Let the ''music industry'' die.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Once upon a time, the music industry made its money off of sales of sheet music, then it was sales of recorded music, and if it isn't already there it will be making money off of merchandising.


You've got it backward Jacob:

They take cute child stars from the Disney channel who aren't musicians, hire professional songwriters to write ring-tone approved hits to satisfy 12yo girls, and then promote the sh**t out of the song by having it featured on commercials, on MTV, on the radio. The stars appear on billboards, they're guest stars on TV programs, TMZ and Access Hollywood start discussing them.

The licensed products, commercial endorsements, and guest star appearances of its featured are where the music industry can make its money these days as 99¢ iTune singles ain't gonna make them a lot of money.  They no longer need or want moody temperamental artistes who take three or more years to make an album so they can get it just right.  (Besides, the album is essentially a dead art form right now.)

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Disagree.  You know how much money it takes to subsidize an 87 piece symphony orchestra?  Or a full-fledged opera company?  They need to pay dozens and dozens of people, maintain dozens and dozens of extremely expensive instruments, etc.  They aren't surviving off of those ticket sales alone, the album sales (via iTunes and actual physical albums) are necessary to stay afloat.  If everyone is pirating the Boston Pops or the King's College Choir or whatever there's basically no way they can make up the loss.

And how many different recordings of Beethoven's Fifth by second and third rate orchestras do we need?  (Not that the two groups you specifically named are second or third-rate.)  There are over one hundred symphony orchestras in the United States alone.  Obviously they can't all make their money by selling recordings to people who never come to see them play in person. For the vast majority of classical music groups, the recordings they sell aren't being bought so much for the music, but rather they exist as a tangible thank-you from the group for a donation.  Sorta like the chatchkes public broadcasting offers during pledge drives.