In the old days, we never would have known Mumford & Sons was the hit of Grammy night. Because we wouldn’t have instant sales information and the album couldn’t have been successful because the limited physical inventory would have sold out in a flash in brick and mortar stores.
But now you can manufacture ad infinitum, online, iTunes was ready with all the inventory necessary. Mumford & Sons is still number one on the iTunes chart.
The old wave constantly bemoans the new wave, says the Internet ruined music. What the old wave hates is it’s lost control. Which came in the form of distribution. Radiohead could not go their own way. And it would have been hard to seed retail with enough copies of Mumford & Sons to show a spike, to feed demand.
The future is not digital sales, it’s streaming. And if the labels were smart, which they are not, they’d go with Spotify immediately, before Apple or Google allows customers to keep their purchases stored in the cloud, obviating a need for subscription services. So these sales statistics, which are anemic by old wave standards, are not harbingers of the future. But they do illustrate demand. You cannot categorize what appeals to the public. In this crazy world anything can hit. With everything available, the public selects from the giant smorgasbord, messing with the system.
People want to be touched emotionally. That’s what Mumford & Sons delivers best. In other words, in an era where so much music is made by machines, people truly desire that which is made by humans.
When it’s all said and done, Mumford’s album could outsell Katy Perry’s, it’s close. Sure, Katy sold more singles, but do singles build careers?
But now you can manufacture ad infinitum, online, iTunes was ready with all the inventory necessary. Mumford & Sons is still number one on the iTunes chart.
The old wave constantly bemoans the new wave, says the Internet ruined music. What the old wave hates is it’s lost control. Which came in the form of distribution. Radiohead could not go their own way. And it would have been hard to seed retail with enough copies of Mumford & Sons to show a spike, to feed demand.
The future is not digital sales, it’s streaming. And if the labels were smart, which they are not, they’d go with Spotify immediately, before Apple or Google allows customers to keep their purchases stored in the cloud, obviating a need for subscription services. So these sales statistics, which are anemic by old wave standards, are not harbingers of the future. But they do illustrate demand. You cannot categorize what appeals to the public. In this crazy world anything can hit. With everything available, the public selects from the giant smorgasbord, messing with the system.
People want to be touched emotionally. That’s what Mumford & Sons delivers best. In other words, in an era where so much music is made by machines, people truly desire that which is made by humans.
When it’s all said and done, Mumford’s album could outsell Katy Perry’s, it’s close. Sure, Katy sold more singles, but do singles build careers?
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