In my previous installment, I outlined what I thought was wrong with the music industry today, namely the complete overreaction and panic induced by an unforeseen loss of control over the distribution of their product.
They've controlled the entire chain of music recording for decades and to be scooped by a technology they had not developed, licensed or controlled in some way really smarted them. I also thought the copyright battles are a meaningless side avenue, brought about by an industry trying to regain control over their product and to recoup revenue from distribution, their largest source of profit.
Anyone who has read the news lately knows what's wrong with the record industry today, but now I'd like to toss out a few ideas about how to make it right. The most important thing the industry can do now is quite simple: Get Over It. Yes, hundreds of thousands of people have downloaded music and swapped terabytes of files. Going after the file trading services is not going to work, because people want to download and trade files.
In case you haven't noticed, these same people downloading and trading songs are your consumers and you've managed to royally pissed them off with your antics. Why not do what a business is supposed to do and meet not only your customer's needs, but also their wants? Engage the market and offer a competing product that is superior to the ubiquitous MP3.
The most important thing you need to do is recognize that the CD, as a music delivery platform, is obsolete. It's dead, kaput, no more. It's had a great run, but time marches on and it's time to put it out to pasture. It is now the Age of Digital Music and your task is to figure out how to wrangle this beast and make it your own.
First, look at your target market. Those people, aged 13-25, have grown up with computers and have incorporated the beige boxes into every facet of their life. They also like to listen to music, specifically new and popular music. It's not surprising then that the two looming giants, Computers and Music, have been effortlessly mated together. It's easier for them to download songs they like and listen to them on their computers via an MP3 program or portable player than to go to the store and pay an obscene amount of money for a single CD that may have only one song they like.
Article comments
1 - Paul
I'm aware that I got the backwards compatibility thing ass backwards.
"meaning people will be able to play your files on their existing devices, but MP3's won't work on your products."
It should be the other way around.
2 - Jeff
Paul-
It's all very nice of you to try and help the music industry find it's way out of the mess they're in, but suggesting that they invent a proprietary music delivery system and use it to retain control of the market ignores their track record.
The industry has a long history of exploitation, both of listeners and performers. I can't believe that you mean to suggest that they continue to dominate music culture.
I'm sure you are aware that there are tens of thousands of recording artists who will never be given a ride by the industry. It's the nature of the business- there is only so much time to promote artists via mass media. This is the industry's strength and its weakness.
The advent of music distribution and promotion via the net signals a brand new era for performers and listeners, one in which there is more choice and more opportunity all around.
Rather than promote a system where control is retained by the few, I hope you will reconsider your position and realise that the mass-marketing model is permenantly broken when it comes to music. Embrace the future, which belongs to all of us.
Jeff
Steam Powered Studio
3 - Paul
I agree with your thoughts to an extent, but I think we also have to be practical about things. The large music companies aren't going anywhere anytime soon, so we still need to deal with them.
I was trying to throw out some ideas to make the music conglomerates less antagonistic toward their consumers, which is the only way they'll survive the next 20 years. They're currently trying to compete with their customers rather than a product, and that will eventually kill them in the end.
I agree with you that the Net is a godsend to those songwriters and musicians ignored by the record labels , but I don't think I've seen anything that has really helped these artists out too much. I think the problem lay in the tastes of Americans at large. Americans like the mass-produced music and the crap churned out by the major record labels. Most of your independent artists tend to be on the fringe, at least musically, and enjoy a relatively small following. I don't think the Net has changed this fact. It's only made it easier for those who seek quality music to find it easier.
That doesn't mean I discount the Net as an avenue for artists and songwriters to promote themselves and make some money. I just haven't seen the killer app that blows the old paradigm (I hate that word, but it fits) away and allows these folks to reach a larger audience.
I hope that rambling made some sense to you and I appreciate your thoughts on it. In fact, you've gotten me thinking about a third installment that addresses the issue you brought up. Thank you.
4 - Christopher Rose
Paul's first comment above is the first ever comment made to this entire site. This comment of mine, some four and a half years later, is the 451,868th!