Frontline

First Aired: May 27, 2004

“The Way the Music Died” follows Velvet Revolver, a new “super group” composed of former members of Guns & Roses and the Stone Temple Pilots, and singer-songwriter Sarah Hudson (the daughter of Mark Hudson, one of the “zany” Hudson Brothers, who had short-lived success in the 1970s). The decline in the recording industry in recent years is also explored. Among the reasons for the decline are the impact of MTV and illegal downloading of songs, but the primary culprit cited is music-industry and radio-station consolidation, which has led to an overriding emphasis on short-term profits. “It's a classic example of art and commerce colliding and nobody wins,” says Los Angeles disc jockey Nic Harcourt.