Rumours of the death of music are exaggerated

David Crow says the record industry’s attempt to clamp down on illegal downloads is belated and befuddled — but the good news is that live music is thriving again

Back in the late 1990s when the music download revolution was gathering pace, sentimentalists predicted the death of music. Those who spent their youth in rented flats littered with LPs before moving to mortgaged houses furnished with neat racks of CDs felt that free and illegal MP3 files would cannibalise the industry. But the huge irony of this revolution is that it has led to a resurgence in live music. CD sales fell by 10.6 per cent in Britain in 2007 — forcing artists to return to the stage. Last year saw more music festivals than ever before; live music revenues were up 8 per cent on 2006. The list of artists who have sold out the O2 arena in the former Millennium Dome includes Prince, Led Zeppelin and Kylie Minogue.