There’s been a lot of hand-wringing ever since this whole Internets thing started to pick up steam in the music industry. Namely, the recording industry has been fretting over what to do, and how to monetize this whole digital thing.
Ed note: The recording industry is a piece of the music industry – if you’re confused, go look here.
At first the Internets didn’t affect CD sales enough to actually bother anyone, so the strategy was “ignore, ignore, ignore”. The RIAA got all put bull and started bringing people to court over illegal downloading, screaming that the people who were doing the illegal downloading (or rather, sharing songs for others to illegally download) were responsible for the current state of the recording industry.
Jump forward a few years and nothing really changed. The recording industry was still for the most part refusing to provide legal options to people who wanted to download music, so the public was still downloading illegally, delivering the Internets equivalent of a middle finger to the big bad RIAA, as well as the recording industry.
Then iTunes happened. Suddenly there was a very popular was to legally download music, and people started doing so. Voila, problem not yet solved, but hey – it was a start.
The thing is, the recording industry and the RIAA were now playing two sides, so to speak. They were getting the revenues from the iTunes downloads, yet still screaming and suing. The theme as it appeared to consumers was “You’re consuming music in the way you want to, and we’re starting to allow you to do that, but we really want our old way back as we made more money, so we’re still going to whine and complain.”
Businesses have to make money, I get it. Everyone gets it.
What many companies in the recording industry fail to realize though, is that their refusal to innovate and adopt new technologies was effectively a huge middle finger in the face of the consumer. That pissed consumers off.
At the end of the day the consumer wants the music – and we don’t necessarily care about the medium it comes on. The limitation of choice is what really pisses people off, and that was a choice made by inaction within the recording industry.
Hello to a problem the recording industry helped create.
So today I ran across his gem of a quote on brand dna, and it got me thinking.
“I think records were just a little bubble through time and those who made a living from them for a while were lucky.
There is no reason why anyone should have made so much money from selling records except that everything was right for this period of time.
I always knew it would run out sooner or later. It couldn’t last, and now it’s running out. I don’t particularly care that it is and like the way things are going.
The record age was just a blip. It was a bit like if you had a source of whale blubber in the 1840s and it could be used as fuel.
Before gas came along, if you traded in whale blubber, you were the richest man on Earth.
Then gas came along and you’d be stuck with your whale blubber. Sorry mate – history’s moving along.
Recorded music equals whale blubber. Eventually, something else will replace it.”
The quote started me thinking about everything I wrote above. How if the THING you trade or sell suddenly is made obsolete, you need to figure out a new thing, a new product, or in this case, a new transportation method (from CDs to fiber optic cables).
Do yourself a favor and go read the entire article. It will take you a few minutes, but the letter is wonderfully written and really shows the evolution and struggle of many to monetize this whole Internets thing, while still delivering what fans want.
I’ve included a few excerpts below (emphasis mine), but really, you should go and read the entire article.
Believe us, we want you to pass our videos around more than you do, but, crazy as it may seem, it’s now far harder for bands to make videos accessible online than it was four years ago
The label fronts the money for us to make recordings – for this album they paid for us to spend a few months with one of the world’s best producers in a converted barn in Amish country wringing our souls and playing tympani and twiddling knobs – and they put up most of the cash that it takes to distribute and promote our albums, including the costs of pressing CDs, advertising, and making videos. We make our videos ourselves, and we keep them dirt cheap, but still, it all adds up, and it adds up to a great deal more than we have in our bank account, which is why we have a record label in the first place.
