music business

After many many years studying the music business, today I have made one final conclusion: as it currently stands the business of music is doomed because practitioners have failed in one core element of business. 

Keep close to your customer. Understand them, surprise and delight them, use them, and most importantly, maintain a close relationship with them.  Those in the music industry have perhaps considered themselves too cool and are perhaps too out of touch to identify, understand and acknowledge consumer needs. Instead they have sued them, overcharged them, ignored them, failed to include them, and not delivered what they want.

Case in point: Music Victoria, which has been nominated as the saviour of the music industry in Victoria, recently undertook a comprehensive survey of the music industry.   Q1 - no category for music consumer. FAIL.  I questioned this and got a quick response: "I'd say there was no 'consumer' category because their survey was based on people with involvement in the music industry." OK so let's take the music consumer out of the industry and what have we left? ummm, licensing music for ads and film soundtracks and games. Oblivian

mandatory viewing - the importance of the first follower

from Derek Sivers who knows a lot about this:

currently reading:

Michael Heller's book. "Gridlock Economy - How Too Much Ownership Wrecks Markets, Stops Innovation and Costs Lives"

quote of the day

Jane McGonigal at TED: "An entire generation of young people are virtuoso gamers. We need to figure out exactly what skills they're honing."

Copyright industry has too many middle operators

According to their 2008 IRS 990 form, SoundExchange, as of 31Dec2008, was  holding over $256 million U.S. dollars in undistributed royalties.  THAT is what is wrong with the copyright industry......  

quote of the day

i may be breaching confidentiality posting this one:

Today we learn that the UK Government is to examine artist recording contracts, especially those signed by young artists, to try to help them avoid pitfalls and problems further down the line. Much as I support honesty and transparency in all things, I can't help thinking that no politician or civil servant is really equipped to understand the piece of perverted brilliance that the music industry could be - more a troupe of levitating priests than guardians of the nation's sewers or power stations.

But even more sadly, by their ever shriller whining and sourer spitting at anything which comes within their ambit, neither can I help thinking that the BPI and IFPI, and other representative bodies, have invited the Government in to our house without fully anticipating what they would do once there, and that it will all end in tears.

Paradise Motel - Azaria

can't wait for this, my 14th most played band, reformed.  The Paradise Motel returns to present Australian Ghost Story. An album of reflections on the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain on August 17, 1980. Unlike other reformations I have no doubt or hesitancy. this will be a sublime night

February 23

and i'll be in queensland.... sooking.

quote of the day

We need to become the change that we wish to see (world economic forum)