Thom Yorke says record industry will be gone in months

musicismylife78

in a new interview thom yorke says the music industry will completely collapse in a matter of months.

Whats everyones take on this?

I wouldnt take anything thom says for granted. he and the radiohead guys are true revolutionaries. they see 20 years down the line, they always have. way ahead of their time.

Should we all toast tonight to the death of the industry? What will that mean? If in a matter of months everything collapses and the industry is dead?

As I have long argued, and this goes for the band whose website and forum we post on here, it is absolutely insane, for any band to worry about selling physical copies of records anymore. Its a waste of energy and time and money. The fact is, most people steal music, or they buy it legally off itunes. they dont go to the record store. We nay all wish for that time, long ago, I do in some ways, but its gone. it doesnt exist.

turner78

I completely agree with you. The way I see it buying any physical copy of a lp is a niche market now, which only helps the Live Nation/ Ticketmaster monopoly.

red mos

Here is my take: I think the industry will still be around but few and far between. I say this because indie labels or smaller labels may be around, but bands can now put their music out themselves via myspace and websites.

It's kind of hard to tell when it will happen, but with MTV'S/ VH1 focused more on reality tv programming so music has become secondary, and it's usually in the after hours of 10pm to 6am when they show something music related..
I think labels may still be around because for bands to make a living touring, they have to have someone funding their tour expenses but rather the deal is worth it remains to be seen.

Napster opened the floodgate for free music / or purchasing digital downloads like on Itunes. Digital technology has taken over.

Bands have already started to do things like sell shows live from tours for 10 bucks or 15 for physucal cds.
Some bands do meet and greet packages for a big sum of money or sign stuff at shows.
It's going to be really weird watching where this all goes.

dpmay

if physical media ever really dies i will miss it. i just spent like four hours backing up a shit-ton of digital music files, and it's cool how much new shit i have ...

... but looking at a computer is absolutely nothing like flipping through my vinyl looking for something to spin, or, shit, even looking at all my cds and playing one.

with bands i truly love, or new groups i wanna really get into, i still want something on my shelf.

Pepe Silvia

radiohead doesn't have a record label and they still release physical products. i have no clue how much it costs to press vinyl but any band can make their own cds pretty cheap. really the money comes in with distribution and paying for the studio and editing/mastering

musicismylife78

dpmay wrote:

if physical media ever really dies i will miss it. i just spent like four hours backing up a shit-ton of digital music files, and it's cool how much new shit i have ...

... but looking at a computer is absolutely nothing like flipping through my vinyl looking for something to spin, or, shit, even looking at all my cds and playing one.

with bands i truly love, or new groups i wanna really get into, i still want something on my shelf.

i know what you mean, but its sort of a seperate issue. somewhat. if physical copies of albums were cheap and the record industry didnt cheat and exploit both the customer and the artist, this wouldnt even be that much of an issue really. Physical media changed. it changed because of the internet obviously and the rise of the reliance of modern society on technology, but a huge part is the sort of middle finger the average music fan gave to the record industry. they felt they were being abused and taken advantage of and staged an unbelievably successful revolt.

and i think you are probably right, just as their will always be people who want a physical copy of a newspaper or magazine, even as we seem to be heading to a time when that is not the norm, you will have people who buy vinyl especially. but ultimately it is a niche. a successful one, but a niche noentheless.

musicismylife78

i guess what i am saying is, there are few people who would disagree with Thom on his statements. anyone who has a pulse can tell you about the dramatic decline of the industry. But the thing that interests me, and i think why the thom interview got some ink, was because of his insistence that the industry would be dead in a few months. thats staggering to think about, even for me, who is well versed in the financial and pr woes that have plagued the industry for a decade.

dpmay

yeah, the death of physical music is a different issue from the death of the record label. i guess i really don't give a shit about lablels as long as i can still get vinyl (and cds, sure) from my favorites.

and ohbytheway, i'm also one of those weirdos who still prefers the newspaper in print. haha.

in any case, i do not think record labels will be completely gone so soon. how will people get their american idol CDs, and so forth?

catefrances

hes a funny bugger that thom yorke.

Thoughts_Arrive

catefrances wrote:

hes a funny bugger that thom yorke.

Is he from New Yorke?

catefrances

musicismylife78 wrote:

in a new interview thom yorke says the music industry will completely collapse in a matter of months.

Whats everyones take on this?

