The Death of the Physical Album
Over the past decade the entertainment industry has changed
completely, more specifically the way artists make money has changed the most.
According to Billboard,
Album sales have dropped over 12.8% since 2011 decreasing from 373.9 million
units to 326.2 million units. The introduction of online markets it has made it
to where a customer can buy one single track instead of a full album, which has
caused artists, record labels, and record stores to be either be forced to give
up a life long dream or be put out of business. Many consumers now days are
able to listen to an entire album for free via Pandora Radio (a live streaming
service) without paying a dime. The artists are getting paid for each “play”
they receive but really artists barley make any money on streaming their music.
The music industry has become a tough environment to become successful in
either you make it big or you are barley making it by. That brings me to my
point, how will artists over the next decade adapt and overcome the “one song
buyer” and the “online streamer?” Artists are already changing and adapting to
it by making their albums more enticing for their fans to buy by adding more
additional content, live videos, or discounts on tickets to a live event. Artists
understand that it is not the albums that will make them money but the live
concerts that will allow them to keep playing music for a living. Adding this
additional content to their albums allows the fans to feel as if they are
getting more for their money and is ultimately attracting more people to their
live concerts. The ability to buy music online, listen to your favorite artists
via online streaming services, and watch them live via a streaming service. According
to Mashable,
record sales dropped over 76% from the
year 2000 to 2010 and is expected to drop another 77.4% by 2016, it makes you
wonder if the physical album will completely disappear over the next few
decades. I come to my last and closing question, “Would getting rid of the
physical album help the artists make more money in the industry if their full
focus was on promotion, viral videos, and live concerts?”