Let’s take a wider view for a second. What we’re really talking about here is the shift in the way we think about music. We’re stuck between two worlds: the world of ten years ago, where music was privately owned in discreet little chunks (CDs), and a new one that seems to be emerging, where music is universally publicly accessible. The thing is, only one of these worlds has a (somewhat) stable system in place for funding music and all of its associated nuts-and-bolts logistics, and, even if it were possible, none of us would willingly return to that world. Aside from the smug assholes who ran labels, who’d want a system where a handful of corporate overlords shove crap down our throats? All the same, if music is going to be more than a hobby, someone, literally, has to pay the piper. So we’ve got this ridiculous situation where the machinery of the old system is frantically trying to contort and reshape and rewire itself to run without actually selling music. It’s like a car trying to figure out how to run without gas, or a fish trying to learn to breath air.
So, for now, here’s the bottom line: EMI won’t let us let you embed our YouTube videos. It’s a decision that bums us out. We’ve argued with them a lot about it, but we also understand why they’re doing it. They’re aware that their rules make it harder for people to watch and share our videos, but, while our duty is to our music and our fans, theirs is to their shareholders, and they believe they’re doing the right thing.
Let me say it again – go read the entire article.
OK Go (or Gizmodo, I’m not sure which) then included the Vimeo video you can see below, and me being a blogger of course put it on this very blog (I dig the song and love the video, so go forth and view).
What’s the conclusion? Well, I’d say right now we’re all in agreement on something at least. There’s far less money to be made from selling CD’s then there was 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago. This Internets thing has thrown a major wrench in the recording industry operations, and labels are suffering.
Is there a solution? That remains to be seen. Companies like Topspin, TuneCore, Involver, Kickstarter, ArtistData and others are coming out and helping artists (and labels!) better manage things in this whole Internet-driven economy, but these companies are still few and far between in the grand scheme of things. It’s progress, but is it the solution? I don’t think it is, at least not yet.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on things. Do you still buy CD’s? Do you download music from legal online sources? What trends do you see (for better or worse) in the recording industry??
Memories are powerful. Some songs play a leading role in certain memories, while others appear as a backup role.
I recently posted a question on my Twitter account (@misskatiemo) asking people what songs they associated with certain memories. Their answers are below.
Carla Lynne Hall: “Crystal Blue Persuasion” by Tommy James and The Shondells because it reminds me of growing up in Miami, with its blue skies and sunny days. Whenever I hear it, I think of carefree days of being a kid, with all of the time in the world to just dream and play. Ahhh….
Amy Garland: Footloose – This was my favorite movie growing up (still is), and I always loved dancing to the end (prom scene). Whenever the song plays at a wedding, my sister and/or I try to get everyone to form two lines and take turns dancing down the middle (like the movie). This song always brings great memories from weddings, etc to mind!
Andrew Stugots: New Years day 1999 my cousin and best friend in the world passed away after a life long battle with brain cancer. He was found laying in the parking lot of his job. Phillip lived life as if it was his last day on earth and pushed others to do the same. A year later I met a seer, Jennifer. I never believed in this type of stuff but take it for what you will. Over dinner with others she leaned over to me and said “Phillip said to tell you “Don’t Dream It’s Over“. I sat there with my mouth agape, she continued “Yeah, he is just singing that song over and over again ‘Hey now, hey now, dont dream its over. There is freedom within, there is freedom without….” and then she said, he waved and walked away. The song still gives me goosebumps and will make me get teary eyed.
My own memory is along the line of Andrew’s. Whenever I hear “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” or “Amazing Grace” I think of my Grandmother playing the piano as childhood versions of me and my younger sister bound up the stairs to her house.
Chris Brogan recently wrote about “Emotions At A Distance” – or, in other words, remembering that the people we connect and deal with from behind computer screens are just that – people.
It’s easy to get caught up in the nuances of your work from inside a practice room or behind a computer monitor. Not so easy when you’re performing your music in front of a crowd, or get recognized by a fan on the street. Music connects people across age differences, language barriers, and continents. Always remember that people have a choice to listen to your music, and that the music you create forms a very real part of the soundtrack of their lives.
I recently had the pleasure of attending and speaking at the Social Fresh Cruise, an invite-only social media 4-day floating conference/cruise from Miami to Cozumel.
