I normally don't watch the Grammy Awards because they never feel very representative to me of creativity and innovation in the record industry. That's a very narrow view, which is part of what made this year different. I did watch part of the ceremony, but I also enjoyed it and was happy with a number of the winners. Herbie Hancock's win was the most satisfying for me. Even though I don't listen to jazz, I can still appreciate his sentiment during his acceptance speech that the academy had finally broken the mold and awarded a jazz album the highest honors for the first time in 43 years is very telling.

It's breaking the mold that has me thinking about the record industry because it is on the verge of a major shift and reorganization. Searching for some insight into the awards, I came across this piece about the awards and the "revolution" that is occurring now in comparison to the "revolution" that was just starting in the music industry 50 years ago. What this piece illustrates expertly is how quickly the record industry has declined. It is hard to believe that once there was optimism in the industry for technology and technological growth. It's also hard to believe that album sales only peaked 8 years ago.

Technology seems to have become quite the problem for the record industry, as they find themselves fighting against the internet community and consumers that illegally download music. But, illegal downloaders are not the only consumers that have caused the decline of the record industry; it is also those listeners that legally download music from digital store's like Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iTunes, or Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)'s new MP3 store. In addition, the technology that was highly regarded in 1958, the LP (or its counterpart, the CD) has also contributed to the decline.