Last week I found an interesting piece on the New York Times website that shows a visual representation of the number of audio format units sold by year. This breakdown of format/year vs. units sold/revenue is a great way to finally realize how the music industry, and in some ways the media distribution industry, has been affected over the years.

If you look towards the left side of the page you should see that vinyl LP/EPs consisted of $8.1 billion of revenue, while 8-track tapes contributed $3.1 billion. Both of these numbers were during the peak years of revenue for both formats, which was 1978. During their prime, these two formats created a $9.2 billion music industry, which then shifted into cassette tapes over the following 10 years. In 1988, the highest revenue year for cassette tapes, the industry downgraded to a still-impressive , $6.1 billion, compared to other media & entertainment industries.

This is where the things start to get a little out of control. Another decade later, in 1999, the compact disc (CD) format hit its peak at $16.4 billion dollars of revenue that year. Somehow there was a surge of sales following the rise of MTV, grunge, gangsta rap, and boy bands. It is almost mind-blowing to see visually how much larger this era was than those that came before. What was so enticing about buying records in the late 90s? I’m not sure, but I don’t really care either.

When the music industry hit its monumental year of revenue in 1999, there was almost nowhere else for it to go but down. Obviously people are buying fewer and fewer records now, but it looks like the industry is at a similar size to the 1988 peak for cassette tapes. The most disheartening piece of this whole thing is that download albums and singles don’t have as much growth that other formats had during their formative years.

Be prepared, there still is a large possibility for a major shift in the industry. We are in the middle of a huge battle with how content should be distributed and many of us are questioning what that content is truly worth. It is great to keep in mind that every format shift had its struggles, and the internet is truly flipping most of us on our heads so we are having a rougher time with it. When people do powerful and important things, there will be those who can profit from it. The last thing I am worried about is IF I will be able to make money to support myself in the future… I’m only curious as to HOW.