written by Jeff Leeds. Read the whole thing here.
Some excerpts and commentary...
“If we get two songs out, we get a shot,” said Vatana Shaw, 20, who formed the trio four years ago, “Only true fans are buying full albums. Most people don’t really do that anymore.” -- good for country with more loyal and reliable fans
...buyers of digital music are purchasing singles over albums by a margin of 19 to 1.
Because of this shift in listener preferences — a trend reflected everywhere from blogs posting select MP3s to reviews of singles in Rolling Stone — record labels are coming to grips with the loss of the album as their main product and chief moneymaker.
In response, labels are re-examining everything from their marketing practices to their contracts. -- move 10x as fast on these issues as you are now to maybe have a chance
Many music executives dispute the idea that the album will disappear. In particular, they say, fans of jazz, classical, opera and certain rock (bands like Radiohead and Tool) will demand album-length listening experiences for many years to come.-- Agreed, but with whole new business structure and marketing techniques
Executives maintain that they must establish more lasting connections with fans who may well lose interest if forced to wait two years or more before their favorite artist releases new music. --Couldn't agree more, now how are you going to do it?
While music labels labor to build careers for artists that are suited for albums, he added, “You have to create an almost hysterical pace to find hits to sell as digital downloads and ring tones that everybody’s going to want. It’s scary.” -- You may need a hysterical pace to feed the old business model and structure but that structure is going away. Also, I wouldn't worry about the ringtones as a reliable business. People will (and already do)make their own. Labels should not count on any sustainable income from ringtones.
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