I wouldnt take anything thom says for granted. he and the radiohead guys are true revolutionaries. they see 20 years down the line, they always have. way ahead of their time.

Should we all toast tonight to the death of the industry? What will that mean? If in a matter of months everything collapses and the industry is dead?

As I have long argued, and this goes for the band whose website and forum we post on here, it is absolutely insane, for any band to worry about selling physical copies of records anymore. Its a waste of energy and time and money. The fact is, most people steal music, or they buy it legally off itunes. they dont go to the record store. We nay all wish for that time, long ago, I do in some ways, but its gone. it doesnt exist.

it does exist. i know this cause it is the only way i buy music.

jervin007

As long as my Indie store exists I will support it. I hardly ever download music. Something about having a wall of cd's that people can look at instead of surfing my music library on my computer appeals to me.

I do put them all on my computer however, because it is definitely convenient.

Lifted

catefrances wrote:

musicismylife78 wrote:

in a new interview thom yorke says the music industry will completely collapse in a matter of months.

Whats everyones take on this?

I wouldnt take anything thom says for granted. he and the radiohead guys are true revolutionaries. they see 20 years down the line, they always have. way ahead of their time.

Should we all toast tonight to the death of the industry? What will that mean? If in a matter of months everything collapses and the industry is dead?

As I have long argued, and this goes for the band whose website and forum we post on here, it is absolutely insane, for any band to worry about selling physical copies of records anymore. Its a waste of energy and time and money. The fact is, most people steal music, or they buy it legally off itunes. they dont go to the record store. We nay all wish for that time, long ago, I do in some ways, but its gone. it doesnt exist.

it does exist. i know this cause it is the only way i buy music.

haha. i'm with you on that one. not to mention, i would imagine the majority of the older demographic are still buying physical copies of their music. my parents wouldn't even know how to go about illegally downloading music. while there is certainly some truth to what thom has said, i think some in this thread are taking it way too seriously. the important fact here is that cd's and records aren't going to disappear in a few months, they'll be around for a while. so while we can sit here and discuss the fall of the record industry, it will really have no effect on our lives. if anything, prices are just going to drop for those of us who still buy physical albums.

keeponrockin

jervin007 wrote:

As long as my Indie store exists I will support it. I hardly ever download music. Something about having a wall of cd's that people can look at instead of surfing my music library on my computer appeals to me.

I do put them all on my computer however, because it is definitely convenient.

Yeah, I buy physical, but listen to MOST of it on my iPod.

musicismylife78

ultimately this is the same discussion i have on here every so often, the same players spouting the same stuff. if you want to believe it still exists, cate, go ahead, but its a time that will never come back. you are never going to NOT convince people to download, and its not just a few radical people doing it, its millions, billions of people doing it. so theres that.

additionally, you are high if you think the scene at the local record store is anything like it was say 20 years ago. or even 10 years ago. The idea of the record store being a place to find out about new bands and to congregate with fellow music obsessives, that stopped being the case years ago.

Ultimately, there are always people who are going to buy physical copies. but as I said it will be niche. buying physcal copies of cds is niche right now.

justam

Well, if it's TRUE, and only a few months away, we'll all be here to see it and talk it about won't we? :geek:

I'm curious about how things are going to be in the future. What will young bands do? How will they get an audience? WHERE is this all heading?

musicismylife78

keeponrockin wrote:

jervin007 wrote:

As long as my Indie store exists I will support it. I hardly ever download music. Something about having a wall of cd's that people can look at instead of surfing my music library on my computer appeals to me.

I do put them all on my computer however, because it is definitely convenient.

Yeah, I buy physical, but listen to MOST of it on my iPod.

most people of our generation, dont even listen to cd's. most download illegally or buy legally on itunes. either way, the primary way music is listened to and store is either on computer or on ipod.

Wolf At Bay

First, the music industry is run by huge corporations with many many other revenue streams other than music, so the big-business-music-industry we all know and despise will not be collapsing any time soon, because they have tons of money to keep beating the dead horse with.
Second: sure, as someone said, its so easy for bands to self release these days - but a lot of indie labels have a following and a sort of "street cred" that will keep them going. These are the guys benefiting from the rise in sales of vinyl. Not to mention that even with all the tech and resources available to record and self release a record, its still a bitch, so bands are still going to sign deals just because it frees up there time to do shit like, you know, write and perform music.

keeponrockin

musicismylife78 wrote:

keeponrockin wrote:

jervin007 wrote:

As long as my Indie store exists I will support it. I hardly ever download music. Something about having a wall of cd's that people can look at instead of surfing my music library on my computer appeals to me.

