The cannibalization of the music industry. Is it me or is it getting worse?
It seems the only people making money within the music industry these days are the people making money from the musicians who are devoted to making music. It seems we're feeding off ourselves within a virtual circus while everyone outside the industry looks on enjoying the show for free! Feed us to the lions!
Cannibalization within buisness circles is described by Wikipedia as a reduction in sales volume, sales revenue, or market share of one product as a result of the introduction of a new product by the same producer.
We certainly have the demise of one product by the introduction of another. File sharing replacing physical copies.
It also goes on to state, While this may seem inherently negative, in the context of a carefully planned strategy, it can be effective, by ultimately growing the market, or better meeting consumer demands. Cannibalization is a key consideration inproduct portfolio analysis.
So, is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Is this new way of delivering musical content ultimately going to grow our market to a better place? Who knows.
Many words have been written on this subject, but if you know where we're all going with this, drop me a line and share your insight as no-one else seems to have a clue!