Will the record industry, as we know it, still exist in 2018?
Given that every single bulletin issued by the sector continues to be full of doom and gloom, the business itself doesn't even appear to hold out much hope for its survival.
It's not alone in its pessimism. Acts who have grown audiences on the back of record-label help and support are rapidly copping on that they can now make more cash from live shows.
Established acts are either doing a Radiohead and going it alone or doing a 360 deal, such as Jay-Z and Madonna, and putting all their eggs in the Live Nation basket.
Fans are also not playing ball as they once did and are increasingly hostile to the notion of paying over-the-odds for a plastic disc. However, the large-scale migration to paid-for downloads is not providing enough revenue for the labels to meet their costs. Red has replaced black on the sector's balance sheet.
Of course, none of this is news to anyone who has followed the sad, sorry tale of the death of the record industry as it has unfolded over the last number of years.
But just as politicians like to suggest that we have talked ourselves into a recession, there's also a strong sense that the record labels are content to whinge and moan rather than take any action to get themselves out of the mess.
After all, any other industry that found itself in this kind of pickle would be making wholesale changes in an effort to survive.
Yet, as Guy Hands, the venture capitalist who purchased EMI Music for £2.4 (€3) billion last year, found out when he started examining the books and deals in-depth, the record industry operates to a different set of rules to everyone else. Who else would tolerate a situation where just 5 per cent of releases turn a profit? While a recorded-music industry of some sort will probably still exist 10 years from now, you can take it that it will not look or operate like the current clueless behemoth.
Get thee indoors
Despite the fact that there are still at least a dozen outdoor festivals and shows to come, the list of indoor autumn and winter shows continues to grow.
Crystal Castles make their third Irish visit in 2008 with shows at Dublin's Academy on October 1st and Belfast's Spring & Airbrake the following night.
Goldfrapp will sell a few more copies of Seventh Tree with a show at Tripod in Dublin on November 7th, while Pelican and the excellent Torche play Whelan's on September 16th.
Veteran singer-songwriter Steve Winwood plays his first Irish show in yonks at Tripod on October 3rd.
Turntable innovator and scratch pioneer Grandmaster Flash is at the same venue on October 31st and Stereolab are also there on December 13th.
Preaching music
It's 27 years since David Byrne and Brian Eno released their innovative My Life in the Bush of Ghosts album.
It's a long time to wait for a follow-up, but the pair have been obviously busy with other projects in the meantime.
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today will be released on August 18th, with a taster for the album, Strange Overtones, available to download for free from everythingthathappens.com from Monday.
Eno calls the album "electronic gospel", while Byrne says the tracks are "uplifting, hopeful and positive, even though there are lyrics about cars exploding, war and similarly dark scenarios".
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* You're Only Massive and Queen Kong launch their collaborative album Dot-Dash at Dublin's Project Arts Centre on August 15th.
* Dave Fanning looks at the history of reggae on RTÉ Radio One on Monday next at 1.30pm.
* New-school disco queenpin Little Boots is the guest DJ at Dublin's Button Factory on August 16th. Expect to hear her new single Meddle at least once.
* Irish record-business veteran Dave Pennefather steps down as head of Universal Music Ireland in September after 24 years at the top.
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