I do put them all on my computer however, because it is definitely convenient.

Yeah, I buy physical, but listen to MOST of it on my iPod.

most people of our generation, dont even listen to cd's. most download illegally or buy legally on itunes. either way, the primary way music is listened to and store is either on computer or on ipod.

Yeah, most of mine is done on the iPod stereo (I'm 19), however, I have physical copies of all the music on there. I like having a CD collection... Looking through someones iTunes is not nearly as exciting as looking through a real CD collection.

BinauralJam

I work for Sony Music, have since 92, it won't be gone in a few months, but perhaps in a few years. Without the record industry how would new band make it? mtv is a joke, Facebook and other such outlets still don't have the connections to venue's that the record industry have, there's an old business proverb, it's who you know.

MANKIND

i buy more cds now more than ever

Jack_C_Gregory

musicismylife78 wrote:

The idea of the record store being a place to find out about new bands and to congregate with fellow music obsessives, that stopped being the case years ago.

There is a documentary called "I Need That Record" about the state of the independent record stores across the U.S. At one point they talk to Pat Carney from the Black Keys and he said the independent record stores were very helpful in getting people into the group. He goes onto say that the first time they played at Sonic Boom in Seattle, there were 100 people there to see them because that particular store was spinning and promoting their record so much.

On a side note, I actually do find out about new groups through some of the record stores I go to. I can't tell you how many times I have gone to make a purchase and the cashier looked at my CD and said something along the lines of, "Did you know the guitar player from this group produced a record for so and so," which in turn leads me to new a new group.

veddertown

Thom Yorke has a few fair points but he's also a bit of a bell end!! The record industry may have flagged as far as sales of physical copies goes but since the birth of itunes my friends who rarely bought music before because they couldn't be arsed now buy loads. The industry will survive through the latest trend getting big and everyone else copying it until it is done to death. Then something else comes along. It's always been that way and always will. Even when all the nu-grunge emerged everyone copied it... :shock:

musicismylife78

WeaponX655321 wrote:

musicismylife78 wrote:

The idea of the record store being a place to find out about new bands and to congregate with fellow music obsessives, that stopped being the case years ago.

There is a documentary called "I Need That Record" about the state of the independent record stores across the U.S. At one point they talk to Pat Carney from the Black Keys and he said the independent record stores were very helpful in getting people into the group. He goes onto say that the first time they played at Sonic Boom in Seattle, there were 100 people there to see them because that particular store was spinning and promoting their record so much.

On a side note, I actually do find out about new groups through some of the record stores I go to. I can't tell you how many times I have gone to make a purchase and the cashier looked at my CD and said something along the lines of, "Did you know the guitar player from this group produced a record for so and so," which in turn leads me to new a new group.

my point is still valid though. a record store once attracted a certain type of clientele and its employees were also very specific. a record store was very different in 1992 than 2010, and its pretty obvious to anyone who has visited any record shop in the last few years that things are different. I picture a record store, and i picture the store from empire records. friendly and knowledgeable staff. music obsessives. a place to get tips from staff and fellow customers on what cool bands to check out, a place to gather and talk, discuss and listen via store headphones.

That store doesnt exist anymore. Not like that, not like it used to. Why drive 10 minutes to a cd store to get a cd for 20 bucks, and why ask for music recommendations when you can do it all online, on this forum, on pitchfork, on stereogum. without ever leaving the house.

catefrances

musicismylife78 wrote:

ultimately this is the same discussion i have on here every so often, the same players spouting the same stuff. if you want to believe it still exists, cate, go ahead, but its a time that will never come back. you are never going to NOT convince people to download, and its not just a few radical people doing it, its millions, billions of people doing it. so theres that.

additionally, you are high if you think the scene at the local record store is anything like it was say 20 years ago. or even 10 years ago. The idea of the record store being a place to find out about new bands and to congregate with fellow music obsessives, that stopped being the case years ago.

