How the Collapse of CD Sales Crashed the Music Industry (w/ Jim Barber)

In this episode, music industry veteran Jim Barber and I discuss how the collapse of physical CD sales in the absence of social media created "The Era of Faceless Bands".

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[davesrvchannel]

I owned a music store from 1993-97. You wouldn’t believe the obstacles I ran into in those 4 years. You needed Billboard magazine to know what to buy. A year subscription was hundreds of dollars. Cassette tapes became phased out, leaving tons of dead inventory. CD’s still growing, so having to buy artists on both cd and tape, was expensive. Walmart selling cheaper than I could buy from wholesale. Then Circuit City, Best Buy came to town. I got out before Napster, which gave it all free. That was the death of the music store

[derkeheath]

I still buy CDs. My teen daughter used to make light fun of me until she started to collect LPs. She noticed that she would pay anywhere from $20-35 dollars per LP and the CD editions only cost $5-$12 (and often had extra tracks not on the LPs), so now she collects CDs.
CDs are just so much more practical than LPs - you can listen to them anywhere. The only thing I miss about LPs is the large artwork.

[goopah]

My father and I would rarely admit to enjoying each others' music, so when he finally broke that silence by telling me certain songs I was playing that he enjoyed, I didn't try to further piss him off. That was never the goal. Instead, I would try to find even more common ground. It became a great challenge, trying to figure him out, and what I loved that he also enjoyed. I thought it was a great honor to have his approval. He once came home and 'caught' me listening to one of his old albums, and he never said a word, but I could tell he was pleased. I'm 63 now, and I really miss him.

[aaronclift]

It's pretty telling that social media sites refer to music and visuals (video and photos) as "content" rather than calling them art. That tells you everything you need to know about how modern audiences are being conditioned to appreciate art.

[darryldouglas]

One of the reasons is because back then there was nothing else to do. I’d read every word on the album cover. I knew who some of the producers and engineers were! 😂 Pre internet, 3 TV channels and my parents weren’t big on magazine subscriptions. Remember those?

[maxdamiann]

Still buying CDs. Couldn't give a flying fck what people are doing. Love CDs, the sound quality, the liner notes, the physical feel, the price, collecting them. The list goes on. Long live CDs...

[wolvessparefarley]

Yes! Listening used to be a much more intentional activity. You paid attention. Hours spent on the bed, gatefold album open, liner notes and lyrics out. That was the visual stimulation that went along with the music of the day. Miss those days, but cherish the memories and routines of my youth that, if subjected to today's listeners, would never be fully appreciated (they'd get bored soooo quickly sans screen).

[wraithby]

Growing up in Boston, and going to university in the area, there was nothing like going to Harvard Square and Central Square, checking out records at the Coop; or Kenmore Square checking out the locally owned record stores. This hands on experience was half of the music experience. You talked to the record store guy about records, you fingered through the albums. You discovered new musicians by album covers and what was playing in the store... Miss all that.

[jrodtr]

Burned CDs is a major factor that doesn’t get talked about much in these conversations. More people had PCs and the speed got much faster by 2005. My band Taproot was on Atlantic Records, and we would do signings at record stores, and kids would literally bring burned CDs to the stores to have us sign them, which was not only offensive to the band but to the store. This was when I knew the revenue was definitely going to drop out of the music business.

[chad_mackinson]

Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
In my mind and in my car
We can't rewind, we've gone too far.

[kabongpope]

Discogs is even better than Wikipedia for getting to the details of a given record, and IMO a better place for it. Some folks have been transcribing the full notes for some albums, and it's an amazing resource, especially when the damn record companies don't put the proper information on the releases!

[TheNudeBrewer]

I think the best liner note gag in history was Twisted Sister. The guitarist thanked the maker and the strings, the drummer his sticks, etc. And Dee Snider thanked Vidal Sassoon hair care products! lol And always with the line "are you listening, Vidal?" And then, after 3-4 albums (2-3 of which were big/massive mainstream hits), the liner note now said: "Dee Snider no longer uses Vidal Sassoon products. You blew it, Vidal!"

Lol omg... I laughed for a week when I read that. And no one in the last 25+ years will ever have an experience like that.

[LoudApeNation]

There is a direct correlation between the death of the CD / physical media sales and the rise of concert ticket prices. Would love to hear the inside of that.

[MusicdocMT]

Best quote of the week "make better records"....cheers

[gusgreen]

"There was so little information about bands that you studied liner notes." That one line took me back in time.

[dalekayine]

This honestly just made me sad. I started playing drums in 1999. I was 14 years old. The death of physical media and music videos really affected music. I still play drums to this day but at the peak of my "career" all this was happening and made it even harder.

[goh]

These conversations about the evolution of the music industry are fascinating. Keep them going.👍

[colleenmarin]

I stopped buying CDs when the only place around selling them became Wal-Mart and Target. Now I buy my Depeche Mode and Erasure CDs on pre-order when I first hear they're dropping a new album. I don't even know if things like singles with alternate mixes on them still exist. And I don't buy digital versions because I don't have a smartphone. I miss browsing music stores

[Angelicus-pp]

The last minute of the interview: So true! Tons of great tunes that never get heard. Top hits are not the only good music. Also if you are huge, your new song gets overwhelming airplay and becomes a hit even if it's only so-so.

[youevil]

I used to love the little booklets that came with cds. It was so exciting to find lyrics, artwork and photos of my favorite artists.