Can the crappy sales really be declared by just the illegal downloading?

[ikke]

What about itunes?
You can just buy the songs you like instead of the entire album and it doesn't count as an album.
In the past you had to buy the entire album even tough you just liked one track.

And youtube has to play a part in it as well. You can just listen to your favorite tracks on there when you don't feel like buying the entire album.

[Nutty]

Definately. Once companies find a way around illegal downloading, which won't happen for a long time, we'll be dooooooooomed! Huge fines won't stop it.

Same goes for the movie industry.

[ikke]

Definately. Once companies find a way around illegal downloading, which won't happen for a long time, we'll be dooooooooomed! Huge fines won't stop it.

Same goes for the movie industry.

I don't think there is a way around illegal downloading.
The companies are just going to changes the game.

I think artist will only release free mixtape digitally then when they want to drop an album they'll just ask fans to donate a certain amount which will become the budget.

That way people will have to buy the album because without buying it there won't be no album.

[MediumL]

I think they can step up how they punish people for downloading. In the UK in a couple years time they're introducing a 3 strike rule for downloaders (with internet connection cut off being the final punishment). However nothing is going to stop people downloading single tunes off itunes and other similar sites.

Tbh artists need to start making better albums instead of making a compilation of tunes that appeal to different sets of fans. Moreover music companies need to stop ripping fans off. They over charge especially to foreign markets and then are surprised when their sales are low. I believe artists and labels will rely more on tour money and advertising money to make their money. Albums will only really be released to maintain the popularity of the artist and value of their cosign to advertising companies.

[BiggBoogaBiff]

there's definitly a way to stop illegal downloading, the companies are just too lazy to put up the money to get involved with the FBI and CIA on this matter.  i mean c'mon tha shit is just so blatantly out there (youtube, limewire, itunes, etc) i mean its not like its some big secret.  they just dont wanna do it bcuz most of the execs are old as shit and could give a fuck less bcuz they're well off and have money for the next few generations of their families.  trust me, if they REALLY wanted to stop this shit they would've stopped it waaay back in tha early 00's, they just thawt they could work around it but it FAILED.  this is big money we're talking about, u dont think some1 from the labels are in on this.  all they have to do is buy a building and make their own cd print shops and use their own money to fund for the distributions, and if some1 from the under-staff (regular employees) leaks it then tell tha sites to take it down, it's literally that simple.  but i think they'll worry about that when the recession is over, right now people need the music.

[Nooc210]

  imo, I believe "illegal" downloading & or file-sharing is a great way for marketing a product. If someones downloading your shit, means you doin' something right...
although in today's economy companies have to 1st of all make their products less cheap & MORE affordable, put a to the increasing output of SHITE products...(especially the Music Industry) & second of all they have to come-to-terms w/ the advancement of technology by making HQ DIGITAL download more readily available than just an iTunes by creating their own sites & forums for their fans, as to gain an instant feedback & insight into what exactly the costumer wants! as well as put a better & more effective stop to pirated material. that shit is flagrant!
but what difference does it make either way like when sales drop NO ONE is REALLY LOSING any ca$sh they are ALL richer than shit! exec's, the artist, everybody involved has way MORE money than they NEED, they just trying to maintain their outrageously LAVISH lifestyles anyway... why do I as a fan want to be a contributing factor in that, especially when all my favorite artist are either dormant or rarely release ANYTHING worth paying for, i.e. Dr. Dre, and if any of my fav's do release something these days it's almost always a BIG STINKING PILE OF SHIT!!

 

[Chamillitary Click]

i would say so, Pac & them sold like 10 million copies & we haven't seen numbers like that since.

EDIT: besides 50 Cent & Eminem.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

Hmmm.....I thought it was the crappy mainstream albums. I honestly don't think the new generation of hip hop fans know the pleasure of listening to an entire, great album. They buy the singles and that's it. And those of us who buy albums aren't a fan of the music being pushed through mainstream channels. I buy mostly underground albums, which of course aren't going to do huge numbers.

[morbidenigma]

lol u dont think anyone make profits for free illegal downloads ?

if everyone stopped illegal downloads the following industries would collapse

file-hosting sites, eg rapidshare, megaupload who make big bucks thru advertising
MP3/DVD/CD players and any other device which plays music eg. in your car
makers of blank CD's/DVDs
pc/laptops sales(downloading is one of the main reasons people buy/use computers)
ISP's (are you really gonna spend 15-20 quid on an ISP of you cant download shit?)
tour ticket sales, which are generated from fans who listen to the illegal downloads in the first place

[Action!]

The internet has changed the industry in a lot of ways beyond the illegal downloading.

1.  you're not longer limited to popular artists on the radio.  you have a selection of aritsts to buy from even if they never get big.

2.  you can buy directly from the artist website or from a variety of websiteswhich most likely isn't being tracked...at least not by soundscan. 

2.  it's easier to buy used material

3.  legal online downloading - itunes, amazon


But most likely illegal downloading is the most popular cause of sales decline.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

The internet has changed the industry in a lot of ways beyond the illegal downloading.

1.  you're not longer limited to popular artists on the radio.  you have a selection of aritsts to buy from even if they never get big.

2.  you can buy directly from the artist website or from a variety of websiteswhich most likely isn't being tracked...at least not by soundscan. 

2.  it's easier to buy used material

3.  legal online downloading - itunes, amazon


But most likely illegal downloading is the most popular cause of sales decline.

I think that is a big reason the "mainstream" hip hop doesn't sell as well anymore. Back then we had a lot fewer music choices, hence sales for those artists were more. I'd bet that the underground hip hop industry is doing better now than it did in the 90s.

[Teddy Roosevelt]

2.  you can buy directly from the artist website or from a variety of websiteswhich most likely isn't being tracked...at least not by soundscan. 

Of course it's being tracked. The artists website isn't an independent seller. It is all being sold on behalf of the comapny or through a third party (Amazon, iTunes, etc) which do track sales.

[Bch]

of course look at eminem numbers before all the downloading and look at his numbers in modern day with the sales of relapse

[Muhfukka]

fuck the jewish record companies, they were overcharging for so many years and loving it. if cd burners and illegal downloading hadnt gotten big they would still be milking every single penny they could, they deserve this shit

[Teddy Roosevelt]

fuck the jewish record companies, they were overcharging for so many years and loving it. if cd burners and illegal downloading hadnt gotten big they would still be milking every single penny they could, they deserve this shit

Yeah, but it's the artists who suffer the most. They already are only making $2 per album that they created. With the illegal downloads they are scraping for pennies, while the record companies are still making millions.