People can talk about the death of the music industry and throw figures around, but nothing brings its demise into sharp focus more succinctly than this graphic plotting sales over various formats from 1973 to 2009.
Eight tracks are but a mere blip of the 1970s, with LPs and EPs peaking during punk and new wave, while CD rose like an erupting volcano from the mid-80s onwards.
Since its towering peak on 2000/1, it’s been downhill all the way for CDs, with digital sales not doing enough to compensate for fast-falling physical sales.
Not a good time to be in the music industry then – especially with big acts like Radiohead not even troubling themselves to get them involved.
Happily, the live music scene is alive and well and kicking very hard – and if you were in any doubt about that, come down to the Brixton Offline Club tonight and see two great bands for free!
[Originally published on Wirefresh]
Related posts:
Mrs Mills Experience bring a lively night of music hall singalongs to the Brixton Albert
Offline Brixton Xmas show: Mrs Mills, Sleighed and the Great Bono Competition
Folk Music in America celebrated with amazing free download of 252 songs covering nearly a century of music
Sparkle galore and an early New Year with Misty Miller, Black Honey & The Near Death Experience at Hackney’s Moth Club
My worst ever band reviews in music papers
Oxjam Brixton Takeover 2012 music festival – photos
The death of Our Price records, Brixton Road, Brixton
New music hall sensation, the Mrs Mills Experience, debuts at the Offline Club, Brixton
The chart uses raw revenue numbers, not adjusted for inflation or population.
The chart is labeled “Global Music Turnover” but the data is actually US only.
The real statistics are actually much worse…
Full article here
http://www.businessinsider.com/these-charts-explain-the-real-death-of-the-music-industry-2011-2
It would be interesting to see how that chart has continued in the years since, especially in view of this weeks demise of HMV