Transforming the music industry
“never underestimate the power of a million amateurs with keys to the factory” Chris Anderson, Editor - Wired Magazine
Huge record labels have always controlled the music industry, with the power to decide which bands are good enough to release records, how much exposure they will get and what the cost of the music will be. They have thrived on blockbuster hits, but this model is changing, today’s world is far less dominated by the traditional entertainment giants.
How much longer will record labels have a viable place in the music industry?
The web is transforming the way we buy, sell and listen to music. Online connectivity is providing unlimited and unfiltered access to musical content of all sorts, from the mainstream to every niche imaginable. Video sharing sites, social networks, online music stores and personal web sites are allowing artists and bands of all types to cheaply market and sell their music to a worldwide audience.
Unlimited supply has created (or uncovered) an unlimited demand and spirit of musical discovery. Coupled with the ultra low cost of storing and copying digital music this has given birth to online music stores and music sharing sites offering huge inventories with albums and tracks available from superstars to the guy next door making tunes in his bedroom.
Today, fans are abandoning highstreet music stores and losing their taste for blockbuster hits. More and more people are opting for exploration and are generally more satisfied with what they find.
Atrists and bands that have already harnessed this have created large online followings and crucially they have gained the endorsement of their peers. They have been able to sell their music at a fair price to their fanbase without a record label in sight. The financial barrier to music production and distribution has been removed. Today, there is no excuse for obscurity.
In 2005, the video sharing site, YouTube took the world by storm enabling anyone to upload their videos instantaneously for free. The videos can be viewed by anyone and the site has become a distribution channel of choice not just for amateur musicians but also record labels trying to reach a new audience.
Link: www.youtube.com
Amazing Tunes being hailed as “iTunes unsigned”. It combines the downloading aspect of iTunes with the social networking of sites such as MySpace allowing artists to build a profile and also sell their music. It features thousands of tracks by unknown acts which users can listen to in their entirety for free or pay to download them. 70% of all download revenues go to the artists.
Link: www.amazingtunes.com
MySpace is a social networking site, allowing users to create a profile, upload music and ineract with other users. Users can listen to tracks for free. Many bands, signed and unsigned, have a myspace page. A notable success story is Lilly Allen who built up a fan base on MySpace which launched her career.
Link: www.myspace.com
“The aim of Unpredictable Porridge is to provide an outlet for artists seeking to promote their music.” Tom Ravenscroft
The site has been set up by John Peel’s son, Tom Ravenscroft and Universal Music. It is a real example of the record labels starting to wake up to the power of the web. According to the site, uploaded tracks will be rummaged through by people from Mercury, Polydor, Island, NoCarbon, Fiction, Vertigo, Modular and others looking for new acts to sign up.
I personally just hope it will prove to be a great place to listen to new music and manages to stick to the ideals of musical discovery that John Peel held so dear.
Link: www.unpredictableporridge.com
Radiohead
I had to finish this post with some comments on Radiohead’s new album release. Radiohead have dropped their record label and are releasing their music through their web site. They have let fans name their price for the new album, the price of downloading the album is completely up to you!
It has been an extremely successful marketing experiment, creating huge exposure in the media for the album release. It also feels like a pivotal point in music history (for the method of sale if not for music itself!).
I’m sure an analysis of the data of this radical social experiment will hold some valuable insights into human behaviour. How much will people pay when there are no real incentives to do so at all?
I think lead singer Thom Yorke’s words sum up this post well. “I like the people at our record company, but the time is at hand when you have to ask why anyone needs one. And, yes, it probably would give us some perverse pleasure to say ‘F___ you’ to this decaying business model.â€
Link: www.inrainbows.com
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