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No one thing stands out. All your listed reasons for their troubles are valid. Factor in the competition for discretionary dollars from the video and gaming businesses and you just have a tough sell for a music industry used to ever higher profits.

Lack of talented musicians and songwriters.

The root of the music industry's troubles has been, and will continue, to be the demand for mediocrity in quality with downloads, iPods and MPEG-3. This is the contradiction of high tech, poor quality. It isn

Greed, greed, and greed? Like a lot of other people who were adults in 1982, I bought a CD player early on and did in fact buy several CDs when they still cost $30. But when the cost of production plummeted, the record companies still thought they had a right to keep prices artificially high—and they were able to, since they were an effective bottleneck between musicians and listeners. So then the bottleneck is eased by new technology, and product starts spilling around the dam and past the tollkeepers, and of course the industry whines and bitches. If I were losing a captive market that I'd been exploiting the hell out of for decades, I'd be moaning about my lost meal ticket too. But I have zero sympathy for them. For the most part, they ripped me off for twenty years, and didn't even put a decent amount of money back into bringing along developing talent, into musical diversity, or into developing and supporting a true audiophile format. So screw them. I hope they're all out of business by 2010. I continue to buy thousands of dollars worth of music every year, as I have since 1985, but now I buy and download 100% online. I look forward to a new business model that allows for many more musicians with ever-smaller audiences to participate in the commercial exchange alongside the big acts.

I believe several of these reasons have contributed to the downfall of the recording industry. However, it should be noted that poor/limited selection, high prices, stale format/move to online, and consolidation are all ultimately attempts to improve the bottom line, proving that the recording industry has completely abandoned the role of advancing art.

There is soooo much good music being ignored by the majors because they are risk averse—or lack leaders with balls.

The troubles in the classical market are the same as in other genres. Major problems is the large conglomerates being run by people with no interest in their product. The great CD firms are the smaller ones (and Naxos), where the CEO has a real belief in what they are selling.

they cant afford to get away from goddammed rap music and it killed them

I believe it to be a combination of reasons, but mainly a shift in how people behave and think today. Attention spans are short. There is a need for instant gratification. People are attracted to cheap and a deal, not quality. Little appreciation for arts in general and certainly no understanding or interest in them. I am just glad I am not a person like that.

How about greed? That and short-sighted stupidity. After decades of ripping off artists and consumers alike, the music industry has the balls to cry foul because we consumers decided we've had enough? I have absolutely no sympathy for an industry so hell-bent on alienating its consumers. The industry had/has no qualms about short-changing and ripping off its artists when it comes to recording contracts and royalties and over-charging consumers for the crap it chooses to for down our throats. And now, because some folks choose not to pay for crap and seek out music they actually like for free on the internet, the Industry thinks the answer is litigation!! God bless the US, land of litigation! God forbid the Industry get ahead of the Internet curve and come up with a way to deliver music to the masses that would benefit all involved. No, why bother. Take 'em to court and sue their ungratefull asses!! After all the years of forcing feeding the buying public one over-priced fad after another shitty fad, this is the way the public shows its gratitude? By sharing music they actually want to listen over the Internet from friend to friend (read P2P). Now, I'm all for the Artists getting their fair share, because without the artists we'd be listening to the sound of our own (or our significant other's) voices. And you don't need a decent system for that racket! I'm also all about getting my money's worth (even tho the Industry isn't concerned with that), and to that end I buy CDs and LPs to support the Artists I like. And I buy upwards of 50-60 titles a year. If the Music Industry is really interested in saving itself it should take a hard look at itself and point the finger of blame where it belongs.....not at musicians trying to make a living, not at consumers who love music, and not at the internet downloaders who are sick and tired of being ripped off and fed a new diet of the latest shitty, untalentd fad every few months, but at themselves!! What I don't understand (and I'm no business major, but I have some common sense) is why the Industry spends so much time and energy marketing to only one narrow demagraphic! They seem to think that teens (+ or - a few years) are the only ones with disposable income. What kind of stupid assumption is that? I have more income than any 10 teens put together yet I don't even rate a blip on the Industry's demographic radar. I spend a good amount of cash each year on CD/LPs and it's not because of Industry marketing. It's because of publications like Stereophile, HiFi+,The Absolute Sound and various websites dealing with the music I like. Granted, I llisten to a wide range of music, but I have yet to see a worthy maketing blitz to sell blues, jazz or even metal. As far as I can see the cash is only spent on the latest flavor of the week. I've read it numerous times and agree with the following statement 100%....the industry has no time or desire to nurture artists anymore. Either you have a mega-selling hit out of the gate or you're gone. That is a pretty sad attitude to have. When it's all about the money with little regard for the music (read artist and consumer both), you have a situation on your hands like the music biz has right now. Some respect and fair treatment would go a long way, providing the buying public is in a forgiving mood. And one final kick at the liltigation can.......if the Industry insists on suing music lovers, they should only be allowed to make the "criminals" buy the CDs they've downloaded. If you've downloaded 10 CDs "illegally" then the "guilty party" should only be made to go out and purchase those 10 CDs they've "stolen". No more no less. Sorry for the long-winded tirade, but it pisses me off to be blamed for something that I didn't cause. Hopefully, someone within the Music Bizness will get their head out of their ass long enough to read this weeks question and a tiny light will go on........ Taking the blame for your own mistakes isn't always easy, but you get respected more in the end for doing so. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon.

