Future Of Music

"The growing distance between the music industry and its consumer is due to a number of factors," said analyst Justin De Santis in a report, released by Mintel International Group Ltd., reporting that it
isn’t just file-sharing that’s killing music sales, but the actions of
the industry itself. "These include lawsuits against individual consumers, payola practices, and, most recently, restrictive digital rights management," he warned. The analyst group predicts that US-based music retail sales will shrink to $10.5 billion by 2010, from $12.5 billion in 2005. While legitimate digital music outlets such as the iTunes Music Store have helped to slow overall sales declines, the analysts note that a broad sector of music consumers are not being satisfied.

"While illegal downloading has hurt the industry, big labels have relied on obsolete strategies for over a decade, and have been late in exploiting emerging technologies," says the research firm. They report that in contrast to the criticism against major label approaches, at least one music industry sector is gaining momentum. "The bond between independent artists and their fans has become stronger," Mintel observes. "The current renaissance of underground media has further driven the consumer away from major labels," De Santis said.