Has the internet killed the music industry?
John Mellencamp thinks the internet has killed the music industry and that it’ll also kill the movie industry. Do you agree?
Ol’ Johnny Cougar Mellencamp seems not to like the impact the internet has had on the music industry. According to Reuters, the wrinkly rocker recently said, “I think the Internet is the most dangerous thing invented since the atomic bomb. It’s destroyed the music business. It’s going to destroy the movie business.” Mellencamp also commented on the quality of compressed music:
“He recalled listening to a Beatles song on a newly remastered CD and then on an iPod, and ‘you could barely even recognize it as the same song. You could tell it was those guys singing, but the warmth and quality of what the artist intended for us to hear was so vastly different.’”
Sorry, Cougar, but I think you’re being a bit of a drama queen. Sure, there are risks associated with the internet, but saying that it’s “the most dangerous thing invented since the atomic bomb” is plain silly. Really, it is! And the internet certainly hasn’t killed the music industry. Far from it. What the internet has done is to change the industry, and created new ways in which music can be discovered, promoted, shared and sold. And nor will the internet kill the movie industry. Transform possibly, but not kill. As for compressed music formats being of a reduced quality – well, quelle surprise! MP3, AAC, etc. are lossy compression formats and so, of course, do offer a somewhat reduced sound quality; it’s the trade-off you make in exchange for being able to carry around several thousand tracks on your portable music player.
What do you think? Is the internet the most dangerous invention since the A-bomb? Has it killed the music industry? Or is Cougar crazy?
A very stupid premise on all counts, Mellencap should check himself into the tin foil house. A music format that allows all the highs and lows of voice and instruments would be awesome. It is insane to want or need to carry around thousands of songs. I would rather have full wavelength music even if it meant carrying less tunes.
That is just silly! Most of us still love to watch films in the theatre. The only problem is the price. In a time when much of the economy is in the tank, they continue to raise prices. The only thing that will kill the movies is the greed of the industry.
And I agree that the ‘Net promotes music. The best quality is still on the CD that you buy, or even better, old-fashioned records.
I definately agree that it is the industry, that is killing it for everyone, but the industry itself is using a ruse, stating that they are blaming the Internet and those that use it for their own purposes, and then retaliating by jacking the prices up for movies or music. Lets say this for example. For the independant scene, i.e E-Jays( Dee Jays who create music mixes for everyone, online) they need to get their samples or they stream their samples live as mixes out for everyone to enjoy. This is one major, and easy way to be heard, and this is what gets people to go to their concerts. I’m one for this type of behaviour. Its just the greedy coorperate slicksters that blame the internet for the woes, then increase costs b.c us Downloaders should be punished….
Musicians and Actors/Actresses killed their respective industries with overpriced cds,overpriced movie tickets etc. They sign for millions of dollars and release crap,plain and simple.People tired of paying their hard earned money for 1 song on a cd.
I agree musician’s and the whole industry are just too greedy. How much money is enough.
I am a musician myself, and I think there are way’s to still get promoted on the internet and sell tune’s and tour. The rich musician’s will just have to make a few million a year instead of 100′s of million’s. One more thing fan’s should not idolize them like God’s. Sure clap enjoy the music but there is no need to loose it. They the musicians and writers are still just people, some are whining rich people, however they are still just people, not Gods.
Very well said!!!
Well, John Cougar Mellencamp may be exaggerating, but as a person who used to own over 600 albums, and used to buy music regularly, I have to say that it is rare that I can look back to when I last bought a CD. So much free music is available on You Tube and internet radio (listening to iceberg radio now) that one doesn’t have to go out and buy music anymore. All of these people talking about carrying around thousands of songs on their ipods, how many of those songs were actually bought and paid for?
I greatly sympathize with the musicians. While in the past they may have been making obscene amounts of money and people felt “entitled” to make copies because of the high price of albums or cd’s, now things seem to have pendullumed too far the other way.
The question is: If you were a working musician, would you feel that things were really working for you with the way the internet is right now? It does however suggest newer ways of putting music out there. Maybe musicians will need to settle for less money? It’s all in play now.
Just goes to show that greed and controlling things never works in the long run. The people always find a way around it.
Cheers!
