Yeah, this is a complex issue and one that I cannot address outside of the U.S. In the U.S. we have 3 major corporations that own the majority of the stations. Payola is real, in that the stations are paid by the record companies to promote certain artists. Because of this unholy alliance we hear the same junk no matter where we turn the dial. Listenership of music radio is declining at an alarming rate since people are so bored with the music they are turning the dial to talk radio and the corporations are responding by adding more talk radio stations each day. Local advertising rates are based on listenership and is declining since so many are tuning out. Each market area can only support so many talk radio stations. Clear Channel is rethinking it's payola relationship with the manufacturers. This was in our local McPaper yesterday. advertising profits are down for the stations. The stations claim the revenue from payola isn't making up the difference. These are the first signs of a business plan that is doomed for failure. Look for the music giants to either get into the radio business or watch as it crumbles from the bulk of its' own weight.
The younger generation of which others here have spoke do indeed do things much differently than we older folks have done in the past. While I believe that mp3 access to music helps to sell more manufacturer software in my age group, the same cannot be said about the younger generation. When I was in college in the late 60's and early 70's our hippie FM station played a complete "new" album every Tuesday night without commercial interuption. I would record it on reel to reel and listen to it a couple of times. If I liked it I would buy it. If not, I would record over that on the next Tuesday evening. My mindset hasn't changed through the years and I believe it is a harmless practice when done in this fashion. The younger generations have been trained since the advent of the CD to accept inferior sound reproduction. Now, you CDP lovers out there, don't get angry at me. Early on, everyone that could hear agreed that CD sound was horrible but never-the-less, vinyl disappeared from the shelves and was replaced by this rotten medium. The music the younger generation listens to has changed in most cases where high quality playback is a detriment to the desired sound. This stuff was/is meant to be played in one of those obnoxious cars that irritate you as they drive by your home. Simply put, the younger generation doesn't know what good playback is, doesn't care about reproduction quality (being instead attracted to the sleazy message) and is comfortable stealing an inferior copy and living with it. The music industry through it's promotion of artists that represent nothing more than ex-convicts and their value system is reaping what it has sown. If you lie down with dogs you will get up with fleas.
The people that are really wounding the recording companies are those that download huge amounts of music and that's it. They have a free library at a quality level that is satisfactory to them. They are theives beyond music. They buy their college level class assignments online and have no problem with that. They come mainly from single parent households. Fathers are an obstacle to all the fun. They have been trained to embrace moral relativism. The end justifies the means. Society is reaping what it has sown. It's now affecting audiophiles to the extent that quality software is difficult to find for playback on a revealing system that is CD based. This is not a comdemnation of CD source. If you have read any of my posts you will note that, while I may be vinyl based because of my age, I don't have a problem with CD players and own one and don't bitch about how "bad" it is. To me it's all about the music.
If you think I'm up on a soapbox attacking you personally, you have got it wrong, unless you are part of this overall problem also. I realize I'm painting with a broad brush and that there are tons of great young people with very high morals. I applaud them. Given their environment they are truely gems in todays society. However, if you have sat on the sidelines and played your fiddle (kept your mouth shut) while you watched Rome burn then don't attack me for my views. You have aided and abetted the enemy. Flames are welcome because, believe me, I will wear them like a badge.
I take comfort in my analog front end, having recently acquired hundreds of "as new" albums. Add that to the thousands of LP's I already have and color me simply sitting on the sidelines and laughing at all the moaning and groaning from the enablers in the audience. To the good folks in these forums that are CD based I strongly suggest investing in an analog front end, buying all the software you can get your hands on, enjoy what you have and let the scum have the rest.
Oh yeah, if you sense that I'm a little fired up you are correct. My little household, that has been nurtured with a solid moral compass, has been wrecked by the adult moral relativists enabling their morally void offspring (and perverted sense of seff-rightousness) this past weekend. The problems the radio/music industry has brought upon themselves is a reflection of the larger issues in society. Connect the dots if you dare.
This post is directed to U.S. residents. Canadians that sit comfortably on our northern border, taking advantage of our military strength, in the knowledge that with your puny little 50,000 member military you will never be attacked because of the U.S. need not comment. Is it any wonder that you can afford more social services without needing to invest in a real military? You sit silently as your fellow Canadians verbally attack this great nation yet enjoy the benefits of being our neighbor. Where is the Canadian outcry against the Canadian government being a funnel through which so many unsavory characters enter my country? My concern is about the United States. Should the moral relativists in my country that I am speaking about ever gain the majority of the power here, you will then reap what you are helping to sew. If they are content to lie, cheat and steal their fellow countrymen, make no mistake that, with all the power this nation posesses, they will have no compunction doing as they wish with our northern neighbors.
Smoke 'em if you got 'em guys.
