There is a music market crisis but not a new ideas crisis. Music stores in Greece are only 250, people want to hear something new and they prefer to download their music online.

“I understood that there is a crisis then I saw people eating all of their nuts,” says a night club owner for “Kathemerini” newspaper. The season, which had passed was the hardest for the “night owls,” because before night clubs were open 3-4 times per week and now they are working only on Friday and Saturday.

The singers, who can take over night clubs, are not many. Some of the ones who still play live music are Pashalis Terzis and Yannis Ploutarhos. Also people’s preferences have changed – now they prefer smaller bars. The year for Fovis Delivoriyas was very successful – long lines were waiting in front of the club where he plays. Tanya Izanaklidou had to add a third day in her performance schedule, in order to satisfy everybody who wanted to hear her. The clubs, where Eleni Vitali and Sokratis Malamas perform, were also full.

What is happening to the two pop divas of the Greek stage – Anna Vissi and Despina Vandi? It is clear that Anna Vissi is still working hard in order to make an international career but because her age is on her way, she decided to make a so called “international” album, in which she partners with some established names on the world music scene. On the other hand, Despina Vandi, who is married to the president of the soccer team AEK Demis Nikolaidis, is copying Victoria Beckham’s style. Of course, both of them are taking good care of their images – firm bodies, smiles, filling pages in gossip magazines and photos – the one with her boyfriend and the other with her husband and children. The lack of interest in Anna Vissi and Despina Vandi is probably due to the fact that their song repertoires do not stand the test of time.

At the same time, music stores in Athens and Thessaloniki are closing one after the other. People from the line of business believe that very soon, performers will gain only 30% from their overall income from music sale and the rest 70% will come from concerts. CDs sale fall is not happening only in Greece but all around the world. An illustrative example is that in Greece, there were 2500 music stores in 1998 and today they are around 250-300. Prognosis show, that only 100 will be left.

People who buy CDs are usually above 30 years old and it is believed that during 2010, Greeks will download ?3 million worth of music. But no matter how many new forms of sales are thought of, the turnover will never reach its previous stage.

People working in clubs with live music say that “the audience wants to hear something special. People are tired of hearing the same things over and over again.” Everybody’s biggest worry is the new trend – many people in Greece and all around the world are struggling with this question. Famous performers are also in a dead end street, because they are complaining that “artists are not enough” – composers, as well as poets and this is why some of them decide to record their own music.

In connection to this, Mihalis Hadziyannis is one of the few who are very successful. He sells 100 000 CDs and his last concert gathered 20 000 people.