Ultimately, there are always people who are going to buy physical copies. but as I said it will be niche. buying physcal copies of cds is niche right now.

well how can i NOT believe it exists when thats exactly how i buy my music. i wander into record stores rifle through the stacks and buy what i want. personally i dont care if people download their music from itunes and i wouldnt even bother trying to convince them to do otherwise.

saying buying physical copies of CDs is a niche market is bullshit. what do i base this opinion on??? well for starters, the number of record stores i frequent. if it were a niche market then i doubt thered be as many. sure given enough time being able to buy music in a physical form may disappear, but right now and for the foreseeable future, that ability isnt going anywhere.

tcaporale

catefrances wrote:

musicismylife78 wrote:

ultimately this is the same discussion i have on here every so often, the same players spouting the same stuff. if you want to believe it still exists, cate, go ahead, but its a time that will never come back. you are never going to NOT convince people to download, and its not just a few radical people doing it, its millions, billions of people doing it. so theres that.

additionally, you are high if you think the scene at the local record store is anything like it was say 20 years ago. or even 10 years ago. The idea of the record store being a place to find out about new bands and to congregate with fellow music obsessives, that stopped being the case years ago.

Ultimately, there are always people who are going to buy physical copies. but as I said it will be niche. buying physcal copies of cds is niche right now.

well how can i NOT believe it exists when thats exactly how i buy my music. i wander into record stores rifle through the stacks and buy what i want. personally i dont care if people download their music from itunes and i wouldnt even bother trying to convince them to do otherwise.

saying buying physical copies of CDs is a niche market is bullshit. what do i base this opinion on??? well for starters, the number of record stores i frequent. if it were a niche market then i doubt thered be as many. sure given enough time being able to buy music in a physical form may disappear, but right now and for the foreseeable future, that ability isnt going anywhere.

In my town, three record shops have closed down recently. Maybe it hasn't specifically happened to you, but it's clear that record buying (not to say I'm against buying records; I love having a record in my hands, along with the fact that I enjoy playing CDs in the car) is slowly but surely dying.

In terms of what Thom said, I doubt he actually thinks it will collapse in months; he's known to be a little overly grim and dramatic at times.

Jack_C_Gregory

musicismylife78 wrote:

WeaponX655321 wrote:

musicismylife78 wrote:

The idea of the record store being a place to find out about new bands and to congregate with fellow music obsessives, that stopped being the case years ago.

There is a documentary called "I Need That Record" about the state of the independent record stores across the U.S. At one point they talk to Pat Carney from the Black Keys and he said the independent record stores were very helpful in getting people into the group. He goes onto say that the first time they played at Sonic Boom in Seattle, there were 100 people there to see them because that particular store was spinning and promoting their record so much.

On a side note, I actually do find out about new groups through some of the record stores I go to. I can't tell you how many times I have gone to make a purchase and the cashier looked at my CD and said something along the lines of, "Did you know the guitar player from this group produced a record for so and so," which in turn leads me to new a new group.

my point is still valid though. a record store once attracted a certain type of clientele and its employees were also very specific. a record store was very different in 1992 than 2010, and its pretty obvious to anyone who has visited any record shop in the last few years that things are different. I picture a record store, and i picture the store from empire records. friendly and knowledgeable staff. music obsessives. a place to get tips from staff and fellow customers on what cool bands to check out, a place to gather and talk, discuss and listen via store headphones.

That store doesnt exist anymore. Not like that, not like it used to. Why drive 10 minutes to a cd store to get a cd for 20 bucks, and why ask for music recommendations when you can do it all online, on this forum, on pitchfork, on stereogum. without ever leaving the house.

A record store with a knowledgeable staff, with tip savy employees and customers, and with headphone booths still exist. You have, in essence, described the record store I still go to.

dpmay

musicismylife78 wrote:

That store doesnt exist anymore. Not like that, not like it used to. Why drive 10 minutes to a cd store to get a cd for 20 bucks, and why ask for music recommendations when you can do it all online, on this forum, on pitchfork, on stereogum. without ever leaving the house.

getting out of the house is fun. talking to people face to face is fun. alternatively, sitting on a computer is tedious and tiring - i know, i'm doing it right now!

i think your larger point about record stores hurting is valid, but there are still some good ones left.

musicismylife78

dpmay wrote:

musicismylife78 wrote:

That store doesnt exist anymore. Not like that, not like it used to. Why drive 10 minutes to a cd store to get a cd for 20 bucks, and why ask for music recommendations when you can do it all online, on this forum, on pitchfork, on stereogum. without ever leaving the house.

getting out of the house is fun. talking to people face to face is fun. alternatively, sitting on a computer is tedious and tiring - i know, i'm doing it right now!

i think your larger point about record stores hurting is valid, but there are still some good ones left.

ultimately we see things differently. you see it one way, i see it another. the point i think though is that, record stores are dwindling and are losing serious money. That is beyond dispute. If you accept that cd sales have dwindled every week and every year since 1999, and you accept that record stores are closing at fast rates as well.

yes, obviously some record stores exist. but i think you are personally on lsd if you can type with a straight face that the record store hasnt changed in the last decade, dramatically.