The cruise was part conference, part pure fun. I was one of eight speakers for the conference portion of the cruise, and spoke about “The Recording Industry is Screwed… Now What Do We Do?”
Why yes, I do like to stir the pot. Thanks for asking.
The 45-minute “speech” was more of an open discussion, prefaced by a bit of background about the industry.
The background centered around the alternatives that exist, allowing musician to carve their own paths and often times, decide IF they even want a record deal with a major label.
The discussion portion of the talk was the most valuable, and many people contributed their thoughts, opinions and experiences about the music and recording industires.
The discussion ranged from how research completed in the 80’s about how people would contribute and use the Internet is still relevant, from how one of the attendees favorite bands used Kickstarter to finance their projects. Many of the attendees had their own experiences to share about connecting with artists on Twitter, and as we were on the cruise with Rick Springfield’s fan club, we ALL could see a real-life example about how connecting directly with an audience really works.
To talk a bit more about one of the best comments of the discussion, I’m going to jump back and discuss a bit about my personal tastes:
I REALLY like a great debate, and really enjoy people intelligently disagreeing with my opinions. As mentioned, the highlight of the talk came from one such comment by Lucretia Pruitt, who made the excellent point that the recording industry is experiencing what a lot of other industries go through when a seismic shift in their business model occurs. Hint: This shift for the recording industry begins with an “I” and rhymes with schminternet.
In general, innovation comes from the bottom up. The start-up, the smaller companies and the ones that have “less to lose” take the “risk” and innovate. They try out new things, see what works and adopt that into their strategy. The bigger more entrenched companies usually wait to see if what the smaller guys do works. If so, they copy it and make it part of their business. Less risk with potentially the same rewards.
Now, I’m not saying that this is an absolute, but it’s certainly a trend.
The difference with the music industry, is that the “big guys” have fought against this change for the better part of a decade, instead of embracing it and trying to innovate from the beginning. From a PR perspective, that decision has caused a huge problem for the public image of the music industry. In many people’s minds, it is now “us vs. the music industry”, especially “us vs. the RIAA”.
I’m thrilled to see some of the “big guys” waking up and beginning to realize that the “stick my head in the sand” approach is NOT a smart move, but they must do this while remembering that consumer perception is still a huge concern.
I have much more to say on this topic, and am starting with a conversation today at 3:30PM EST/ 12:30PM PST where I’ll be participating in an un-panel on SnazL with Mary McKnight (EMI, Sacrilicious Marketing) and Mike Fabio (Warner Bros. records).
Join the un-panel and upload a video, share photos or chat to participate.
This photo provided by designwallah under a Creative Commons License
In the midst of my “4P’s of Marketing” series, I thought a dose of reality, aka “what this all means for me in the real world” would be helpful.
For those that know me personally, you undoubtedly know that I think the world is a very small place. From running into the first person I met at college while on the tram at Gatwick airport, to meeting a co-worker’s girlfriend at a bar who has worked with my uncle (a professional photographer) before, this theory has been proven over and over again.
It was again proven true last night, when I met Andrew from Half Fiction. One of the three partners is a guy by the name of Sage, and in addition to having at least one person in common through a few degrees of separation (See? Small world!), he is the inspiration for this post.
Sage is involved with a number of projects, one of which is Ready Fire Aim. Kind enough to send me their electronic press kit, I took a stroll around the RFA website and happened upon this blog post.
By way of a preface, I write from the perspective of a marketer who has been obsessed and involved (the playing and listening kind, not creepy ‘involved’ romantically kind) with music her entire life. Sage’s perspective is that of a performer, and someone making a living off of their art. Excerpts provided below (emphasis mine), but you really should go read the whole thing here.
….I am going to say however that it is seriously hard fucking work rehearsing non stop and trying to work to pay the bills and have any kind of personal life at all. I call it rockstar 2.0–all work and very little play.
