STATS AND FACTS

STATS AND FACTS

As this century began, the music industry was healthy and the #1 album of 2000, N'Sync's "No Strings Attached" sold 9.9 million copies.
But according to Rolling Stone (7-2-08) just two years later, the #1 album, "Eminem Show" sold only 7.6 million. Reason? To quote the newspaper: "As file sharing takes its toll on the biz, sales drop 17 percent." Yes. You heard right. FILE SHARING.
In 2007, the #1 album of the year was "Noel" by Josh Groban, and it only sold 3.6 million. Rolling Stone: "WORST YEAR YET."
Thanks to FILE SHARING, a star who beats all odds, and has a #1 album, will sell 60% LESS copies than before FILE SHARING began. Would you like to make 60% LESS money because of egotists, anarchists and selfish idiots?
Back in 2000, a hit album by Counting Crows or Green Day, or the "Lion King" soundtrack, charted 5 million copies sold.
But in 2007, the top albums of the year sold HALF that much because of FILE SHARING. Daughtry and Alicia Keys sold 2.5 million, and Fergie, Linkin Park, Taylor Swift and Kanye West averaged about 2 million.
According to Rolling Stone, "The labels' strategy of the last several years to emphasize digital downloads and ringtones seemed increasingly misguided in 2007, when growth of the formats finally began to level off...digital-single sales...make a fraction of the money for the labels."
There is a core of hateful bloggers and forum owners out there who have absolutely no answer for any of this, beyond, "Oh, man, music should be free" and "they should find some other way of making money, like selling t-shirts" and "blame the RIAA."
It's sad when some neurotic feels he must post albums every single day, and knows nothing about the music business, and has no solution to the abuse, and could care less about the people who lose their jobs.
When a blog is closed or a link is taken down because it HURTS the musicians, the record industry, the labels, the songwriters, and the store owners and Internet mail order firms that sell this stuff, the rally cry is, "RE-UP! DON'T LET THE BASTARDS WIN!"
Who, exactly, do you think the bastards really are?