exploremusic

U2 guitarist The Edge sees a grim future for the record industry if internet trends continue.

“There aren’t going to be any record labels in a few years if things carry on the way they are, because CDs – that industry is pretty much all over,” he tells Hot Press. “And because there’s no replacement right now that’s viable, it just means no one’s going to invest in music, which just means no-one is going to get tour support, record deals, publishing deals, all the rest, which is how every band since The Beatles have managed to get going initially. That feels like that this sort of parasitical medium will basically kill the host, which would not be good.”

Click here for more, including The Edge’s views on illegal downloading.

I understand what The Edge is saying, but I think his predictions are a little exaggerated and that he’s not necessarily taking all aspects of the situation into account.

I don’t see there being no more record labels in a few years. I think the majors make enough from the existing catalogues of classic/established artists to keep them in business. There are seemingly endless amounts of compilations and reissues that get new listeners buying popular releases and get old fans buying another copy of an album they already own. There are also some acts that have broken through and sold lots of CDs since downloading became commonplace, believe it or not.

Did I mention that music being sold digitally is still music being sold? Even if no one wanted physical albums, the record industry would exist based on digital sales. With that in mind, I think the old model that The Edge describes could still exist (although people are buying physical albums even if they’re not buying as many as they used to. There’s room for both formats).

As for The Edge’s comments about downloading hurting "bands that are coming up," I think that it’s probably hurt them in some ways and helped them in others.

The way people consume music has changed, so the whole platform for the industry must have changed. When someone hears a new artist for the first time, it’s often online, whether it’s through legal or illegal means. With music being available for free, all up and coming artist are on a level playing field, so exposure is the real edge. Listeners that end up buying the album might not have done so if it wasn’t for the opportunity to hear a song or even the whole album first. If they bought it, it means they were inspired for some reason to listen to it over something else, and they really liked it.

If not enough people buy the album but those who hear it like it, then more concert tickets will be sold because you can’t download those. So, the cost of making the album can be made back in that way, maybe.

I mean, no matter how people consume music, there are no guarantees as to an artist’s success. Even since The Beatles, there have been many bands that have gotten tour support, record deals, publishing deals, and all the rest, that still haven’t made a lot of money for themselves or for anyone else. It’s a competetive industry.

Looking back over what I wrote, I realize that these ideas could apply to the record industry with or without the presence of major labels.