Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
Music business badly needs Eminem's Recovery
|
Edition:
U.S.
Article
Comments (5)
Save
Email
Print
Reprints
Most Popular
Most Shared
BP pegs spill at worst-case 100,000 bpd
| Video
10:58am EDT
New Jersey battles over tax on millionaires
20 Jun 2010
Factbox: Winners and losers from a firmer yuan
4:14am EDT
Verizon offers FiOS try-out
12:24am EDT
China unshackles currency ahead of G20 meeting
| Video
11:37am EDT
Miley Cyrus "no underwear" photo is fake, blogger says
15 Jun 2010
BP restarts drillship system after 10-hour lapse
19 Jun 2010
Music business badly needs Eminem's "Recovery"
11:00am EDT
Wall Street rises as China move boosts resource shares
| Video
10:10am EDT
Putin boasts new jet fighter better than U.S. plane
17 Jun 2010
BP pegs spill at worst-case 100,000 bpd
| Video
10:58am EDT
Dell in talks with Google over Chrome OS
3:37am EDT
Verizon offers FiOS try-out
12:24am EDT
China unshackles currency ahead of G20 meeting
| Video
11:37am EDT
Factbox: Winners and losers from a firmer yuan
4:14am EDT
New Jersey battles over tax on millionaires
20 Jun 2010
Shot grizzly tied to hiker death near Yellowstone
20 Jun 2010
German student attacks Hell's Angels with puppy
15 Jun 2010
Wall Street rises as China move boosts resource shares
| Video
10:10am EDT
Facebook '09 revenue neared $800 million
18 Jun 2010
Music business badly needs Eminem's "Recovery"
Mon Jun 21, 2010 11:00am EDT
LONDON (Reuters) - "Recovery," the new album from rapper Eminem, could not be more aptly named for a music business facing an alarming fall in sales so far this year. The Detroit star's seventh studio album hits shelves on Monday, a day earlier than planned after tracks leaked on to the Internet. It comes about a week after the release of Canadian artist Drake's debut "Thank Me Later," which is also expected to perform strongly.
Entertainment | Music
But the duo are unlikely to lift the gloom hanging over the music business for long, with year-to-date U.S. physical and digital album sales by early June down 11 percent year-on-year to 130.6 million, extending a decade-long decline.
To make matters worse, the recent boom in touring, which labels and bands sought to exploit as recorded music faded, is showing signs of weakness caused by high ticket prices and economic uncertainty, and digital download growth is slowing.
Official figures for the key U.S. market as it approaches mid-year show how tough conditions are for music companies and acts who blame illegal file sharing for their woes.
According to Nielsen Soundscan, which tracks sales, 4.98 million albums were sold in the week ending May 30, possibly the lowest figure since the early 1970s. By comparison, the record one-week tally set in December 2000 was 45.4 million.
Analysts put the low figure down to a weak lineup during that particular week, and Drake's record is forecast to be one of the largest launches of the year so far while Eminem, another "tentpole" album, follows hot on its heels.
CDs STILL CRUCIAL
Yet while major and independent labels are pinning their future on digital music, whether it is access models or actual ownership, they can ill afford to abandon physical sales which account for somewhere in the region of 70 percent of revenues.
"The physical format is in decline, but I don't think it will go away completely," said Ed Christman, who tracks music sales for industry publication Billboard.
"What you want to do, since the digital 'magical bullet' hasn't appeared, is to sustain your revenue from CD sales for as long as you can."
Although relatively small in terms of a label's revenues, digital streaming, downloading, online subscriptions and advertising are seen as key to the industry's future.
"The revenue is still small, but at least it's revenue," said one major label executive. "Don't forget, some 95 percent of the digital market is illegal. If we can grow that five percent significantly, we've got a future."
That task is proving slow going, and while a recent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that the music industry will return to growth in 2013, some analysts are less sure.
"Given the incredible number of ways a person can now listen to music for free or near free, that gap between interest and willingness to pay is the biggest hurdle in record labels' quest to grow digital revenues," Billboard said of the report.
In the short term, all eyes will be on Eminem, one of the world's best-selling artists of the last decade who has said in interviews to promote Recovery that he is over his prescription drug addiction, is sober and more tolerant than he used to be.
Whether the "nice guy" image appeals to fans is unclear.
Early reaction to the album, out on Universal Music Group's Interscope label, has been mixed.
London's Evening Standard was among the most positive with a four-star review that concluded: "After seven albums, Eminem is so far ahead of the pack he only has himself to compete with. Even by that measurement, he's winning."
