What was the music industry’s least profitable year?
There have been several defining moments in music history, moments when transformation was both a good and a bad thing for general revenue.
Often, these things clash with one another. In the early 1980s, for instance, major storms of ideas occurred across the board, like the launch of MTV, which changed the wind for music video storytelling forever. But it was also a year when loads of musicians and labels failed to make ends meet, and most of what they did ended up deemed a so-called flop.
This wasn’t for lack of trying. In fact, people tried harder to do things that worked, which, as we all know, is usually conducive to things going a bit haywire. Instead of getting hit records, like they ached for, most things either didn’t go anywhere to begin with or enjoyed a brief moment in the sun before disappearing into the shadows again.
Then there were the major smash records, which soared so far ahead they generated a major disparity between those fighting for a name and those with success at the drop of a hat. Not everybody could create Thriller, but not everybody had Quincy Jones and Epic Records behind them at the time either. Many of the transformations going ahead around this time feel oddly reminiscent of other times in history when tech and changing marketing techniques push others ahead while leaving some behind.
In the early 2000s, when growing up meant a consistent rotation of MySpace, MSN, YouTube and Limewire, sharing and downloading music was a major part of online communities. But that also meant piracy, which had a knock-on effect when it came to musicians being paid for their art, and the introduction of another disparity that left bigger, more well-established pop stars relatively unscathed and those skulking at the bottom without many ways to fend for themselves, or even defend themselves.
So, what was the least profitable year for music?
Soon enough, it was the 2010s, and the rapid growth of streaming services (in response to piracy) was taking its toll on physical sales. But even still, streaming services weren’t the band-aid everybody wanted them to be, and everything came to a bit of a standstill around 2013 and 2014. People weren’t downloading music anymore, but there weren’t enough of them on streaming sites for it to generate enough revenue either.
Physical sales were also down low, meaning there had been countless attempts for the industry to keep up, but it just wasn’t there yet, not in a way that boosted sales to suit the digital age while addressing the slow decline of physical sales. Mostly, people didn’t fancy taking ownership of music and art the way they had done in the past, which was also a major issue beyond the obvious implications of money.
It also meant that the transactional nature of music was no more. And because of that, musicians were forced to push back or keep up. Billy Corgan, for one, noted in 2012 that the nature of the musician was changing, and unless people started to fit the mould, or look the part, they’d be left behind. Because suddenly, nobody wanted to pay for honest voices anymore.
Perhaps, then, if you’re to put on your most cynical hat, it’s no coincidence that one of the most-hated singles in history also plagued the entire year; view below.
