argues that “downloading music is illegal…and unethical, it is hurting the industry and artists… takes away the incentive for creativity… and is therefore harmful for national music cultures.” (Bakker, 2004) He then systematically “deconstructs” these “discourses” to show that although the industry “strengthens the argument that all kinds of illegal activities are harmful”, they “fail to reveal how much downloading contributes to the decline in music sales”.

The author then provides evidence that local artists are showing success in spite of piracy thus discounting the claim that national music cultures are “becoming less diverse”. Radio consolidation, on the other hand is mentioned, although briefly, as a possible negative influence on national music cultures. In fact, a Future of Music Coalition report “clearly demonstrates that the radical deregulation of the radio industry has not benefited the public or musicians. Instead, it has led to less competition, fewer viewpoints, and less diversity in programming.” (DiCola & Thomson, 2002) Although Bakker does reference himself several times in the article, this subjectivity can be dismissed by ample referencing to numerous sources and in one case, six sources for one point. (Bakker, 2004, p.5)

Much of Bakker’s argument depends upon consumer behaviour and the resulting decline in sales of a physical medium, in this case, CDs. He speaks for consumers in general when he suggests “experiencing music (MP3) is by no means inferior to buying music (CDs).” In this rare case, the author does not provide a reference to a qualitative study that examines the value- added features of a physical CD including artwork, photos and bonus materials.

He also asserts that the adoption of portable MP3 players and legal download services is contributing to the decline of CDs sales and that this trend “is most likely irreversible”. This is a recurrent theme in both “The end of the CD as we know it” and “The Move to Artist-Led Online Music Distribution: Explaining Structural Changes in the Digital Music Market” and will be examined later in this essay.

It’s safe to say that the trend of declining CD sales has continued through 2007, according to Soundscan. It’s also interesting to note that digital downloads (legal) continue to rise, even though file sharing is not illegal in Canada (yet). Digital album purchases were up 93%, to 1.98 million, in 2007 and now account for 4.7% of total album sales and track sales also increased 73% from 14.9 million in 2006 to 25.8 million in 2007.

A note on diversity:

A cheezy crooner, a plastic doll for kids, aging rockers, THREE country artists, R&B diva, Nu-metalers, Canadian crooner, and TWO Idol winners. I was happy to see that all the rap and hip-hop was gone!

This does not indicate, however that there is a lack of cultural diversity in the music-listening public. Anyone managing a band should also notice that three of these artists were launched on TV.

Tags: CD sales, CRIA, Digital Music, diversity, IFPI, RIAA, soundscan