The Independent was less glowing, stating: "If we're being brutally frank, I think we already know far more about Eminem's private life and his alleged mental torment than is probably healthy for us, let alone the rapper himself."
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)
Entertainment
Music
Comments
See All Comments (5) | Post Comment
Jun 21, 2010 11:07am EDT
Maybe if there was some decent music out there, someone would actually buy it.
No decent music has emerged since the 90’s grunge era. What’s next?
stewpidasole
Report As Abusive
Jun 21, 2010 11:34am EDT
No! This will not ’save’ anything.
Just like newspapers and magazines and ‘yellow pages’ albums will be abandoned. Maybe open up a combo Block Buster/Tower Records, na that won’t work either.
Yes, when I was a kid I remember going to single screen movie………
2fnmuch
Report As Abusive
Jun 21, 2010 11:42am EDT
Sales have declined because the musical quality is something you don’t hear on pop radio stations anymore. What you hear are songs that sound exactly the same, which makes sense because they’re all written by the same people and produced by the same people. Everything from the quality of the mix-down, the melodies, the repetitiveness in general, and even the SUBSTANCE itself, especially with pop and hiphop has fallen off a cliff over the past 10 – 15 years. People have grown tired of the lack of substance and laziness by today’s “artists”, so is it surprising that sales are down? I think that when artists and labels understand that people want something REAL, not dumbed down artificial/superficial nonsense, sales will skyrocket. But they are clueless.
ChillnVilln557
Report As Abusive
Jun 21, 2010 11:45am EDT
The music industry needs a Enema more than it needs a Eminem or maybe its the other way around. Enforcing the same bad business model that has turned it into a .99 cent store of low quality mp3’s and controlled by a few large monopolies has only added to its spiraling dive into the depths of no return. A new age of artist are emerging that change the destructive direction that was once in place. Visionaries who understand the true art of music and its power to heal and uplift all humanity. Never again will he who pays the piper shall call the tune.
TruthTraveler
Report As Abusive
Jun 21, 2010 11:45am EDT
How can rap cr@p save the music business? It isn’t even music.
Tron400
Report As Abusive
See All Comments (5)
Add a Comment
*We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam and review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters.
© Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Reuters
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Help
Journalism Handbook
Archive
Site Index
Video Index
Reader Feedback
Analyst Research
Mobile
Newsletters
RSS
Podcasts
Widgets
Your View
Labs
Thomson Reuters
Copyright
Disclaimer
Privacy
Professional Products
Professional Products Support
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Careers
Online Products
Acquisitions Monthly
Buyouts
Venture Capital Journal
International Financing Review
Project Finance International
PEhub.com
PE Week
FindLaw
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Other News on Monday, 21 June 2010 Iran bars two UN inspectors
Russia reduces Belarus gas supply: Gazprom
Iran bars 2 IAEA inspectors
Iran bars two IAEA inspectors: report
|
US-TECH Summary
Russia reduces Belarus gas supply over debt
Suicide bomber kills 8 in north Iraq
Kabul releases first Taliban suspects after jirga deal
|
Russia orders Gazprom to prepare to cut Belarus gas
Verizon offers FiOS try-out
Israel to allow more 'civilian' goods into Gaza
No merger between Gazprom, Ukraine's Naftogaz: PM
Colombia's Santos sweeps to presidential win
Host Canada presents itself as financial model for G20
Neil Patrick Harris, Oprah Among Future Star Recipients On Hollywood Walk Of Fame
US officials downplay July 2011 withdrawal from Afghanistan
Embattled Israel reverses rules on Gaza blockade
|
French growth forecast 'ambitious, maybe a bit audacious'
First Pacific hurricane of 2010 forms off Mexico
Katy Perry Tops Billboard Hot 100 For Second Week With "California Gurls"
Obama, Netanyahu to meet July 6
L'Oreal heiress in 'what the butler taped' saga
"Glee" Beats Out "Eclipse" For #1 On Billboard Albums Chart
Thai authorities seek to trace protest money trail
|
2 blasts rock S. Afghanistan in weekend violence
France mutiny over Anelka expulsion
Heavy rains kill at least 175 in southern China
|
U.S. pullout from Iraq triggers epic garage sale
|
Egypt oil spill threatens Red Sea marine life
