Can Print Be the Next Vinyl?

One of the more interesting trends in the music world is the “return” of the vinyl LP.  While sales of CD’s continue to fall in the face of digital downloads, vinyl LP sales continue to rise:

Consumers purchased 1.88 million new vinyl LPs in 2008, an 89 percent increase over 2007 and the highest sales volume recorded in the 17-year history of Nielsen SoundScan. Further, in good news for some physical retailers, two out of three vinyls LPs were purchased at independent record stores.    LINK

There are a number of reasons for this, but the most obvious is that the LP is a tangible object that can’t be easily reproduced and can only be shared through a physical, real-world exchange.  For true fans, the LP is a sort of badge of fandom, proof of just how much you love the band.  Compared to a digital download or a CD, the LP is a crafted thing, complete with large-scale artwork and often other inserts.

While it isn’t likely that LP sales will eclipse digital downloads anytime soon, it is also highly unlikely that the LP market will be undercut by piracy.

Could these same factors be a forecaster for the future of printed books and newspapers?  It is hard to imagine that these items, so easily digitized, will be able to maintain their current position on top of the mountain and we are already seeing the rapid decline of the newspaper business.

In the cases of both newspapers and books, it might be that their only hope in surviving over the long-term is to invest in elements that can truly not be pirated.  As David Eggars points out in a recent Salon interview:

I think newspapers shouldn’t try to compete directly with the Web, and should do what they can do better, which may be long-form journalism and using photos and art, and making connections with large-form graphics and really enhancing the tactile experience of paper. You know, including a full-color comic section, for example, which of course was standard in newspapers years ago, when you’d have a full broadsheet Winsor McCay comic. So we’ll have a big, full-color comic section, and we’re also trying to emphasize what younger readers are looking for, what directly appeals to them.     LINK

Now, I am not saying that comics section will save newspapers, but the point is to make the object something desirable to possess in physical form.

For the moment, we are going to see traditional publishers fight futilely to maintain the status quo but the ground is quickly falling away beneath them and it is going to take some innovative thinking about the value of printed matter to keep them in the game.

RIAA’s Battle Against Pirates HURTS Music Sales

It seems that a day doesn’t go by that more evidence emerges that RIAA’s battle against music piracy is both ineffective and ill-advised.

Today’s bit of news is the sort of data that just leaves me scratching my head.  According to a new study conducted by Angus Reid Strategies on Canadian music habits:

While the survey found that downloading still exceeds paid downloads, those downloading were also more likely to buy a CD (41 percent to 34 percent for non-downloaders) and more likely to have attended a concert in the past year (65 percent to 52 percent for non-downloaders).

That’s right.  The very same people RIAA wants fined and potentially jailed are their industry’s best customers!

Honestly, it makes my head hurt to think about how completely misguided RIAA and the music industry have become.

(via)

Related articles by Zemanta

• Is The RIAA’s Record About To Be Smashed To Bits? (dvorak.org)

U2 Understands How to Beat a Pirate

No matter what the boneheads at RIAA try to say, the fact is that music is now a digital commodity and thus it is no longer possible to force people to pay $12.99 for an album when the exact same songs are easily accessible for free – and it doesn’t matter how many people they sue.

Instead, smart bands and musicians are realizing that if they want to make money they are going to have to sell something else instead of just recordings of their songs.  This means more focus on live performance (tough to pirate that) and merchandise.

U2 is going all-out to offer their true fans a reason to pony up their hard-earned cash for a hard copy of their latest album “No Line On The Horizon.”

The box, seemingly inspired by Apple, includes a poster of a seascape photograph by Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto, a DVD of an Anton Corbijn film and a hardcover book with interviews and photographs that document the making of the album. With a shiny mother-of-pearl-effect logo superimposed over Sugimoto’s photo on the CD case and yet another booklet and fold-out poster inside… (via)

This goes along with the interesting trend that sees the sale of vinyl records going up while CD sales plummet.  Offering true fans a real connection and a sense of value is the only way to get them to give you real money.

