Has Adele's Historic Sales Performance Mark a Turning Point for the Music Industry?
The music industry has been going through a transformation since digital music was invented. Albeit kicking and screaming... Music sharing sites like Napster changed the music industry forever. Decades after Napster was shut down music sharing continues. That Genie can't ever be put back into the bottle. Consumers expect to have instant access to music. If they don't get it from legitimate sources they get it form illegitimate ones.
Everyone from Apple to Pandora have been trying to craft a solution that meets customer demands while generating revenue to support musicians. Without a revenue model musicians can't make a living. Like all of us they have to feed their families. It takes years to get to the point of making a living in the Music industry. The odds are against an artist from day one, but as long as there is a glimmer of hope the great ones will see enough success to continue to push forward. However, if there is no hope or money to be made many artist will eventually put down their instrument and pursue a "Normal Job."
So has this changed now? Has Adele paved the way to making money selling music again?
Adele's 25 album has shattered records selling 3.38 million copies in its first week in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music. As of this writing she has sold over 5 million albums. The last top first week album sales record was No Strings Attached by NSYNC selling 2.42 million albums (week ending March 26, 2000).
Although these are impressive numbers they don't come close overall album sales of times past. Michael Jackson's Triller album sold 42.4 million records. The top total record sales are The Beatles, Elvis and Michael Jackson who sold 265 million, 210 million and 175 million respectively. Compare to NSYNC who has sold a bit over 50 million albums their entire career and 11 million copies of No Strings Attached.
Think about these numbers for a minute... The huge record sales were achieved before the digital era. Every one of those albums were sold in stores around the world. If you wanted an album back then you had to drive to a store and buy it. Couldn't get it from Amazon, couldn't download it, and you couldn't stream it online. The only other option to hearing a tune you liked was waiting for a radio station to play it or drop a dime in a jukebox at your favorite diner.
It isn't likely we will ever see those numbers again.
The music industry is trying to devise a solution to this problem, but they continue to be slow to react to change. They lack the innovative thought-leadership required to transform the industry. Independent record labels and artist are the ones driving change. Musicians don't need a record label or back door relationships with radio stations to get their music out there. The control over what we listen to and how we listen to it has changed forever.
Adele's sales is very good news for aspiring artist, but big money isn't made by selling records even at those numbers anymore. The spike we see with the 25 album will taper off quickly due to the instantaneous nature of the internet; whereas, albums past would continue selling for years after they were released.
Share your thoughts....
How do you think the music industry has changed? What do you think the future of music is? How will your kids and their kids listen to music? How will musicians make a living in the future? Will music eventually be random computer generated tunes optimized based on an algorithm of what the programmers think we will like?
_________
Read more on my blog: The Chicago CIO
About the Author: Jim Kerr CIO, Chicago, Illinois
Twitter: @jamesnkerr LinkedIn Chicago CIO Jim Kerr
Executive experienced in strategic planning, and leveraging innovative solutions to create new revenue streams.
8yThere is on detail I think that is missed regarding total album sales. You mentioned three artists who have been around since 8-track was a thing. They were able to get sales of their album on vinyl, 8-track, cassette tape, cd and now digital. If they had an original fanbase equivalently large to Adele's fanbase imagine Adele having her fanbase over 5 different generations of media. With an estimated 40 million sold albums at this point... I believe technically speaking she is already on par with the biggest names ever for total recognition. And after all that, this doesn't even account for the fact that those you mentioned have music that has passed over nearly 3 generations of people, all of which know who those artists.
Founder/Owner Wildcat Tech Ventures LLC
8yMost people don't want to sacrifice any of their creative control. They also don't want to sign a contract that will likely greatly reduce their earnings potential going forward. Unfortunately, most any record label can smooth talk an artist with a guitar, didgeridoo and/or any other instrument into "signing." The musician is often blinded by the verbal promise of fame and potential financial reward and don't realize that the only "awesome yachts" are the yachts that have a garage =) It's not all about a quick "financial enhancement." It's a matter of creating an endless ocean of financial freedom and being able to become a proof-of-concept for future artists and help to incubate their future success stories too.