[BC] RIAA and music sales

[Bill Sepmeier]

We aren't buying as much music because .... it 
sucks. About time somebody said it!  Time spent 
listening to radio falls off for the same reason, probably...

***

NEW YORK (AP) - Music executives love to blame 
illegal downloading for their industry's woes. 
But, based on the results of a new nationwide 
poll, they might want to look in the mirror.

Three-quarters of music fans say compact discs 
are too expensive, and 58 percent say music in general is getting worse.

"Less talented people are able to get a song out 
there and make a quick million and you never hear 
from them again," said Kate Simkins, 30, of Cape Cod, Mass.

Ipsos' telephone poll of 1,000 adults, including 
963 music listeners, from all states except 
Alaska and Hawaii was conducted Jan. 23-25 and 
has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The music industry has spent several years in 
turmoil, as downloading and the popularity of 
iPods upend its traditional business model. A 
total of 618.9 million CD albums were sold during 
2005, sharply down from the 762.8 million sold in 
2001, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

At the same time, 352.7 million tracks were sold 
digitally in 2005, a category that wasn't even 
measured five years ago. Digital sales of music 
and ring tones offer new revenue opportunities, 
but often at the expense of more lucrative CD sales.

Although buying music digitally hasn't exactly 
become widespread ? only 15 percent of poll 
respondents said they have done it ? there 
appears to be a growing acceptance of this type 
of transaction. The poll found that 71 percent of 
music fans believe that a 99-cent download of a 
song is a fair price or outright bargain.

The industry would be wise to embrace 
downloading, said Greg Hoerger, 42, of 
Minneapolis, who suggested that customers could 
receive five or six free downloads from an artist when they buy a CD.

For fans like Hoerger and Simkins, buying a CD 
for about $20 is no bargain. They'd rather 
download one or two favorite songs to their 
iPods. The digital music revolution also has 
other benefits, Simkins said: with the iPod, she 
no longer has to have cassettes or CDs cluttering her car.

Many fans also say they just don't like what 
they're hearing. It may not be surprising to hear 
older fans say music just isn't what it used to 
be when they were growing up. But the poll also 
found that 49 percent of music fans ages 18-to-34 
? the target audience for the music business ? say music is getting worse.

"Even if our parents didn't like how loud rock 
'n' roll was, or that it was revolutionary, at 
least they could listen to some of it," said 
Christina Tjoelker, 49, from Snohomish, Wash. "It 
wasn't gross. It wasn't disgusting. It wasn't 
about beating up women or shooting the police."

Overall, music fans were split on why music sales 
have been declining for the past five years: 33 
percent said it was because of illegal downloads, 
29 percent said it was because of competition 
from other forms of entertainment, 21 percent 
blamed it on the quality of music getting worse 
and 13 percent said it was because CDs are too expensive.

FM radio is still the main way most fans find out 
about new music, according to the poll. Television shows are a distant second.

Rock 'n' roll is the most popular style of music, 
cited by 26 percent of the fans. It runs 
neck-and-neck with country among fans ages 35 or over.

Rap music is the source of the biggest generation 
gap. Among fans under age 35, 18 percent called 
rap or hip-hop their favorite style of music, the 
poll found. Only 2 percent of people ages 35 and over said the same thing.


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