Don’t worry about the musicians having less money. Just look at concert ticket prices! Used to be an artist would put out an album, and just maybe they might tour to promote it. Big names used to tour on every second album. Now they are forced to go out on the road and promote albums on extended tours. I have no problem downloading music for nothing when I pay $100 for a concert ticket.
Absolutely the net has contributed greatly to the demise of the music industry. Every year the dollars the industry earns diminishes, I know from where I speak as my entire working career was in that business.
Once money leaves a business it dies.
I have three teenage grandsons who have never purchased music, yet they have all the new songs, it pains me but they are the same as their peers.
I do not excuse the music industry for sticking their collective heads in the sand believing that it would not have the impact that it has.
I think it`s the corperaion that are scared of losing profit.Cd sales aren`t making the bands as much the big suites.Internet isn`t killing music,it opens doors for styles to grow and for bands to get heard outside their areas.I download some songs from a band,for the ipod .If I really like it I buy the cd for a hard copy ,and quality in some music,Mr mellencamp should write a song about his woes and who knows,maybe make a buck.enjoy
The internet has not kill the music and movie industry but just make it accessible to every one, anywhere from the world. It is the best thing ever for them. It must stop thinking and doing times like the good old days . If it doesn’t except the change and adapt to it , it will find itself in serious trouble like the auto industries for example the big 3loser G.M,CHRSYLER and last of all Ford motors.The good thing about the internet is that people like me can even buy music and movies in the middle of the jungle and watch it or even in the desert.
I don’t believe the internet has killed the music/movie industry. If your talking about illegal downloading, I may be able to see your point, but the internet has also opened up things like Itunes where you can buy movies and music. And as far as quality goes, i don’t believe that there is much of a difference. Music quality burned on a disc sounds the same as music played on the computer, and as far as tapes go, there quality isn’t much better, if any better at all.
I don’t think he was referring to the business model, but I do agree with him that there is a whole generation out there now that ‘doesn’t know what they are missing’ with regards to sound quality.
Amazing responses…
Yes, of course the Internet has killed the music industry; you’d have to be blissfully ignorant to have missed that happening, I’m sorry.
But, it has killed the industry AS IT WAS, and not completely due to pathetic audio fidelity and most certainly not due to “rich musicians” and their expectations. I mean, seriously….do people realize how little pop musicians (or any kind of musicians) actually make compared to their purveyors/distributors (i.e. the real industry)?? Apparently not.
The problem lies in what has replaced the old music industry, which is so far pretty abyssmal – crappy sounding music by crappy artists played on crappy toys and at crappy venues.
How do I know it’s all crappy? Because I’ve been a musician for over 30 years, and I’m sorry kids but you don’t really know what you have til it’s taken away from you sometimes.
The reason you have a world full of Hannah Montanas and Justin Biebers is because these kinds of garbage are: easy to manufacture, easy to sell, and in a devalued marketplace it’s all the “industry” will take a big chance on feeding you. Mellencamp is 100% correct.
The only ones losing money are the big record companies.The musicians don’t make a lot on each record sold.They still have to go out on tour to feed their families and that is as it should be.The record companies have to come up with a new business model or they will disappear.
backhander and bob are absolutely right.
i am in the music industry. the first to get paid is the corporation. the last to get paid is the musician.
when the revenue dries up for cd’s, the musician ends up not being paid.
i don’t believe the internet has killed the music industry per se. what killed the industry was the fat cat suits (loan sharks) at the labels who absolutely refused to move with the times. these complacent and otherwise failed businessmen reacted by 1)attacking music lovers to try and scare them away from a new format
2) attacking the new format directly (shutting down napster) instead of joining forces with it
3) muscling in on the live performance revenues by raising ticket prices to make up for lost cd revenue (consequently robbing musicians of a significant amount of money)
4) taking point no. 3 and applying it to merchandise ( diminishing an artist’s percentage, as well as inflating the prices).
