Physical music is almost 70% of sales last week and it's #WhatWorks

Not sure how many times I have to keep posting this information; However, it seems that way to many people still think that digital music is the dominate way music is consumed and yet each week over the last several months the numbers show that the total opposite is happening.   I'm reminded of meeting the head of Start Up America, Scott Case, at a DC Tech Cocktail event and after talking to him about the music business he bluntly stated that he and Startup American would be working with any Carbon based business.

Now here we are about a year later and the bottom is digital is finding new lows and physical is growing.  And, I have to ask what and where would the US Economy be today and startups in general if we didn't have such myopic ideas about one of American most important industries, US Made Music?


How much longer can America so called leaders ignore something simply based up their personal taste, I say this because all too often my friends say I don't buy music and ergo the rest of the world must be the same - even when direct evidence is presented to them (i.e.  every Starbucks in the USA has CD's right next the cash register or the fact that the largest manufacture of CD's last year made more CD's than any other prior year.

If we're going to try to figure out what works we'll need to listen to someone that actually knows what they are talking about - Right!

Music sales are down, however is the musicbiz selling it and is Congress helping or hurting?

So the news in Musicbiz for the last couple of day is that compared to last year at this time sales are down. I however look at things another way. Sales are going elsewhere and not until the industry can give consumers something they want the refrain I'm BuyingThis will mean I'm buying something besides music.

So besides the obvious --that not enough good music is in the marketplace, what else is happening?

There is a term in business called capacity restrain* and this is when you have something great however you don't have the fire power to get it out very far if at all. This is where we find ourselves today in the music business. As a distributor I get to sit in on the conversations of many artists bands and labels about project that are coming, in the works, and in the marketplace now.

The number one things they are scrambling for is capitalization.

From the Pressing plants are are now running full time and dealing with the bigger customers first, to the marketing channels that have prices driven up during the 4th quarter economically stopping the independents from even being in the game, our culture is now hi-jacked by Multi-National Entertainment companies that don't export top US artist out of the USA and get us to entertain our own economy to death.

Meanwhile Congress and the Administration do nothing.....From the USMADEMUSIC.org site we can see that there is a bill in Congress that would be a pretty good first step. Well guess what on Oct 14 members of the recording academy will be going to their local Congressional office and demanding a few things and I believe this is another and should be at the top of the list. Supporting US Made Music seems like a no brainer if you are a member of the US Congress. Click to learn more http://usmademusic.org/8-us-music-news/7-lobby-your-local-rep-day-oct-14th

*Factories are getting busier, notably in industries such as auto making and aircraft construction, increasing the incentive to expand operations. Businesses ran at 79.2% of capacity in July, still about a percentage point below the historical average, but at a level that implies some industries are nearing production limits. http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/business/T019-S000-kiplinger-s-economic-outlooks/ PS here the Weekly Music Marketplace sales