[PhillipHer]

Well, if we look past everyone's personal opinions regarding why the article came up, I would say the subject of the article is very true. TFM is going through a very lean time. All the music directors have spoken about piracy problem, but no one is willing to take time out to solve the issue.

[LottiFurmann]

If one goes by the article, it looks like music alone does not sell nowadays, even if it has the name tag of ARR...All of these need visuals and movie's success to perk them up...

[Drugmachine]

guys guys guys guys!!!!!!!! y???? y must we discuss & debate on the same issue like for million times every year/month.... the whole news on the Audio by Sify was true....EXCEPT the Godfather part,saying not even people wanna download the mp3s...thats a lil too much exeggeration !!! they should check the hits by people on the download pages of Godfather on mp3 sites...its standing the 1st..... its not a proud thing knowing it will affect its sales!! but thats the facts....telling GF a big flop,even the mp3 is not beeing downloaded is def too much...other than that,i think the news is pretty much true....!!

[Raj_Copi_Jin]

I think MADDY is pointing at the dominance of HR in HFM and comparing the share of YSR, HJ in TFM

[brraverishhh]

http://sify.com/movies/tamil/fullstory.php?id=14255448

[brraverishhh]

i dont think we need a 3rd grade site like sify to tell us that audio market is down.....we all know that.......that article was just to make a dig at ARRahman's godfather..........i still remember the first day when GF released on coolgoose, i tried to download and i was getting the "server busy" message for almost the whole day and could download the song next day only.....

really guys, heart in heart i dunt think HJ and YSR are giving the kinda music that ARR and IR gave in their peak..........i would attribute this as the foremeost reason rather than piracy and other nonsenses.........can anyone explain y piracy is not a problem for Himesh and S-E-L in HFM? though they are not selling as much as Anu Malik and Nadeem-Shravan did in 90's but still they are selling very well.....

[LottiFurmann]

Piracy is a huge problem, as far as Tamil/Malayalam industries are concerned. People are willing to buy cheaper pirated versions than buy originals. They are more willing to download. There are so many sites open to download songs. I am sure that if Piracy was curbed, we would see at least 50% increase in sales then now.

But that's high thinking...

[LottiFurmann]

I'm sure this is a natural consequence of people in the industry as a whole taking the art of composing music as a joke. Most of the people in the industry nowadays are living a lie of one kind or another: the lie that [youths] will only consume their products if they cater to their basest nature, and/or the lie that if they can make quick bucks they'll be alright.

I know that I will sound preachy with what I have to say next, but I don't care.

Very little of our music gives glory to The Living God (whatever you want to call Him). It's been this way since the heyday of Ilayaraja, or maybe even longer. We chose to write songs glorifying something other than God: sex out of marriage, 'turn-on love', competition, or idolizing mere men, from Rajnikanth to Sathyaraj to Vijay to Simbhu. I'm sorry to say, but this approach will in the long run destroy us, just like it has destroyed the music industry.

If I have riled anyone up writing this, then that's fine. I'd rather be truthful than politically correct.


Regards,
Nitya

[doctorzlo]

Nowadays people can access net and hear the song. He can decide whether to buy genuine CD or copy it . You have FM which broadcasts right from the morning to midnight with mixture of old songs to latest one. Like this people have so many option.

Very difficult to sell nowadays unless you have combination of big names(AVM/Rajini/ARR/Shankar). I dont think repeated buying will not sustain more than a week. Those days are over. We need big wave like ARR to make people turn around.


regards
ramesh

[Ifroham4]

in old days a film ran for 400 days easily...

during rajni kamal days its 200 days

ippo 100 naal odradhe periya vishayam..its a similar issue!

[Raj_Copi_Jin]

Trouble is, film industry is a chaotic and selfish place. No one cares beyond their personal goal. An actors salary is just for the film. A music director gets his salary and that's how far he will strain himself. Even I am surprised when I hear that music directors get paid so much when their music isn't even selling to good levels. Sure, reviews will be there, good or bad. But then, that's because media needs something to write/talk about. And producers, well, they just want that extra money from audio sales.

