The New York Times talks about the chaos in the major label world.

CD sales have plunged more than 20 percent this year, far outweighing any gains made by digital sales at iTunes and similar services. Also, It’s to costly to sign new bands and build a buzz.

Sources say “Everyone in the industry thinks of this Christmas as the last big holiday season for CD sales,” Mr. Sinnreich said, “and then everything goes kaput.”

EMI agreed last week to be purchased for more than $4.7 billion by a private equity investor, Terra Firma Capital Partners, whose diverse holdings include a European waste-conversion business. Rival bids could yet surface — though the higher the ultimate price, the more pressure the owners will face to make dramatic cuts or sell the company in pieces in order to recoup their investment.

Very few albums have gained traction. More than half of all music acquired by fans last year came from unpaid sources including Internet file sharing and CD burning, according to the market research company NPD Group.

Although Majors are trying different approaches in order to survive, the real million dollar problem is the creative drought and the lack of artists who ignite consumers interest in buying music.

Sales of rap, which had provided the industry with a lifeboat in recent years, fell far more than the overall market last year with a drop of almost 21 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan. (And the marquee star 50 Cent just delayed his forthcoming album, “Curtis.”)

Its a new world…………….

But….

You can read better news Here, aka the ‘Alternate Industry’.

(NY Times)