Xavi -> RE: The advent of Spotify and the demise of ‘records’ as product [continuing on Ricardo’s comment] (Mar. 22 2013 20:03:26)
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For **** & giggles (sorry about length) - some Then/Nows about the music biz, cobled together courtesy of Lefsetz's recent column (lefsetz.com): THEN If you had a tiny core audience, you were financially challenged. NOW If you have a tiny core audience, you can raise enough money to make your album on Kickstarter, and own the copyright to boot. Just don’t think since you raised all that cash anybody other than the core is going to be interested in what you produce. THEN Albums all cost the same price. NOW Hard core fans will pay for special packages, delivered most famously by Topspin. If you’re not tapping the deep pockets of your hard core fans, you’re leaving money on the table. THEN You put out one album every three years, it took that long to reach every potential audience member. NOW You release music constantly, to satiate the core, no one beyond it cares. In the old days, your favorite act released an album when you were in high school and when the next one came out you were married and had babies. Now, if an act waits until the summer to follow up their fall release, it’s too long. THEN Music was scarce, so when we bought albums we played them. NOW Music is plentiful. Only the hard core wants to go beyond the hits. Are you playing to the core or to the masses who don’t care? THEN Marketing was top-down. You spent a lot of money and convinced everybody they should pay attention. I.e. Mariah Carey. NOW Marketing is from the ground up and Tommy Mottola is out of work and Mariah Carey is on a TV show that no one talks about anymore. THEN It was about the music. NOW It’s about the marketing. Just because you know how to use Final Cut Pro and can create an interesting visual, that does not mean anybody wants to listen to your music. THEN You could live off the money from your record deal. NOW If you even have a deal, compensation is low, you’re dependent on the promoter to keep you alive. THEN The most powerful person in the music business was the head of the label. NOW The most powerful person in the music business is the promoter. Lucian Grainge gets all the ink, but Michael Rapino has all the money. And he with the money triumphs. Universal folds and people still make music. Promoters go under and artists starve. THEN Music was expensive and everybody had little of it. NOW Music is cheap and everybody has more than they want. THEN People wanted your free music. NOW People don’t want your free music, hell, they’ve got the music of superstars free on their computer! THEN Facebook was cool. NOW Facebook isn’t cool. If bands can fade, why can’t websites? THEN You spent hours downloading music from P2P services. NOW You just watch what you want on YouTube. Just like the deficit, piracy in music is a red herring. It’s just too much effort. The reason you can’t sell your music in prodigious amounts is it’s just not good enough, not enough people care. When we had limited options and unlimited time we were interested in your substandard work, now with unlimited options and little time we are only interested in the very best. THEN The man wasn’t to be trusted. NOW Where do I sell out?
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