The Death of Record Stores

Ask someone under the age of 20 if they own a record, cassette or 8-track and they'll probably laugh in your face... Ask that same question in several years about a compact disc.... Will that also get you laughed out of the room? Atlantic Records may have your answer... A recent NY Times article states that Atlantic records has seen an interesting milestone that many others are expecting with the music industry. More than half of the music sales by Atlantic in the US reportedly come from digital music downloads including iTunes and cellphone ringtones. According to the article, music sales in general are sinking and will continue to decline year by year. Atlantic's recent stats may be a future indicator that record stores will be shutting down in lieu of digital music sites, but even that is not encouraging in its current state. Many analysts don't feel the digital music downloading business will ever be able to compensate for the slumping sales of physical records. Despite big court victories by the RIAA and various record labels, music piracy still runs rampant across the internet. Many businesses which offer digital downloads claim that their overall revenue is only a small percent digital. It will be about survival of the fittest as music moves into the future, and which entertainment companies/record labels best adapt and expand with the times. Read the full NY Times article here.