Quote Originally Posted by dirty_bass View Post
Some good points, but still, we will never know as mp3 is still a transition period.
To say there are no success stories just isn`t true. Emerson of killaz/kiddaz fm for 1 example is doing amazing amazing mp3 sales.
As the media gets stronger and more prevailant people will understand it and the business models will improve.
We don`t really have any techno specialist mp3 vendors, as we would record stores, but hopefully this will come, and will act as a central point, which is the main hurdle in mp3.
But you can`t fight the tide, even the major major labels have admitted that they are fighting a losing battle (and I`m talking THE majors), so eventually it will be the dominant media, no argument.

I mean, all the kids are walking around with mp3 players. My nephiew has just hit 15, he loves his music, but I show him some of my records on vinyl and he just laughs. Vinyl?
At least he vaguely knows what it is.
The younger generation simply do not know what it is at all, and I doubt they will suddenly go retro and buy decks in 10 years time, as by then, something even more amazing will be along, and some of us old ****s will still be harping on about the vinyl vs mp3 thing while the kids are on holographic cube media

The money a label would spend on vinyl would simply be put into marketing etc.

The good old days of big distributers were the days when electronic dance music was at it`s peak. Those days will never return. So therefor reminiscence is not a good model.

I`m not trying to preach doom and gloom, but I think it`s time to face the change and grab it before you are left behind.
Sure I love vinyl, and there are some great independant distributers out there, but they will soon be squeezed out, or at least feel the squeeze even more, as the market comes under more control.
Maybe if the smaller independants could group together, form a coalition, maybe develop a more coherent, centralised internet based pool of services or something, it might help.

there are no answers, but people with sensible contributions like yours and slavs, are the real hope, rather than the fingers in the ears, heads down, la la la attitude of many, who simply have invested so much of their time and life (as do we all) into this music that they refuse to see the wood for the trees.
Well, Emerson and Kiddaz may do great Mp3 sales, but they aren't solely a digital entity are they? Vinyl probably still keeps them more on the radar I'd imagine. Good for them though, they're experiencing the best of both worlds.

Re: Mp3 vendors - Yes, maybe there is a need for a better operator of this service for some styles of music, but that'll come as it's necessary I'm sure. I know you're talking about transitions for Mp3, and you are right in some ways. Mp3 is no spring chicken either though! There has been a fair deal of time for Mp3 distributors to surface, and let's be fair... quite a few already have.

I'm not saying that it's all vinyl or nothing, and I do see how the struggle to sell vinyl is getting harder; but I also think there's some distributors and styles of music that can and will weather the storm, and are still doing alright...selling vinyl. I think digital is obviously a big part of now and the future, so I'm not dismissing it totally - I'm just not convinced that the market will convert solely to this, or will be able to (if it knows what's good for it).

It's true that the small guys will feel the squeeze more, and some may fall... but y'know, for everyone that falls, another one usually rises - I guess no-one learns their lesson! Or else they still have a job that needs to be done :)

Well, the next 'big thing' could be about people streaming stuff off their hand held device via a supplier, without even having to download it. Apparantly, many record companies are now turning their people and lawyers' attention to this new 'opportunity' or 'threat' rather than the problem of downloading.