May 26, 2010

  • The Music Industry VS. The Record Labels

    Increasingly the way we look at success as a musician is changing.  It used to be that success came when your band got signed to a label and when you were no longer with a label you had flamed out or failed completely. These days however you see bands holding celebratory concerts because they are free from their labels (see Techdirt's write up here)  With the digital age we are seeing success come in many different ways and it's no longer tied to the sale of shiny plastic discs.  Instead it's through downloads (illegal or legal) and concert sales.  The truly smart musician even realizes that if you connect with your fans and give them a reason to buy (CWF + RTB is all over Techdirt in case your interested) that you can find success in other ways.

    Technology is changing the way we work.  It's taking out the middle man and allowing anybody with enough time, talent, and effort to make their own success.  You don't need the backing of label anymore which leads me to my point.  Often the media and then in turn the public view Record Labels as the Music Industry but that is all wrong.  The Record Labels make up a part of the Music Industry but they are not the whole thing.  In fact while the Record Labels are failing and growing more and more irrelevant the Music Industry is growing.  There are more music being made now more than ever.  There are entire websites devoted to just helping independent artists (see CDBaby.com) and without the Record Labels in the way musicians are making more revenue than ever before (see Techdirt again). 

    I feel it's important to make this distinction because the Music Industry would like you to believe that they are victims of piracy when in fact they are victims of their own demise.  Instead of innovating to keep up with the world around them they chose to sue anyone caught downloading which alienated fans around the world.  The true innovators is the independent musician who is willing to try new business models.  That is the real success story here.  Why should we prop up the middle man when we could be encouraging the artist directly?  I support the idea that the money I spend on tickets, merchandise, or music goes into the pocket of the artists and not the label.  The more you look into the lies that the RIAA and Record Labels would like you to believe the more you see it just doesn't hold up.

    What do you think the future of the Music Industry looks like?