Maybe the sky falling is a good thing?

Just some random speculation on my part here, but think about it:

I believe that a gutting of the recording industry may be a good thing for all of us.  Of course, the 'industry' is never going to disappear.  People love music, and are willing to pay for it.  There will always be ways for musicians to make a buck.

But the whole 'recording industry' as a big corporate run deal could disappear within our lifetime.  And if it does, I say hurray! 

Think about it.  We're living in a world where anything that gets recorded is soon available for free as a download/torrent.  And while there are still people out there willing to buy CDs and DVDs of their favorite bands (and even not so favorite ones), they're doing it a lot less than they used to. 

And as this happens, the 'industry' is turning more and more to crap that will make them a quick buck.

It seems like a recipe for disaster.  As soon as the teeny-boppers stop buying Jonas Brothers albums and download them instead, there goes most of the big money left to be made from CD sales.

And where will that leave us? 

Big name groups will mostly rely on concert tours and TV/streaming internet performances to make money.

Small name groups will likely rely on playing local venues, and again internet self promotion.

Mass market produced bands (including just about every pop group here in Korea) will no longer be marketable.  If the group can't actually sing or play their instruments well, they just look good on TV or have that ear-worm inducing crappy sound indiscriminate kids love, would they really survive in a more cutthroat market where musicians are competing for attention as live audiences?  I don't think so.

We, the music loving populace, would be left with a world where talent once again matters, and musicians who have that talent and dedication would make a living (maybe not rock stars, but they'd be making a living) while the posers and wannabes would be left behind.

Or maybe I'm dreaming.  Maybe the populace is stupid enough, and has poor enough taste, that the crap would remain. 

Actually, unfortunately, that's likely the case.

But it also means that the RPG industry ain't going anywhere anytime soon, either.  We're in the age where anyone can whip up an RPG, and either give it away free on the internet, sell it as a download, or use a POD service to sell actual copies.  Yeah, no one doing that is likely to earn a ton of money, or meet the sales numbers of a big publisher, but as long as there are folks out there with some passion putting out their own RPGs and RPG modules/supplements, there's going to be people making some money off of all of this.

Maybe not a gold mine, but a small corner store isn't unthinkable.