Bob Lefsetz and I agree that Apple is not killing the record business

I wrote my original post on this topic last month on Strategize.  Here’s what my post boiled down to:

Here’s the simple fact of the matter: if record labels were scouting talent and investing in and backing artists that could produce more than 1 good song, people would do the math and probably buy a CD.

Here’s what’s going to happen: the record labels are going to cause me to turn into a consumer of singles rather than a consumer of full albums.  Sure it will be a little difficult for me to change my buying behavior, but I bet it won’t take too long — chances are good that I’ll probably even wind up saving a bunch of money over the course of a year.  Oh, and by the way, I haven’t heard a single in a long time that was worth $2.99.

Bob Lefsetz has this to say in his 2 posts today:

Sometime in the nineties it became about the track, not the act.  THAT’S what’s killing the labels, not the purchase of single hits at the iTunes Music Store.

Suddenly, the labels are gonna wake up, and I mean SUDDENLY, and they’re barely going to be able to give away a CD.  THEN what are they going to do?  Sell singles on iTunes and DECIMATE their bottom line?

It’s a little eerie isn’t it?  Especially when you consider that Bob and I have never talked, let alone met each other.  Sure, you can say that we both see it the same way because we’re both in the industry, but at the end of the day, everyone else is smart enough to see it too.

Link — Lefsetz “The iTunes Fiasco”

Link — Lefsetz “The Album”