Why can't the music executives just acknowledge that people are tired of hearing terrible music? Develop some talent and maybe we'll consider buying more than 5% of the albums on the Billboard 200.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060122/ap_ ... music_show

CANNES, France - Recorded music sales resumed their decline in 2005, the industry's leading global body said Sunday, despite high-profile victories against piracy and a surge in online and mobile music store revenues.

Global music retail revenues fell about 2 percent last year, said John Kennedy, chairman and CEO of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. In 2004 they remained flat at $33.6 billion, punctuating a four-year slide.

The new downturn, based on data from three-quarters of the global market, underlined major challenges facing record companies as executives assembled for the music industry's largest European gathering, Midem, which is taking place this week in the French Riviera town of Cannes.

The drop in overall sales came despite a threefold increase in digital music revenue to $1.1 billion from $380 million, while illegal file-sharing volumes changed little, according to a separate IFPI market report published Thursday. The federation sees total sales broadly unchanged in 2006.

Record bosses are now having to look beyond piracy to explain the latest decline in revenues, which have fallen about 20 percent globally since 1999.

"Piracy in all its forms has been the major factor in this reversal but not the only factor," said Eric Nicoli, chairman of EMI Group PLC, the world's No. 3 record company.

From what I can tell of my non-indie music friends, they don't download that much to begin with. They have maybe an album or two, but that's it. But they're also the kind of casual fans that, if they didn't download, they just wouldn't listen. It wouldn't drive them to go out and purchase the cd.

The biggest downloaders seem to be the biggest aficionados, like people on this board. And, from the sounds of things, I'm not the only one who still purchases more cd's than I should, despite downloading on top of what I buy.

I've got to find me this pirate ship that's out there selling cheap cd's.

there's really no good bands or artists that are putting out good stuff on majors lately, so we have to factor that in. little pop punk bands and emo bands are selling huge numbers and bands like arcade fire and modest mouse and franz ferdinand kinda opened up peoples eyes to somewhat indie bands.

also, fuck the music industry.