http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/ Engadget Comments for Digital sales overtake CDs at Atlantic Records, music pie in general shrinks http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/
]]>Nov 26th 2008 9:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 9:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/
Can't relive youth sometimes.]]>Nov 26th 2008 10:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 4:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 9:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 9:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 9:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/And then there was this letter:
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic/

I think he has more of a clue than you do.]]>Nov 26th 2008 9:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Actually, your statement is typical of the people always making excuses for Jobs. A letter means diddly squat. That letter is as sincere as when you hear tv anchors and politicians saying "our hearts and prayers are with you." Yeah right.

If Amazon can do it, so can iTunes. Even Walmart sells their music DRM-free. So, what makes Apple so special? ]]>Nov 26th 2008 10:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Not really. The iTunes store may be one of the first online legal music stores, but the Jobs letter was in response to pressure being exerted by the EU to get the iTunes store more open to other players by broadening the DRM. Check the dates and you will see it is true. EU press release first, THEN the Steve comes out against DRM open letter.
Apple then started selling some DRM free tracks, but it took Amazon working with EMI and a few others to get all the big names to agree to DRM free music downloads. So no.. Apple are not the instigators here.

If anything, the change of management at EMI to someone outside the usual music industry people was what opened the floodgates. EMI made it known they were open to reassessing the whole DRM issue, and the others were anxious not be seen as the last one to the party. This paved the way for Amazon and other smaller outfits to offer DRM free music from major artists. In a few years, Apple may end up being be the only ones with DRM tracks, and specialised software needed to load their player.

]]>Nov 26th 2008 2:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 9:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/
I am purely just interested as Hip-Hop blogs tend to create controvosy in general ( eg "Wu-Tang Clan were better then A Tribe Called Quest" or "2Pac is SO overated" etc), so I am just wondering what the problem with these songs are?

Sorry for the strange question!]]>Nov 26th 2008 12:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 9:57AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loosing]]>Nov 26th 2008 10:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/
Thanks!]]>Nov 26th 2008 10:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/
The music industry will have to learn to deal with the new paradigm, but that does not correspond to revenue or better music.

]]>Nov 26th 2008 10:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 10:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/---
While many pundits asserted that loosing tunes via tiny downloadable files would instantaneously cause the deep-pocketed record labels to crumble as piracy ran rampant, the numbers tell a different story.

In fact, music sales overall have declined from $14.6 billion in 1999 to $10.1 billion this year, and it's expected to shrink further.
---

Basically, the way I read this:
1. Music companies said they'd makes less money if they started going to more digital downloads
2. Music companies went to digital downloads
3. Music companies made less money

I understand that Atlantic is making a higher percentage of their sales via via digital download, but nowhere in the article does it say that Atlantic's overall sales are up.. just the % of it's digital sales versus hardcopy stuff...

Am I right or not?!?]]>Nov 26th 2008 10:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 10:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 4:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/compare this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-7mH9yTiRo
and this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-AYAv0IoWI

to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDFEoCOhRZQ]]>Nov 30th 2008 12:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 10:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/
I still wax nostalgic for the days of VINYL and my first Atlantic LP (the "Beat Street" soundtrack/album)...I used to think it was so cool to see the "swirl" next to the "A" spin as the record turned.]]>Nov 26th 2008 11:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 11:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 11:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/
And yeah, I'm not paying almost as much as a CD costs for 192 kbps mp3 versions of something I can rip to 256 Ogg, keeping a verbatim copy if I ever decide Ogg is not good enough.

The Last.FM group I Still Buy CDs has 37.000 members, so I guess CDs are the norm among melomaniacs (http://www.last.fm/group/I+Still+Buy+CDs).]]>Nov 26th 2008 12:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/
Anyway, fuck 'em and their boring music: I dload all my music for free anyway, because it's mostly from little known artists that make underground stuff. I couldn't buy most of here in New Zealand even if I wanted to because I'd have to import it.]]>Nov 26th 2008 11:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Take into account that, if people don't buy those bands' albums, labels will never see them as profitable, and will therefore keep producing the same crap.]]>Nov 26th 2008 12:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/
The format I grew up on, and I take a certain pride in my CD collection. Its like a decoration to me.

And nothing beats putting a new CD in the player, turning it to the max, and letting it flow through your head.

However, speaking from a Hip-Hop point of view, providing downloadables as the main way of receiving songs may help the underground artists instead of pouring money into the pockets of the shockingly bad 'rappers' you hear on the radio.

Maybe it wont, but we can only hope!]]>Nov 26th 2008 12:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/
The majors are at a stage now where they are chasing profits at as many digital "partners" as possible. This is working for the short term, but the restructuring required for them to be able to REALLY realize the profits that are possible for them in the digital world is a ways off. It's going to take patience "'til the old dies off". People must realize that major labels provide major amounts of jobs that may be outdated, but very expensive and painful to relinquish.

The process will be slow, but hopefully "in their next lives" their infrastructure will be one that is expandable rather than fixed -- or at least somewhat more able to adapt. The technology exists today (think storage area networks at the label/artist level, aggregators/widgets/apps/websites at the retail level, "always-on/always-with you" broadband connections at the consumer level) to allow major profits (regardless if revenue, or "the whole pie" in dollar amount, is smaller in the short term) to be made, but until the majors shed the cost-baggage of the 90's, we'll have to settle on celebrating milestones such as this.

In due time the digital pie will be bigger than the CD pie was:

Only 20% of the world is connected to the internet today.]]>Nov 26th 2008 12:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 1:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 5:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 26th 2008 5:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/
Excerpt:
The record industry as we know it is dying. But the music industry is healthier and more vibrant than ever, with limitless possibilities for change due to the internet and the digitization of music. The Future of Music will show you cool new ways to find music and connect with your favorite artists. Discover top-10 truths about the music business of the future and how you can benefit from the explosion in digital music, today and tommorow


I read this book. and seriously, I think EVERY major label owner should read it. If you were to follow the plan laid out in this book, artists would make double if not more of the profit than they make today. Major record companies would not make as much money as they mostly make money from the distribution of music. With digital downloads an artist is not forced to sign away a percentage of potential profits to go towards covering the cost of distribution leaving the door wide open to take in earnings from publishing, and performance rights. THIS IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. take the power out of the label heads and put it in the hands of each and every individual artist. I totally recommend picking up this book and read the first chapter, if that doesn't get you interested in reading the rest of the book then I'm not sure what will get you to see that the current system for the music industry is becoming more and more outdated.]]>Nov 26th 2008 8:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/
Until I see less crap and more FLAC http://flac.sourceforge.net :
...I'll be buying the CDs. If the CDs aren't available, neither are my funds.

Some of the more progressive artists 'get it':
http://www.everythingthathappens.com/order.html
Lossless options. Otherwise, why bother? Anyone can make MP3s, Oggs and AACs. I need proper sources that *at least* match the quality of that disc invvented in the 80s, otherwise why go backwards?

The 'industry' as it stands now, in general, swindles users for digital downloads (virtually no distribution or packaging costs, no stock issues, etc sure should amount to a fairly significant discount, if we are being logical); people are simply getting so much less for their dollar.

]]>Nov 26th 2008 9:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/26/digital-sales-overtake-cds-at-atlantic-records-music-pie-in-gen/Nov 27th 2008 7:45PM