An excert from Jerry Del Colliano’s Inside Music Media:

“They are producing too much music that is unremarkable. In an era when music is stolen and shared routinely, the labels need to focus on polishing up their best acts.

They also need to be out there finding new acts across all genres.

But if there was ever a last ditch option for a record label it is to prepare professional music and acts as no one else can. The music industry critic Bob Lefsetz says why not produce one good album a year for fewer artists. He has a point.

Free is the new radio and the labels either don’t get it or don’t want to get it.

Just as radio stations used to influence the record buying public by playing music for free over the air, free filesharing serves that role today. Back then, consumers could have recorded music off a radio station on, say, a boom box – at lesser fidelity and with dj patter included, but most opted to go to Tower Records or Sam Goody.

The record business is not going to survive by selling all music but some music very well produced, done and packaged.

The RIAA campaign against record label customers has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. The labels find it hard to stand down even though piracy increases ever year in spite of the threat of lawsuits. The situation just gets worse for labels. I give it a few more years and then even they will throw in the towel.

The question is: Is the record industry “Mission Impossible” or “Get Smart”?

Only they can change the channel — and time continues to run out.”

Read the entire article on Jerry’s blog HERE.