You talk to that local indie store you keep mentioning. they obviously are doing well enough to stay open, but i would bet their sales have drastically dwindled since 1999 and more so in the last few years. I bet they say not as many teens come in to spend their allowances on new releases, and I bet they mention that their customer is different than say 10 years ago.

Will there ever be a time when no one reads or buys actual physical copies of newspapers? Probably not. People will want to hold it, feel it, feel the print on their hands. But things have changed, and the Times and the Post and whoever will freely admit that their buisness is now more taylored to online sales. Thats just fact.

Ultimately you can live in lala land and think the record industry, or the buisness of record shops is stellar and booming, or you come to the conclusion thats fact, that record shops are dying out and the act of buying physical cds is something that is way less common than it was

Lets be honest. You are a 13 year old male in 2010. You did all your chores for the week and you get 20 bucks for allowance. In the past, some teens may have rushed to the local mall or cd store and got a cd. I would wager, that 13 year old, in 2010, doesnt go to the cd store with the 20, they download for free online and then go spend the 20 bucks on whatever, clothes or something else.

Its like people get so defensive on this board and refuse to admit the truth. just because you still buy cd's doesnt mean you get to invent a world that isnt real. By all means, continue buying cd's, but dont act like the majority of people still DO. Facts are facts. You either deal with them, or you lie and make up your own.

dcfaithful

dpmay wrote:

if physical media ever really dies i will miss it. i just spent like four hours backing up a shit-ton of digital music files, and it's cool how much new shit i have ...

... but looking at a computer is absolutely nothing like flipping through my vinyl looking for something to spin, or, shit, even looking at all my cds and playing one.

with bands i truly love, or new groups i wanna really get into, i still want something on my shelf.

I feel the exact same way.

Lifted

musicismylife78 wrote:

dpmay wrote:

musicismylife78 wrote:

That store doesnt exist anymore. Not like that, not like it used to. Why drive 10 minutes to a cd store to get a cd for 20 bucks, and why ask for music recommendations when you can do it all online, on this forum, on pitchfork, on stereogum. without ever leaving the house.

getting out of the house is fun. talking to people face to face is fun. alternatively, sitting on a computer is tedious and tiring - i know, i'm doing it right now!

i think your larger point about record stores hurting is valid, but there are still some good ones left.

ultimately we see things differently. you see it one way, i see it another. the point i think though is that, record stores are dwindling and are losing serious money. That is beyond dispute. If you accept that cd sales have dwindled every week and every year since 1999, and you accept that record stores are closing at fast rates as well.

yes, obviously some record stores exist. but i think you are personally on lsd if you can type with a straight face that the record store hasnt changed in the last decade, dramatically.

You talk to that local indie store you keep mentioning. they obviously are doing well enough to stay open, but i would bet their sales have drastically dwindled since 1999 and more so in the last few years. I bet they say not as many teens come in to spend their allowances on new releases, and I bet they mention that their customer is different than say 10 years ago.

Will there ever be a time when no one reads or buys actual physical copies of newspapers? Probably not. People will want to hold it, feel it, feel the print on their hands. But things have changed, and the Times and the Post and whoever will freely admit that their buisness is now more taylored to online sales. Thats just fact.

Ultimately you can live in lala land and think the record industry, or the buisness of record shops is stellar and booming, or you come to the conclusion thats fact, that record shops are dying out and the act of buying physical cds is something that is way less common than it was

Lets be honest. You are a 13 year old male in 2010. You did all your chores for the week and you get 20 bucks for allowance. In the past, some teens may have rushed to the local mall or cd store and got a cd. I would wager, that 13 year old, in 2010, doesnt go to the cd store with the 20, they download for free online and then go spend the 20 bucks on whatever, clothes or something else.

Its like people get so defensive on this board and refuse to admit the truth. just because you still buy cd's doesnt mean you get to invent a world that isnt real. By all means, continue buying cd's, but dont act like the majority of people still DO. Facts are facts. You either deal with them, or you lie and make up your own.

i think you're just pissed off because you don't have a cool record store near your house. not sure where else this discussion could go.