Greedy business people who do not care about music, just $$$: if it's not in the top 40, it doesn't exist! They listen too much to their lawyers, too.

After a year or so a CD is often sold at half of the initial price. And I suppose the music industry doesn't lose money on those half price CDs.

The advent of the PC and internet is the root of the music industry's troubles

Radio fails to promote good music. Who wants to buy most of the pabulum that passes for music these days? Even hip hop which was a bright spot in the industry is now just commercial dross.

They should either have stuck with CD or gone for a new universal stereo hi-fi format. SACD was nearly there, but 5.1 was just pandering to the equipment manufacturers and DVD-A was just a greedy rip-off. Now the music industry is paying the price as the disillusioned migrate to MP3.

Have each new release CD sell for $9.99; why bother copying or illegally downloading it?

The industry has failed over many years to educate the public that high-fidelity matters or that high quality replay, with its emotional stimulation is something worth striving for. So now we now have a generation that believes that MP3 is as good as it gets. Are the companies telling them anything to change this view? No, they are now so paranoid about copy protection that true music lovers within the industry are being pushed aside by finance managers who can't seem to see more than the immediate bottom line. I fear that as ever more stringent copy protection further erodes sound quality so the lure of MP3 sound will grow because this will truly be as good as it gets and the industry will have shot itself in the foot again. What about the music? Unfortunately, precious few seem to care.

High CD prices combined with the wide range of entertainment alternatives are hurting the industry. Funds previously spent only on CDs are now divided between CDs, DVDs, PC games, etc.

Online prices are Bullshi*t high

Crappy music and high prices just dont sell. How hard can that be for the industry to understand?

Stupidity and greed. Lack of ability to adapt to the future. High prices too.

Maybe video really did kill the radio star.

The poor selection of new music drives me to online downloads of which I can sample before I purchase. This is ok for my iPod but I prefer the sound quality of SACD on the home system.

Most CDs today sound the same. No dynamic range and most of the "talent" is in the look of the performer, not the sound of the music.

People are more interested in downloading their choice of music at reasonable prices via the internet. We are not talking about superior sound but accessibility to favorite music at fair prices.

The main reason that the music industry is in trouble id two fold. The main reason is the Compact Disk format is outdated and the industry promised a higher quality product from LP which never materialized. The electronics industry isn't helping either because a decent playback audio system for CD playback costs thousands of dollars. Both industries have caused these problems and it is only them who can correct their past mistakes.

I think the move to online music will continue to erode the profitability of the recording industry. The expense of recording(the current large industry) is disapprearing in classic music and popular music can not be far behind. The largest segement of the public is not sound quality oriented. And we the few will pay $30.00 to $50.00 for a reisued LP.

Need more variety and less advertising on terrestrial radio. Nobody wants ot hear the same 20 tracks played everyday for a month before hearing something different. Many companies have been used to making good $ from CDs, now that music is $1 per track the profit margin has dropped, so they bitch instead of moving forward.

Has to be the poor selection of new music. Sometimes I walk into a record store, wallet full and ready to spend - and just stand there in amazement at all the boring garbage on display. I stand there thinking "i'd love to buy something but I can't find anything I want"......... You've also got to blame the radio stations (In Sydney anyway) for the poor selection of music on offer. Finding out about new music is hard, as a quick jig of the dial uncovers nothing more than the same standards that are played over and over. Delta Goodrem, The Eagles, Elton John, Green Day, Pearl Jam. As good as they are, I'm falling asleep typing them! Where is the variety?