Related articles by Zemanta

• U2: No Line On The Horizon Album Design (coolhunting.com)
• The New U2 Album Cover Is Very Zen (pitchforkmedia.com)
• New U2 album to come in five ‘flavours’ (ctv.ca)

Kevin Kelly Gets Me Thinking About What I Own

Kevin Kelly has a great post on the notion of moving from an ownership-based world to an access-based world.  Here’s a taste:

Very likely, in the near future, I won’t “own” any music, or books, or movies. Instead I will have immediate access to all music, all books, all movies using an always-on service, via a subscription fee or tax. I won’t buy – as in make a decision to own — any individual music or books because I can simply request to see or hear them on demand from the stream of ALL. I may pay for them in bulk but I won’t own them. The request to enjoy a work is thus separated from the more complicated choice of whether I want to “own” it. I can consume a movie, music or book without having to decide or follow up on ownership.

In many ways, a lot of us are already there.  The truth is I haven’t bought an media in a physical format in ages.  Not a CD or DVD to speak of and even my dead-tree book purchases have plummeted.

Just what has replaced all of these hard-good purchases? My NetFlix subscription, Pandora, Boxee, Stanza, ITunes and all the rest.  When it gets right down to it about the only things I really buy-to-own these days are food and alcohol and I don’t really “own” those for long.

Of course, the idea of a subscription-based life works for goods that have little-to-no scarcity factor it seems less likely that rental will replace all aspects of ownership.

Check out KK’s whole post.

Related articles by Zemanta

• TV to Stream Netflix Videos Directly

Atlantic Records Goes Hardcore Digital and Beats Expectations

Image via Wikipedia

Seems like all I am doing today is citing the NYT.  Maybe they hope that by actually covering the internet they can remain a relevant media outlet…

Anyhow, they have another piece about the challenges facing the major music labels in the digital age.  This has been discussed ad nauseum but they do highlight one fascinating fact that ArsTech also picked up on: Atlantic Records became the first big record label to make more money via digital sales than via CD sales.

The interesting thing to note is how this was accomplished:

“In making that transition to a digital business, the music business has become immeasurably more complicated. Replacing compact disc sales are small bits of revenue from many sources: Atlantic Records’ digital sales include ring tones, ringbacks, satellite radio, iTunes sales and subscription services.”

It used to be much easier to be a record label – just sell records.  Well those days are long gone and for the labels that refuse to accept that fact it’s going to be a fast trip to backruptcy.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Atlantic Records Says Digital Sales Surpass CDs
• Digital Sales Surpass CDs at Atlantic (Tim Arango/New York Times)

Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now

Remember when blank CDs cost a few bucks a pop?  Now, of course, their almost free.  Combine that with the fact that more people are downloading music than ever before and it isn’t surprising to see CDs simply being given away by bands for promotional purposes.

Of course, there is still the issue of distribution.  Distribution of hard goods is expensive.  No way around that.  Unless, of course, you piggyback on an existing platform.

That’s just what rising UK band McFly has done, partnering with a big paper in the UK to put a free copy of their album in every issue of the paper.  Not only can the paper offer a free gift, but the band reaches thousands of potential new fans.

As TechDirt said:

“As we’ve noted in the past, this is a fantastic strategy for both newspapers and musicians. It helps both sides quite a bit, which is exactly what the band sees, noting that they just want to get more fans, and are hoping more will come see them on their latest tour.”

Cool.

Related articles

• McFly announce new album giveaway [via Zemanta]
• Newly Independent Pop Band McFly Gives Away Free CD With Newspaper [via Zemanta]
• Music downloads double in a year [via Zemanta]

Vinyl Strikes Back – CD’s Cower in Fear

Image via Wikipedia

TechDirt has some more news on the resurgence of vinyl LPs:

“Unlike the declining sales of CDs, Vinyl LP sales are expected to grow 60% this year over last year. However, the actual volume of vinyl sold (1 million albums sold versus 450 million for CDs) is very low, so clearly the resurgence is not an indication of a shift in consumer’s primary demand.”

While digital files are great for their flexibility it turns out that there is still something special about buying the record complete with cover art, liner notes and the physical disc itself with real grooves that produce the sound.

This is in important lesson for everyone in a business model that is being threatened by the digital revolution.  Take a hard look at what you’re selling.  It might be time to shift the focus.

Related articles

• Vinyl LPs See A Rebirth In Modern Market [via Zemanta]