With 2008 almost halfway completed, it’s clear that once again music sales are continuing to slump. Despite pipe dreams that somehow ageing pop stars like Mariah and Madonna were going to somehow perform retail miracles, the public has yawned and just continued to play Grand Theft Auto and watch DVD’s.

The music industry continues to place all of the blame on those pesky downloaders, and while it is certainly a legitimate issue, it’s been way over-emphasized. Did Sheryl Crow’s latest piece of garbage really die because every office had a person who burned it for every co-worker? (I actually read that excuse on an industry message board.) No, that album failed because there was no demand for more of the same from her.

In many ways, it’s my belief the industry is getting exactly what they deserve. Ever since Britney Spears first danced in her schoolgirl outfit, the record industry has shifted to a system that has attempted to dictate to us what we’ll like. For a short time it actually worked, but after a two year spike, music sales have plummeted every year since then.

The rise and fall of teen pop is not the only reason music sales are down, though.

Here are what I feel are the main symptoms of an ailing industry:

10. Pro Tools. When used correctly, Pro Tools and other audio software programs are great tools for producers. Artists no longer are forced to spend months in expensive, sterile recording studios, and various tweaks and effects can be easily made on the cheap. Unfortunately, both producers and artists are using these programs as a crutch. The term “fix it in the mix” has become an overused reality, and engineers have plenty of stories of musicians and vocalists refusing to redo inferior takes. In too many cases, entire albums are cut and pasted together from dozens of uninspired takes, and then “sweetened” to create a phony perfect take. The results are completely soulless, and there’s simply no possibility of “happy accidents”.

9. “Brand Name” Performers. These days, as soon as somebody has a hit they’re looking at their next business venture. Pretty quickly their music is just an advertisement for their latest line of perfume or clothing. CD booklets now have more advertising leaflets than People magazine has subscription cards. The music has become an afterthought, and it shows.

8. Test Marketing. The music industry is so desperate that they’re now copying the movie business. Instead of inviting people to critique rough cuts of full movies, though, they’re testing songs by playing extremely short snippets (ten seconds or so) over the phone. Songs that don’t test well are rewritten, remixed, re-recorded, or scrapped altogether. No wonder most pop music is now just a catch phrase! I’m sorry, but even bubblegum pop music doesn’t work this way. Few songs have an immediate impact, especially when one only hears the hook, and even fewer of these types of songs have a chance of making a lasting impression. No wonder most pop hits are forgotten by the time they are placed on the latest Now That’s What I Call Music compilation.

7. Radio. The radio industry has had a similar decline in recent years, and they have their own scapegoat. iPods are to blame for all of their ills. Well, they’re sort of right, but it’s also their own fault. The solution is simple. All they have to do is expand both the number and diversity of the songs on their playlists, and eliminate the use of consultant companies who program the majority of radio stations. A hit in Shreveport, LA may not necessarily be successful in Sioux Falls, and vice versa. Returning this task to the individual stations may result in their hiring people based less on their look or sound and more on their knowledge of music.

6. Phony Collaborations. In the last few years, the great minds at the record companies have attempted to clutter almost every pop hit with as many names as possible. Few charting songs these days don’t include “with” or “featuring” as part of the artist, and it seems to be the same person every time. A few years ago, it was Fat Joe and Ja Rule; now it’s Justin Timberlake and Chris Brown. Few of these pairings sound legitimate; it’s usually clear that the second performer’s input is tacked on at the label’s insistence.

5. Superstar Producers. Even worse than the last entry, though, is the overuse of the latest hit-making producer. When they’re considered hot, it seems like they’re involved with every high profile release. Unfortunately, most of their output sounds exactly the same from release to release. Timbaland, Scott Storch, Jermaine Dupri are just a couple of examples of producers who believe they’re visionaries, but really have nothing more than a trick or two they use on every single production.

4. The Death of the Record Store. It used to be that independent record stores (or small chains) were the heart of the record business. They had not only the best stock, but the best prices, while the chain stores stocked only the biggest hits that they sold at full list price. That practice ended in the early ‘90s, and now retailers such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Target have pretty much killed the hip, locally-owned music store. Using CD’s as loss-leaders, they routinely sell discs at prices that are lower than the indie store’s wholesale cost. Yet that’s not enough of an advantage. Wal-Mart has recently asked the major labels for an exclusive extreme price break that will possibly kill the few remaining indie stores. While they have made this demand many times in the past, the music industry is so desperate that this time it will succeed. If you only care about the Carrie Underwoods of the world, then this is a good deal for you. But once the small stores completely disappear, you’re not going to have much luck in finding that obscure jazz reissue, or even the latest noisy guitar band that Pitchfork has been raving about for months.

3. Overexposure. Letterman, Leno, Conan, Kimmel, Regis, Tyra, Ellen, Oprah, Larry King, American Idol, Sportscenter, The View, Today, Good Morning America, Colbert, The Daily Show, Entertainment Tonight, the Insider, TMZ, SNL, MTV, CMT, VH1, E!, soap operas, sitcoms, dramas, YouTube, Rolling Stone, People, Us, USA Today. This is just a partial list of where an artist can promote their latest album or single, and damned if some acts don’t attempt to hit them all. It’s really amazing how performers want nothing to do with 99% of these media outlets until they have some product to hype. Then over the course of three or four days, you can’t escape them. I have to believe that even some of the biggest Mariah fans were sick of her after she made the media rounds a few weeks ago. Is it any surprise that performers come and go so quickly these days? Yes, there have always been one-hit wonders, but there really is no concept of long-term development in today’s climate. It’s all about getting everything you can right now, and the public can’t help but get burned out when you can’t escape them.

2. Label Mergers. It used to be that a label merger was a good thing for the individual labels. Combining resources certainly strengthened Warner, Elektra, and Asylum back in the late ‘60s.
Those days are no more, as the reasoning for these mergers is not at all related with improving efficiency. It’s all about making a splash at Wall Street, and a quick buck for the brokers who create the deal. Little, if any, of the proceeds are used for artist development. More typical is the case of Warner Music Group’s 2004 IPO, where less than one percent of the $750 million in proceeds was earmarked for company operations. It’s no wonder there is no such thing as long-term artist development.

1. American Idol. An entire article could be written about the evils of AI. Talk about pure evil; how can anybody take seriously a glorified karaoke show with an admitted lip-syncher and a former member of Journey as judges? Idol wouldn’t be so offensive if it didn’t have so much power…or if it actually awarded potentially true artists. Instead, it’s the birthing ground for an entire generation of puppets that are forced onto a public that appears to care less and less about integrity than cute haircuts and syrup-y power ballads over-sung by caterwauling Mariah Carey wannabes. Technically, only the winner receives a record contract, but inevitably almost the entire cast is signed up by desperate labels that will do anything to capitalize on what they see as a built-in audience. Thankfully, the vast majority of these clowns fail to make any sort of splash, and are forced to go back to their dinner theater careers. But that doesn’t excuse that we are forced to endure the horrors of Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry, and Carrie Underwood.