High in corporate towers, overpaid executives blame a lack of compelling new repertoire, of charismatic artists and of public tolerance for long-winded classics - in short, they blame everthing except their own failure to invest in talent, allowing it to grow a personality as it steadily acquires a following. They also misread the effects of social and technological revolution.
....In the industry's heyday every self-respecting label had its own catalogue version of every masterpiece, and every decade brought a technological improvement which prompted a further set of recordings. These were rhythms on which the industry ran happily for half a century: sensible, profitable rhythms that made great music continually relevant to changing times.
Those rhythms were disrupted, distorted and ultimately destroyed by digital recording, which delivered sonic utopia and exposed the flaws in the process. Attentive listeners were able to hear underground trains rumbling beneath Decca's Kingsway Hall, and botched edits in supposedly authentic performances. Digital clarity revealed the artificiality of recording, the fundamental fakery of producing an inhumanly accurate replica of all-too human music. As the digital sheen wore off, so did the sales.
Expectations of exponential growth were shattered and desperate execs polluted their labels with pop-like ephemeralities. Neither DVD nor super-audio CD will rekindle public interest. [La Scena Musicale] So has digital recording exposed the imperfection of real people playing real music? Does the hermetic sterility of digital reveal human musicians as fatally flawed? Is the classical industry really at the end of the line, or just at the bottom of a cyclical trough as in the '30s when the industry in America virtually disappeared?
My guess is that Lebrecht's apocalyptic view is exaggerated and that the industry will rebound, though perhaps in an altered form. But perhaps it is really the old form itself that he will miss. Though digital recording may lay the process bare, over time listeners will become more sophisticated and realize that lack of perfection doesn't destroy greatness, just emphasizes its humanity.
Article comments
1 - Jim Carruthers
I think the classics labels just need more releases of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons".
Actually, while the article calls for more stars, the real problem is repertoire. For example, DG-London-Philips in the 90s made most of their money from orchestral movie scores (eg Braveheart) The Three Tenors and catalogue.
Expensive stars were a loss leader as long as they looked good on the cover. Add in the constant deficits almost all orhcestras run, and you have an unstainable business.