I agree with Nitya about the downfall of music. It has steadily increased with every other hero coming up with self-glorifying songs, from Rajni to the latest Arya. How much can you hear that crap?

And like Ramesh says, music is heard on fm stations and online everywhere. That's because of copyright and laziness of music directors.

I think they should charge FM stations for playing songs. And internet music sites should be charged as well. It might take time, but it is a good way to curb all the audio problems. The reason people aren't buying is because they are getting everything free. These days, fans glorify music, but nothing is that good. I last bought ARR's Rang De Basanti, and it was just all right. Nothing compared to most of his other albums.

But even when you go to stores that sell audio cds, the store owners are selling pirated copies and have originals out for show and tell. Tamil music industry is becoming zero.

Even today, films will run 100/200 days. Especially in India. Problem is lousy theaters, high ticket prices, piracy, and tv. TV is a problem not because of mega serials, but because when TV has cinema 18hrs a day, why will people go to theaters. Film industry needs to look at all these issues.

Telugu industry still has films that run more then 100 days in more than 100 centers. Every year, several films run like that. The ticket prices are lower, the theaters are good and they are making good end products(technically), compared to Tamil. Their music industry has not been affected as badly as Tamil industry yet. There is still good market for music there.

Beyond everything, these music directors should come out and fight for copyright issues.

[Peptobismol]

i dont think we need a 3rd grade site like sify to tell us that audio market is down.....we all know that.......that article was just to make a dig at ARRahman's godfather..........i still remember the first day when GF released on coolgoose, i tried to download and i was getting the "server busy" message for almost the whole day and could download the song next day only.....

really guys, heart in heart i dunt think HJ and YSR are giving the kinda music that ARR and IR gave in their peak..........i would attribute this as the foremeost reason rather than piracy and other nonsenses.........can anyone explain y piracy is not a problem for Himesh and S-E-L in HFM? though they are not selling as much as Anu Malik and Nadeem-Shravan did in 90's but still they are selling very well.....

I agree with you Maddy ! Sify is one crap site that should be deserted forever. There are lots of mindless idiots in its side who give news from a streetfighter perspective. For heaven sake, sify should learn what a site should do to earn the good will and name which can be there for a long time. It is becoming more like a forum where they post their news and with a disclaimer..

I think no one in TFM or HFM can bring back the good old days of IR and ARR.
Infact, there are no symptoms for such third wave in TFM as well as in HFM.
Recent Audio Blockbuster RDB is a perfect example of what makes ARR special when it comes to HFM.

Sify is proclaiming as if the previous years were golder era in TFM so that we have no hits this year. to be precise, this is purely bcoz of several problems in entire TF.

It is people like IR and ARR who have the ability to bring it back with their brand !

[Raj_Copi_Jin]

I think no one in TFM or HFM can bring back the good old days of IR and ARR.Infact, there are no symptoms for such third wave in TFM as well as in HFM.Recent Audio Blockbuster RDB is a perfect example of what makes ARR special when it comes to HFM.

yes selva, but in HFM there is clearly a wave......Himesh is really rocking, S-E-L are doing gr8, Pritam is doing good and they have MM.Kreem also......HFM is pretty good......there is a Dearth of Talent in TFM........whether ppl. want to acknowledge it or not.....

It is people like IR and ARR who have the ability to bring it back with their brand !

i dont think so......ARR is very much out of place in this current TFM and TF setup........i wud really be surprised if he wud succeed again in TFM as he did in 90's......IR, well, for me his days were over long back........he cannot create any waves now........immediate future for TFM is indeed very bleak.........hope for someone who can repeat 76' or 92' will come in future......

