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Date Posted: 20:10:20 02/22/05 Tue
Author: By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer
Subject: Sony BMG Chief: Industry Faces Tough Years

Sony BMG Chief: Industry Faces Tough Years
By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer

LOS ANGELES - Andrew Lack, CEO of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, has reason to feel good these days. With multi-platinum Grammy winners like Usher, Alicia Keys and Gretchen Wilson, Sony BMG released some of last year's most popular albums. Yet Lack cautions that the music industry is still very much wounded by Internet piracy and faces difficult times despite last year's upswing in album sales.

"The industry has tough years in front of it. I don't think it's going to get suddenly much better," Lack told The Associated Press. "The industry has really been hurt, and it isn't because there isn't great music. This year is strong, and yes we got a little uptick. But the strength of the music was not reflected in the real sales that we should have had."

Album sales increased 1.6 percent last year after four straight years of decline. And digital music sales exploded, encouraging many in the industry. Still, Lack is concerned about the overall erosion of the music-buying audience, and doesn't believe that the problem is getting better.

"I don't want to be a cold shower on a night when we are all celebrating," he said at Sony BMG's post-Grammy party, where the company was basking in the glow of 28 Grammy wins, "but the reality is the business is still really tough for us."

Lack is encouraged, however, about the industry's chances of shutting down Internet file-sharing services which allow users to download music for free. This year the Supreme Court will considering whether the services are responsible for their customers illegally swapping songs and movies, testing the limits of copyright law in the digital age.

"They're going to be looking at whether in fact, these services have really undermined basic principles in this country that have for 200 years protected artists, writers, producers," Lack said. "I think they're going to see it our way."

And although the Grammy telecast suffered a steep drop in viewers despite performances from Usher, Keys, Green Day, Gwen Stefani (news) and U2, Lack said it showcased the industry in the best possible light.

"I think the audience at home probably saw the real music industry in a way that is unusual, because these awards programs can be a veneer, they can be a show," he said. "It transcended the production and you saw and heard artists and music and the continuum of music over the last 30, 40 years, in a way that was quite remarkable."

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