The record industry
The record industry is undoubtedly in crisis, with labels
laying off employees in continuation. This is because CD
sales are plummeting as youngsters prefer to download
their music from the Internet, usually free of charge.
And yet it´s not all gloom and doom. Some labels are
in fact thriving. Putumayo World Music, for example, is
growing, thanks to its catalogue of ethnic compilation
albums, featuring work by largely unknown artists from
around the planet.
Putumayo, which takes its name from a valley in
Colombia, was founded in New York in 1993. It began life
as an alternative clothing company, but soon decided to
concentrate on music. Indeed its growth appears to have
coincided with that of world music as a genre.
Speak Up. Ano XXIII, nº 275 (fragmento).
A indústria fonográfica passou por várias mudanças
no século XX e, como consequência, as empresas
enfrentaram crises. Entre as causas, o texto da revista
Speak Up aponta
