∞
I think we are quite privilidged to be whitnessing the music industry blow-up in such fantastic fashion all around us. How many generations can say they have seen such a site?
What with EMI embroiled in more law suits than record releases, and SonyBMG having a domestic after their short lived affair (they want an annulment - I can only assume they were having trouble in the bedroom. Or is that boardroom?) That leaves just Universal Music Group (the biggest of the majors)on solid ground. But how solid is that ground?
If the industry continues the way it is going, will there be any value in the back-catalogue spanning fifty years of commercial tat? No doubt that some would argue that of course these classic records are the bedrock of pop-culture and should consequently be worshiped, revered and (most importantly) paid for. I however question the value.
Live Nation may be paying exuberant prices for old artists but they are doing all encompassing deals - they are capitalize on recordings as well as live sales and merch. This goes to show that an artist now is worth more than an artist in the past. Wanna keep making money off that back catalogue? Let people take a run at it. Let people re-mix and re-work it into something new. Then you can sign them and sell their tickets and t-shirts too.
∞
∞ Last.fm Tosses Royalties Towards Unsigned, Independent Artists... — Digital Music News
Nice work Last.FM! Goes to show what a great equaliser the internet can be - now if you’re not getting paid at least you know it’s because you rubbish. Okay, that’s a bit harsh, the big boys still have the legs on you in terms or marketting but I imagine you can probably whip up enough for a cup of tea through this. If anyone does manage to make this work for them I’d love to hear about it…
∞
“Some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts.
— Jim Morrison (via Jacque) (via jeremyk)
∞
Just had a chat with
Tom Harman of
Super Tennis fame (and graphic designer / front-end developer extraordinaire at
Mint) about how bands use MySpace. He raised the point that if a band over-designs their profile then they run the risk of appearing to be trying too hard. Super Tennis use the default profile and allow their fans to interact with the site as they wish. Super Tennis only use the player and the gig listings facility and rarely if ever reply to messages or comments. The band however are whipping up quite the fan-base in spite of their lack of interaction with the people who dote on them. People seem to be ready to accept that the band have more important things to be doing the messing around with the god-awefull interface of MySpace and are happy to consume content in the way they have come to know.
∞
2gether was brilliant, but of course the highlight for me was when a bunch of crazy dutch people called the Chaos Pilots and a really enthusiastic chap calling himself a Disruptor took it upon themselves to Map UMG’s business by quizzing a chap called Leon Hill, a big fella that heads up some sort of digital department over at UMG.
I briefly spoke to Leon after the session but the crazys interupted and made us all hold hands, stand in a circle and shout a lot. Leon very kindly gave me his email address, little did he know what he let himself in for… here are some highlights of the message I sent him:
“You mentioned that piracy would soon become less of a problem than it is currently. You mentioned that this was likely to be as a result of action taken by ISP’s. I agree that ISP’s could cut a pirates access to the web and very effectively halt the illegal distribution of music. I do however wonder if this is the “right” thing to do. The music industry as a whole elicits little sympathy from the public - it is a commonly held view that the industry screws over artists and that the fans screw over the music industry. This was compounded by the (supposed) litigation bought against twelve year old girls for downloading Britney songs. If the industry starts pulling the plug (rightly or wrongly) on illegal file sharers then the attitude toward stealing music will become one of defiance.
I wonder if piracy could become less of a problem in a different manner. When the chap asked you to point out where you saw Universal’s main revenue stream coming from in the next ten years, you indicated toward the side of the board detailing the predominantly direct routes from artist to consumer. This included tickets and merch (both evidently already significantly in the mind of Universal). It would follow then, that as this becomes more important, does the traditional business of selling records become less so? And if this is the case, does piracy matter? Does piracy not then become the promotional tool for the live show in the same way that the single is a promo for the album?
I read an excellent quote recently by a chap called Cory Doctorow; “Conversation is king, content is just something to talk about”. I think this has massive implications for the music industry. The industry has always, in one way or another, sought to get people talking about their artists. Whether it be the A&R person “creating a buzz” or the marketing folks creating viral campaigns, it all comes down to getting people to talk.
Music piracy is rife, but I wonder if somehow it can be harnessed? Music is such an important thing in our culture. People define themselves by the music that they listen to. They are ready and willing to buy into the brand of an artist because they feel some affinity to them. Therefore, I wonder if it now falls to the music industry to move on from records and to start thinking about how value can be added to that baseline (no pun intended)?”
Poor guy!
∞
artistspaid:
aprilini:
31.2% (down .3%) Universal Music Group
20.8% (up.8%) Warner Music Group
24.8% (down .5%) Sony BMG
13.9% (up 1%) Independents
9.4% (down 1%) EMI
(increase/decrease form the year before)
How that for perspective?
From Digital Music News
∞
∞ British Labels Earn More Than Ever from Non-Sales Revenue Sources | Listening Post from Wired.com
“Labels have rapidly evolved into digitally literate businesses…” - Geoff Taylor, BPI. Sorry Geoff, not sure I’d agree with you there, however it is good to see that the industry realises that there is more to selling records than, well, selling records.
∞
Hey kids,
I’ve been pretty flat out with other stuff right now so apologies if I’ve been a little slack on the blogging front.
I have been reading a lot though. Here’s a few titles that have held my notoriously short attention span:
Clay Shirky - Here Comes Everybody
An amazingly lucid insight into the workings of the social web.
Paul Graham - Hackers and Painters
Kind of dated now but still holds some truths about what I like to call “the dark side”.
Charles leadbeater - We-Think
Just about to start this so will report back next week or so.
Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid - Sound Unbound
This one is up after We-Think. Again I’ll let you know but this is the one I am looking forward to the most.
So all of you are to write a 1,000 word essay on one of the titles. I want them on my desk by some arbitrary time otherwise you’ll be in detention.
