Supply and demand

A few days ago I came across some research about the music industry by someone who until quite recently worked for the music industry. It read as if he left his job before releasing his research, by the way, so I don't think anyone was being vindictive.

I could have sworn I kept a copy of this research, but for the life of me I cannot find it. So you'll just have to trust I'm getting the basics right.

The essential point was that in 2004 there were half as many new CDs released in Australia as there were the year before (? - or it might have been comparing with a few years earlier, I can't be sure now). His conclusion: online piracy wasn't hurting sales, lack of choice was.

This is exactly the kind of thing that got me irritated in a previous post. Music companies stare at the bottom line, release things that sound as close as possible to the last big hit, and then wonder why we don't all lap it up gratefully.

Don't get me wrong, a certain amount of imitation of what went before is welcome, but only if it's done with flair, intelligence and an understanding of what's worth copying and where the point of departure should be. It's much the same as movie moguls seeing Pixar's successes and deciding that computer animation will guarantee a hit - despite the fact that every interview with Pixar I have ever seen emphasises that the script is king and computers merely the means of creation.

The optimistic part of me argues that 50% less music cluttering the shelves should make it easier to find the good stuff, as there's less rubbish to wallow through to get there. However the pessimistic part of me says that odds are some of the most interesting music was the first to be cut from the catalogue.