| The music industry, as we know it, is dying. Open up any copy of Spin, Rolling Stone, or NME and that's what you read. To a certain extent, that's true. At the beginning of the century, there were 5 major labels, now there are 4 and they say another ship-jumping merger will soon bring that number down to 3. Why? Based on several months of reading up on the progress of the industry and a few surprisingly well written articles on Rolling Stone (who knew that magazine had a shred of brains between them?) detailing the downward spiral, here's what I can't help but notice: They did it to themselves. The movie industry, for example, was in a sorry downswing. Ticket sales were dropping while prices were soaring (much like the music industry's refusal to lower CD prices) and revenue was down across the board. So what did they do? Take a look at this summer's movie list. The big budget blockbuster titles of Pirates of the Caribbean, Shrek, and Spider-Man have all had tremendous openings and raked in alot of cash for the studios involved. Lesson 1: Find something that people want. Sure, alot of people complain about the endless sequels and ripoffs, but it's working isn't it? And it's not to say that the studios aren't branching out either, look at the way they sweep into Sundance, Tribeca, and Cannes looking for the indie movie which will keep the art in their business alive. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a popcorn flick between art house showings. That's one thing the record industry could learn from, find your bland, artistically questionable releases which will appeal to great mass populace and then balance it with some daring artists. Some of the biggest success stories in history were long shots (see Nirvana, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Led Zeppelin...all way out there at the time of their initial release) and it's those long shots that stimulate the greatest overall sales. Using the tried and true example of the Fab Four, you can see how this is true. The Beatles were told at their audition for Decca Records, "guitar groups are on their way out". At the time, that was true. The top selling artists prior to the Beatles arrival were things like Donovan and Ricky Nelson. The Beatles hit the scene and sparked a movement of British Invaders (the Rolling Stones, the Who) and sound-alikes (the Byrds, the Monkees) who in turn were part of a chain of events leading to the sixties musical explosion (Mama's and Papas, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix) which ultimately led to the seventies explosion (Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Who again). By taking the long-shot Beatles on, the industry accidentally set in motion a chain of events which set them up sweet for the next two decades. This process is repeated in lesser versions by Led Zeppelin, disco, Michael Jackson, and Nirvana, all of whom were not considered to be sure things in their time but ended up being enormously successful and spawned a number of artists copying or being inspired by them who sold millions themselves. We don't need Chris Daughtry, we need Kurt Cobain. Another lesson to be learned comes courtesy of the TV networks. In the face of DVRs and the internet downloading of entire TV seasons, the network learned that they could still turn a profit without people actually sitting down to watch TV. All of the major networks embraced the sale of TV episodes on iTunes and have been embracing the new technology as best they can. This stands in contrast to the music industry, who, when they had every internet downloader on one site (Napster) where an easy transition from piracy to paid downloads could've been reasonably achieved, decided to sue the network and its users instead of striking up a deal. Labels fought Apple's iPod instead of embracing it and now find themselves in a quagmire from which there is no escape. They let the train leave the station and now, no matter how fast they run, they are too far behind to ever catch up. Lesson 2: Embrace New Technology. If the labels had worked with, instead of against, the new tide of consumer-preferred technology, they might have been able to stay around for a few years longer. This brings us to the inevitable third and final lesson. Lesson 3: The Customer is Always Right, or in other words, Lesson 3: Don't Sue Your Customers. Listen to them, instead. CD's were too expensive, so people decided they wanted it for free. Illegal? Yes. But it was not our fault. Did they really expect us to pay 20 bucks for a CD that had one or two decent tracks sandwiched between filler? I mean, come the fuck on. They should have not done away with singles, especially when the majority of artists out there are not capable of keeping my attention for more than one or two songs. The album was a great idea for a band like the Beatles who could come up with enough original and exciting material to fill a 14 song set, but Nickelback can barely keep me from passing out after three minutes, why would I want 12 tracks of the same dribble? So once again, as we see time and time again in America, the people will get what the people want, whether the powers that be feel inclined to give it to them straight up or not. The iTunes Store shows us that people prefer their music one song at a time in most cases anyway and that only a select few of our most favorite artists are worthy of my spending even ten dollars on an album. So if those are the lessons they should've learned and didn't, and all major labels are now doomed (unless they diversify like EMI has wisely done), the big question is: What comes next? The answer: The renaissance. The Arctic Monkeys are a good band, but more importantly, they are a landmark band. The first band in history who achieved national fame and attention (albeit in Britain) without a record label. They were selling out huge venues on the strength of some crappily produced demo singles circulated by fans via this newfangled internet thing. This, my comrades, is the wave of the future. The label model is useless now and the only use a band could have for signing to even an indie (as the Monkeys have done) is to assist with promotion, networking, and producing. The greatest asset that major labels had was their distribution abilities, the ability to put your album in every Wal Mart from here to the Nile, but with the widespread use of the internet and the remarkable number of mediums by which music is shared online (iTunes being the number one with over 80% of the market share), that is the least of your worries. A label now acts like a good agent would, connecting you with the right people, guiding your career and paying for the promotional services (which are cheaper than ever). This means that the potential for a world-wide underground is here. Imagine this: A band from Commonville, North Dakota writes a super-catchy, super-clever tune. It has a good beat and you can dance to it and has that broad appeal thing about it. It also has, however, a sort of indie-rock, DIY feel, which would've made it poison in the eyes of a major label a few years ago. They sign on with a manager or independent, attic-run record label and get their song on iTunes. Through a few well-placed ads and a well-received regional tour, they find that their little song takes off. It charts in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 (which has finally begun to count internet sales and paid downloads as records sold) which earns them a slot on Letterman or Conan or whoever, which gets their catchy little song a little more notoriety. The DJ's on Satellite radio (the only real radio anymore) notice and give it some spins. The song hits number one, the bands follows up with a few more well-written songs and then (if they can) an album. The band is now big-time, along side Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake as one of the household names whose songs the whole country can hum. The whole thing done with no major label pressuring, editing, stealing of publishing rights, cutting in on touring profits, or strategically shelved records. A brave new world to be sure. So it seems that the music industry as we know it, with major labels, MTV, and conglomerated radio is on its way out. The downside is that there will be a bit more work to be done on the part of the fans to find that new and exciting music, but from the way things are at the moment, one has to work pretty fucking hard to find anything interesting out there anyway. The hope is that a band can find enough exposure to get their name out, but as long as people still read the music mags, talk to their friends about what cool new bands are out there and listen to the right channels for hot new groups, it is completely possible. The power is shifting from the hands of rich old white men in suits who haven't listened to a music for fun since before Otis Redding died into the hands of the people who ought to be in charge of what music is cool: Us. Soon enough, kids, it will belong to us again. Soon enough... |