[radikal]

I think no one in TFM or HFM can bring back the good old days of IR and ARR.Infact, there are no symptoms for such third wave in TFM as well as in HFM.Recent Audio Blockbuster RDB is a perfect example of what makes ARR special when it comes to HFM.

yes selva, but in HFM there is clearly a wave......Himesh is really rocking, S-E-L are doing gr8, Pritam is doing good and they have MM.Kreem also......HFM is pretty good......there is a Dearth of Talent in TFM........whether ppl. want to acknowledge it or not.....

It is people like IR and ARR who have the ability to bring it back with their brand !

i dont think so......ARR is very much out of place in this current TFM and TF setup........i wud really be surprised if he wud succeed again in TFM as he did in 90's......IR, well, for me his days were over long back........he cannot create any waves now........immediate future for TFM is indeed very bleak.........hope for someone who can repeat 76' or 92' will come in future......

[PhillipHer]

How much do Telugu CDs cost in India? If you look on kaddvd.com, the USD price is no more than $3.49, while Tamil CDs cost about double that on US retailers' sites.

Most albums (in any language) are disposable. Listen to them once or twice then move on. I download most HJ and YSR albums, listen once or twice, then delete them. Not even worth the hard drive space to keep them

[Lillie_Steins]

Yes,
But what would we do without the option of downloading? Would we continuously listen to the same songs, or go out and look for something and buy.

We can sit and chat all we want, to justify our individual stands, but piracy is a huge problem. Why not suggest ways to reduce that instead of justifying downloading, especially new albums that are coming out for sale.

YSR and HJ are the 2 popular MDs today, and music stores do say that their albums sell. If it's worth the hard drive space and time to download....blank.

Agreed that Tamil CDs are more expensive in outside, but when most are willing to buy English CDs for $20, with crappy songs, what's wrong in buying Tamil CDs. Within India, Telugu audios and Tamil audios go for about the same prices. I can't see a huge difference in prices. New Telugu CD's are priced a little more. They are cutting down prices due to piracy. Yet, in Andhra music sells because piracy is not as huge as with Tamils. Like I said, if I go to a store to get originals, it's easier to get pirated version because there are so many. Everyone wants a quick buck. It's a problem worldwide, but Bollywood/West are so huge that the impact isn't as huge. But there are billions of dollars worth of loss for the West every year due to music piracy.

As said, it would be better to discuss ways to curb rampant piracy. These music directors/producers should do something about it, something strong. As far as music directors go, Rahman has the place and power to get some strong action going, but I still wonder why he has not taken a big stand on this issue yet. No one is willing to come out with private albums in the South because of piracy. Just 10 years back, the media was going on about a growing pop music scene in South India. That scene disappeared long back.

[brraverishhh]

It is people like IR and ARR who have the ability to bring it back with their brand !

I don't think they will turn around anything now. IR is gone and so is ARR. His SOK will bite the dust too.

[radikal]

I download most HJ and YSR albums, listen once or twice, then delete them. Not even worth the hard drive space to keep them

Well, you are listening HJ/YSR atleast once/twice. But I don't even bother downloading ARR's albums. I don't think I have listened to any of his recent albums even once. So opinions differ my friend.

[doctorzlo]

I don't think I have listened to any of his recent albums even once

still u pass judgement on ARR's quality in the past few years??

judge, idhu unakke nyayama? u send ur ears and brain to onsite project in US whenever u see ARR albums and then pass comment on him , then i dunt think its fair.....

[LottiFurmann]

MADDY:

The point underlying in my statement is we should consider majority of people's opinion instead of taking just one individual's opinion seriously. Because eveyone has his/her own interests and likings. Mr.Dragun may feel that HJ/YSR songs are not worthy of his hard drive. Well, I feel even less for ARR's songs. The general crowd likes HJ/YSR albums, that is the fact. If I am not wrong, this is the very same statement ("songs are good only for a brief period") made by every IR fan when ARR was chruning out songs in 1990s. I think history repeats and ARR fans are at the receiving end