Can live performances prolong the death of the album?

Posted Feb 27th 2007 6:30PM by Richard Driver
Filed under: Products and Services, Apple Inc (AAPL), Columns

The majority of my posts have centered on the future of the album, the CD, and lately the radio. I've also spent as much time (in five posts, you may ask) writing about the growth of digital downloading. Thinking about as much as that is (and is not) I am surprised that so much of my focus has been on these kinds of slow-moving ideas. The fact is that no matter how much I deplore the death of certain musical facets, others that are equally as exciting as those are taking off on a regular basis, and this is not limited to simple digital downloading and related topics.

Albums and "hot" tracks are not the sole basis for the record industry, but they make up a large percentage. Although it has always been present, live performances make up a significant portion of where the money comes from as well. Bands produce merchandise regularly, but also specially in promotion for concerts, festivals and tours. In late 2005, I attended a concert on Paul McCartney's tour and a t-shirt I purchased cost $35. Inflated, but worth it. The music business dictates that live performances are vital to band success, on top of album success (otherwise why would bands like Coldplay and the Rolling Stones tour for numerous years off one album).

I'm always surprised that so little discussion is placed on how important live performances are to the business. The news articles that detail the "death of the album" and the growth of downloads even leave them out. This is even more mind-boggling since Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s iTunes occasionally has live sessions for sale as "exclusives." These tracks must be lumped in with all downloads, since they are seen as accessories at best, in comparison to studio cuts. The basis for these tracks was a concert somewhere though, and although that could apply to studio tracks as well sometimes, live performances need more exposure in the talk of album-to-digital transition.

Live performances in the grand scale of major album tours may be inaccessible for most consumers, but live music on any scale is still music growth outside of both the mainstream and the independent markets. A festival like SXSW in Austin, Texas, next month brings together loads of musicians from around the globe to an area that is accessible for a university crowd, as well as major metropolitan areas (Dallas, Houston, San Antonio). That festival though is part of both mainstream and independent markets, but it is only an example. Simply put, a festival like this incorporates the major album tours as well as highlighting smaller bands that have less noticed albums. Sales for each should theoretically be driven up according to these ideas.

The downside to a festival like that is its use in a major album tour, and again I must reference a band like Coldplay who performed at the festival in 2006 for their 2005 album X&Y. The major album tour itself poses a dilemma because there is no immediate growth for the industry while a band promoting such a heavily promoted album is not creating new material. I always tend to deplore the level of creative output for bands these days though. Seriously, two to three years between twelve song albums, but I digress.

Major albums like that, which are intended to be large scale "events" for the industry pose two problems as I see it. First, so much emphasis placed on one album means that if it does well then profits will make up for the promotion. If it does poorly, then the label is in a crunch because an album that was expected to do well underperformed. I can't cite an example though. Second, if the promotion of one album limits the promotion of another (which presumably cost the same to make) and that album underperforms as well, then the label and the industry are in a crunch. If both do well, then the benefits are fairly plain to see.

I'm not one that denies that every facet is important, but when we talk about the death of the album, or the growth of the download, we need to consider items such as these. The album may be dying, but the digital download is not the sole cause of it. Consumers like new products and from experience I know that waiting for new material indefinitely can be taxing (you hear me Radiohead, although the Yorke "solo" album was nice). Though I may generalize about lengths of time and influence, consumers will always be there. Whether or not they are out in the same numbers as before is what to watch for. Live performances can only help the industry, and new material performed live before an album comes out is certainly nice, especially if it is a major album tour where the music is based off the previous album.

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