Download! How The Internet Transformed The Record Business: How Digital Destroyed the Record Business

Download chronicles of the making of the new record industry, from the boom years of the CD revolution of the late 1980s to the crisis of the present day, with particular stress on the last decade. It follows the actions and reactions of the major international record companies, five at the beginning of the story, now four, as they ploughed their way through the digital slough of despond, bewildered by the fleet-of-foot digital innovators far more responsive to the changing marketing conditions through which (recorded) music was consumed and valued. These all have their significant place in Download but the real story is the structural change that has, almost surreptitiously, taken place, within the music business. This change, for reasons author Phil Hardy will explain in detail, has left the captains of the record industry as unable to act as they were unwilling to act. In effect they became little but very well paid observers of the shrinking of their domains. “industry Expert Phil Hardy Has Outdone Himself With The Splendid, Piecing Download!” – Record Collector Download! Chronicles Of The Making Of The New Record Industry, From The Boom Years Of The Cd Revolution Of The Late 1980s To The Crisis Of The Present Day, With Particular Stress On The Last Decade. Following The Actions And Reactions Of The Major International Record Companies As They Ploughed Their Way Through The Digital Revolution, Bewildered By The Fleet-of-foot Digital Innovators Who Were Far More Responsive To The Changing Marketing Conditions. Download! Delves Even Further Into The Structural Change That Has, Almost Surreptitiously, Taken Place, Within The Music Business. A Change That Has Left The Captains Of The Record Industry As Unable To Act As They Were Unwilling To Act. When the legitimate paid-for download finally arrived courtesy of Apple in 1993, it soon became clear that the Californian company's sole aim was to sell iPods. The fortunes of the content owners were of little interest to them and so the record companies found themselves parting with individual tracks for pennies instead of whole albums for pounds The CD revolution was a bonanza for the record industry. The new digital medium attracted sales in its own right and existing material could now be re-packaged and resold with huge profit margins. Sales grew, but then the pirates moved in, exploiting the medium by making perfect copies Phil Hardy's book explains how, in a few short years, the long-established record industry became an irrelevance as its slow-moving executives were comprehensively outmanoeuvred by a generation of outsiders who fully understood the new technology and the new market it had created