The days of letting the label do all the work while the artist gets fucked up, throws TVs out the window of expensive hotel suites and does irreparable damage to the room are long gone. GOOD RIDDANCE. The middle man is no longer required. What is required is that every band leader think like a brand manager. That every artist must also come correct with an unlimited supply of elbow grease and a multi-tool in his/her back pocket is also a given, but the truth is that no amount of work on the part of the artist can compensate for one crucial factor–the only thing that REALLY TRULY MATTERS regardless of label support, management, agenting or directing from ‘on high’–THE FANS and their support.
In the last 2 weeks for some strange reason I have been contacted by more people who are saying that they have bought or want to buy my record, love the music and listen to it all the time and are telling all their friends about it than in the last 2 years combined… Not only does this make me want to keep working, it makes me want to please my fans. It makes me want to work harder longer and more intensely to make them happy and keep making music-music they laugh, cry, dance, make out, have sex, meet/break up with boyfriends and girlfriends, cook dinner, drive and dance in their undies lip-synching into their hairbrush to. In other words, music to live life to–a partner/soundtrack to whatever it is that they are doing. The digital revolution makes that possible...
In a perfect world there would be no free downloading and I would be paid a fair wage for my work. Music is free and a whole generation now thinks of their media as a portable, constitutional, God ordained, inalienable right. You can either play a Lars Ulrich… or you can adapt, roll with the change-by-the-hour tide of technology and figure out a way to get people to WANT to pay you… I’m not sure why or how that is going to happen en masse but for my part as long as i can continue to engage my fans on a one-to-one level and initiate real contact between artist and consumer of art (fan has egomaniacal connotations to me so I’m going to try and stop using it) who is a REAL person on the other end of the phone, keyboard or social media platform then I will consider myself a successful artist.
…That means that the labels really ARE irrelevant as long as I outsource carefully and creatively certain aspects of the business to individuals who know how to do that better than me. That means that the fat bloated days of rockstar entitlement to bad behavior, mountains of drugs and waiting rooms of young women (and the fat bloated middlemen who plied them with it all so they could ROB THEM BLIND while they were drunk, high and fucking their brains out in extravagant hotels they were unwittingly paying for) are gone for good–replaced with the leaner meaner rockstar 2.0 approach of DIY ingenuity and hard work, the very things that made America great. See rock and roll IS America. Rock and Roll has become what our parents and grandparents did to put food on the table and roofs over our heads–just another job. It’s come full circle to being willing to do the work, play the game and write the songs that make the whole world sing from some ‘Alice down the rabbit hole’ wanderland that it has been for the last 4 decades.
In the end it all comes down to one person reaching out and touching another (consensually of course) and the honest exchange of some dollars for doughnuts as my dad would say, and to that end, my dear reader YOU are the most important part of the equation-not me. And so on this, the moment before I go and play the most strategically critical show of my life, the one for which I have rehearsed for 15 years I want to thank you for not only reading my drivel but for buying my music, telling your friends, for dancing mostly naked in front of mirrors and writing to tell me about it. YOU give me a reason to keep working non-stop all day and night, sweating my tits off in a shoebox rehearsal space at 10 in the morning 3 times a week after staying up til 4am editing and posting videos on my 20+ social media platforms. . . and for that I am EXTREMELY grateful! IT’S A BEAUTIFUL THING.
In case you’re too lazy to click on the blog post, Sage posts Beautiful Thing as a track at the end of the entry. Listen here.
What’s the point?
The point is that it’s about the music and the fans… it’s ALWAYS been about the music and the fans. For awhile, the business got in the way. Now? The business model is broken, and it’s back to the music and the fans.
Go through and read about how to figure out what your product is, how to price it (that post was a struggle to write), and then learn about where to put it and how to market it… but relate it to your life. Relate it to your art, and make it work for you.
I recently had the pleasure of attending and speaking at the 