5) reducing nearly all investment into artist development, while only investing in absolutely safe, bland product that has been approved only by the bean counters who know nothing about music (their talent lies in numbers, not music)
meanwhile, the cost of making an album remains the same (which is then paid entirely by the artist, NOT the record labels). the cost of touring remains the same (also paid entirely by the artist). the cost of production (ie. lights, stages, techs etc) remains the same (do i really NEED to say who pays for this?)
labels are corporations. like any other corporation, it is owned and directed by shareholders. and like the many many many other examples in today’s corporate world, the product is weakened, the consumer is gouged, the business is fully exploited to a crippling degree…..and then the shareholders bail (after they have ruined the industry).
this argument that the musicians are greedy and to blame is like blaming the gas station employee for the rising cost of gas!! it is assinine and quite simply uneducated.
on another note, regarding the quality of mp3s.
near the end of the vinyl era, audio quality had reached its zenith. after at least 50 years of practical use and research, the quality rivalled reality.
even the tape format had been around for a long long time. analogue tape was used in all the world’s very best recording studios for a reason. that technology was at the heart of our home tape decks. however, going from vinyl to a home tape resulted in audio degradation.
along came cds, which at the time was derided by all audiophile publications. audio quality was compromised purely for easier mobility, and the bottom line. one little case could carry many cds, whereas vinyl records were much larger, much heavier. for the corporations, cds were infinitely cheaper to make….less paper, less plastic etc.
it is common knowledge that mp3 audio quality does not come close to even cd audio quality. it the reason why there are various choices of mp3s (aac, apple lossless etc). each version is yet another attempt to better the rather atrocious audio quality of this latest format.
even to this day, many artists have their work available on vinyl. it is not simply for the novelty. it costs more to produce vinyl, and the demographic is so small. this is a product for audiophiles concerned about the faithful reproduction of music. they are not 9 year olds listening to throw away beiber music.
and any journalist who thinks the newest music format offers high quality audio (or is even comparable to what was available in the past) has proven that they have done nothing in terms of research. no exaggeration ….
I think the writer’s being a little hard on Mellencamp, he’s only restating an argument that’s been going on for a decade: mp3s vs CDs vs tapes vs records and so on. As for the mention that the Internet “killed” the record industry, I think it has, but as it existed in the 20th century. People don’t purchase music the same way they did 10 years ago, and the record industry was pretty slow to capitalize on it. Ironically Mellencamp is just the sort of musician that would benefit more from releasing and promoting his new music online; radio doesn’t play him much anymore and cd stores probably aren’t rushing to stock their shelves with his latest album (which is pretty good by the way). Facebook, Twitter and Youtube would get the word out far better for him these days.
Avatar is the top grossing movie.The movie industry is in no way in trouble.
First off,if we’re talking about iTunes,the music still gets purchased.
Secondly,dated forgotten musicians such as John Cougar have an entire globe who without the internet would never be heard because they do not get much radio play anymore hence more people can discover them.
Third,when downloading a song or album–legally or illegally–one gets to preview the material and see if they like it and if they do,they’d be inclined to purchase the material because as much as the music is available on the internet,the ACTUAL disc,vinyl LP,cassette or 8 track is still the best source of any artist’s material.
The internet is the best thing to happen to music since the invention of the radio.
Or,Mr.Cougar is suffering from sour grapes because no one is listening to his music even for free…boo-hoo.
The internet in general is changing the access that each individual has to the rest of the world. I see it as being similar to when the spoken word was put into print on a mass basis, except now people themselves in large numbers can put their thoughts out there. Of course it is going to affect the music industry, but quality will always be quality and there is nothing stopping the musician from producing that, it just may not be as financially rewarding. Perhaps we will see small venues again.
I’m sure everyone knows by now that the artists really don’t make much off of thier albums, the tours are where they make thier money ( merchandise etc. ). The internet has actually helped many artisit who wouldn’t have otherwise been heard, to be able to get thier music “out there”. The internet has also helped in getting music to listeners in other countries, thus creating more fans ( just check out the documentary Global Metal ). It is, in my opinion, the record companies that are killing music sales. Even Lars Ulrich now admits he may have jumped the gun with his little fiasco with NAPSTER, as Metallica is now playing in countries where metal is popular due to those fans having access to the music via internet. Maybe Mr.Mellencamp is outdated, when he should be thankfull for the internet allowing his music to be heard by all.
I would love to see the internet weed out a few of the more influential record/movie studios so things can be more about art again. I feel that the studios dropped a nuke on the music industry many years ago, and the internet is merely kicking people while their down.