Turkish troops enter Iraq after Kurd rebel attacks
Michael Jackson a billion-dollar man
Big name companies 'ambush' World Cup
Gunmen kill mayor of border town in Mexico drug war
|
Australian mining magnate on missing Africa plane
|
Kyrgyz forces remove barricades but Uzbeks still wary
|
News
Indian ministers to submit Bhopal tragedy report
Radioactive gas detected after N.Korea nuke claim
NZ foreign minister pessimistic about whaling deal
Peru, Aruba murder suspect to face questioning
China coal mine explosion kills 46
USAID Chief Highlights Crucial Role Of Women In Aid Efforts, Harps On Haiti Experience
Sri Lanka furious as UN names war crimes panel
Toyota Recalls Blessing In Disguise For Dallas Dealerships; Business Rising
McHenry County (IL.) Gets First Jewish Cemetery
Indian women fighting to assert their rights
Proposed kill quotas for whales too high: scientists
US Welcomes Israels Announcement On Gaza
Indonesian quake death toll hits 17
Verizon offers FiOS try-out
|
Nauru still deadlocked after second election
46 killed in China coal mine blast: state media
KIC, CIC, Temasek to invest in Chesapeake stake
S.Korea T-bond futures sink on inflation concern
Seoul shares post 7-wk closing high on yuan move
China's yuan hits highest level in five years
S.Korea won up 2.6 pct, biggest gain in 14 mths
Bank of Korea chief sees problem from low policy rate
S.Korea spotted buying dlrs to check won -dealers
China stocks rise on yuan flexibility vow
S.Korea flags policy normalisation, shrugs off yuan
PAKISTAN
Durban surfing World Cup wave
Italian film 'Kiss Me Again' wins top Shanghai award
Two strong quakes off Indonesia's Papua
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Riva, an icon of Italian luxury design
It's a wonderful afterlife for Michael Jackson
Seeing double in Bulgaria's 'twin' village
Initiation rite revived in 16 villages in Senegal
Michael Jackson a billion-dollar man
World Cup a showcase for sunny George
Toy Story 3 sets worldwide box office abuzz
|
'Toy Story' drop-kicks 'Karate Kid' in records
It's a wonderful afterlife for Michael Jackson
|
Cruise crashes in nonsensical Knight and Day
|
Michael Jackson a billion-dollar man
|
Twilight scribe ponders failure, murder
|
Iraqi FM says political 'bickering' risks street riots
Ex-Putin minister testifies in Khodorkovsky trial
|
Toshiba takes on Amazon and Apple with dual-screen PC
Grim tolls for Australia, Britain in Afghanistan
BP says $2 billion spent on US oil spill
Lebanon says Gaza-bound ship may sail after Israel threat
|
World stocks soar after Chinese move on yuan
Embattled Israel reverses rules on Gaza blockade
Turkey sends troops to Iraq border after PKK raid
|
BP says $2 billion spent on oil spill disaster
Prosecutor probes Swedish link in Sudan crimes
|
U.S. pullout from Iraq triggers epic garage sale
Draft whaling deal under fire from scientists, greens
Komorowski leads in tight Polish election race
|
NATO says 4 troops die in Afghan helicopter crash
NATO says 4 troops die in Afghan copter crash
Trouble flares in Kyrgyzstan as vote nears
|
Embattled Israel reverses rules on Gaza blockade
|
Witness: Writing on the walls in the Holy Land
|
Portugal lead N.Korea 1-0 at half-time
China flood toll rises to 175 dead, more rain forecast
Global Weather-Asia-Celsius
Congo calls on pygmies to help find missing plane
India to seek extradition of US Bhopal boss
Coal mine explosives blast kills 46 in China
Hundreds Evacuate As Wildfire Spreads In Coconino National Forest
Sex education debate heats up in Philippines
Dallas Police Chief's Son, Officer Die In Shootout
NJ Catholic School Teacher Stabbed To Death
Hong Kong revises election plan ahead of key vote
Barnes & Noble launches Wi-Fi version of Nook
|
"Toy Story 3" Rules Box Office Weekend
Thai authorities seek to trace protest money trail
Internet, technology change high-end art dealing
|
Pakistani stocks end up; rupee flat; o/n rates down
Toshiba takes on Amazon and Apple with dual-screen PC
|
World stocks soar after Chinese move on yuan
China yuan move boosts regional markets
Japan to freeze sales tax for at least two years
China's yuan hits highest level in five years
S.Korea won sees best day in 14 mths; govt seen
Seoul shares at 7-wk closing high on yuan move
Next stop France for oldest baby mammoth
Indonesian man arrested for killing tiger in zoo
N.Korea's English fan club cheer on heroes at W.Cup
World Cup offers besieged Gazans rare escape
Music business badly needs Eminem's Recovery
|
Former Jackson bodyguard drops UK libel action
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights