That is a far less interesting prospect than a dramatic, industry-changing merger or acquisition.
Many other dramatic music industry reinventions have been preceded by a period of isolation – U2 famously dropped off the radar between Rattle and Hum and Achtung Baby to "dream it up again", while after 1980s's Heartattack and Vine Tom Waits got married, did a string of bit parts in movies and then released Swordfishtrombones out of pretty much nowhere.
In the letter, Mr. Wagoner said the "dramatic impact" on industry sales from the global credit crisis was forcing the cutbacks.
In fact it is a ruthless business which has dealt with market shifts about as dramatic as any industry has experienced.
The fallout from 9/11 was not as dramatic for the industry, as the summer inventory had already been sold, and confidence rebounded quickly.
"They have come a long way in a year and there has been a dramatic improvement," one industry observer said, "but we need the evidence".
There is a growing realisation if not yet dramatic action that the industry's marketing model needs to slim down and take a new shape to boost returns.
"The celebrations are going to get more dramatic because this industry is growing at an average rate of 25percentt per annum," said Pradeep Hirani, owner of Kimaya, a chain of Indian luxury stores.
"That might not sound significant, but it's dramatic in our industry," Ruiz said.
Even more dramatic increases in industry employment shares between 1993 1994 and 2011 2012 occurred for older educated males, both in rural and urban areas.
