This was a turbulent year for the music business, as the copyright-related lawsuits continued and music sales plummeted ever faster. But there were also some glimmers of hope, as the labels starting to budge, ever so slightly, in terms of making deals with new businesses. We also saw a few new ideas emerge on how to do music in the digital age.
These stories seem to sum the year up nicely; I'll be chatting about them this afternoon on WNYC's Soundcheck show at 2pm est (also on XM 133 and to be archived here) as part of the shows Critic's Week feature.
Some entries were suggested by Listening Post readers.
- Radiohead released In Rainbows.
- Two major labels (EMI and Universal) moved away from digital rights management.
- The Copyright Royalty Board determined potentially disastrous per-song, per-play royalty rates for internet radio that are still being contested (from Peter and Eric).
- We saw the rise of ad-supported music (imeem, SpiralFrog, RCRD LBL) and sponsored music -- bands releasing music exclusively at a certain site or venue (Princeand the Mail on Sunday, the Charlatans on Xfm, Paul McCartney at Starbucks and so on).
The iPod Touch and iPhone launched, signaling the beginning of the age of the connected music player. - The so-called "360 degree" record deal appeared (from Andrew).
Album sales really dropped off. The top-selling album can now sell well under 100K in a week. - The RIAA intensified its campaignagainst file sharers, especially against on-campus university students. Jammie Thomas paid 222K for sharing 24 files (from Eric).
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The music video returned in re-imagined form after MTV had largelyabandoned it. YouTube became the latest majorbattleground for music copyright holders and fans.
- Universal Music Group CEO Doug Morris gave an already legendary interview in Wired Magazine.
Did I miss anything?
(image from davidanthonydurham)
