The Future of the Music Industry.

Nice article from 2004 on the PBS Frontline website

More recent article by way of Freakonomics and the NY Times




Hello all, welcome to another rum induced post. And this really is a rum induced post. Hopefully my spelling will be okay. I'm just setting here with my headphones on, listening to School of Fish by Peter Namlook and Mixmaster Morris. The articles I have linked to have made some very interesting points about the future of the music industry, and offer much more depth than I could ever offer, but anyway. Myself, I'm not sure what I would say about the subject. But I have no doubt that it has changed forever.

The concern I have is that I, and my fellow music lovers may never again discover artists like Peter Namlook, et al. If not for the Internet, I would have never discovered a lot of the artists that I now listen to. Yes I know, you can't miss what you haven't heard. But I I think my life would be the poorer for not having heard some of the really different, even inspiring music that I have come across on the Internet.

I can't tell you the effect that music has on me. It's the only thing on this earth that makes sense to me. Music is the purest form of communication, even more so than sexual relations in my opinion. It settles and focuses my mind like nothing else. And unlike rum, it has no after effects. If I were ever to worship a god, it would have to be one that inspired excellent music in it's adherents. In fact, I might even say that the only gods worth worshiping are the creators of great music.

But the future concerns me. I have an abiding wish for the independent artists that are now using the Internet to bring their music to the masses, to continue to grow with the Internet. But there is no doubt in my mind that if the major record labels can find a way to control the distribution of music through the Internet, we will no longer be able to discover the many varied artists in the many varied genres that we now have access to. I can only imagine what that would mean for people like you and me that have long since given up on relying on radio and tv to find new music. I can't even imagine going back to a world where the lesser known artists and genres were dependent on radio to promote their music. How did such artists even survive back in the day?

Of course unfortunately there is a caveat to this. In a world where digital music makes it so easy to download music without paying for it, the independent label/artist can find it difficult to make a living without the promotion that a major label provides--touring for instance. Certainly it's cheaper for an artist/band to produce a record these days what with the ubiquitous music software that is available. But with the access that every artist has to the Net, one wonders how many artists are getting overlooked in the innumerable bits that are traveling across it. I'm sure the sheer number of artists on the Net makes it hard to find an audience. But of course with the Net, they have an avenue, a worldwide venue that they wouldn't otherwise have. I suppose there is an equilibrium that exists somewhere in there.

One thing is for sure: the days of limited choice for the music lover has passed. And hopefully the time of performers with borderline talent has passed as well. No longer do the radio stations, and by extension the major labels have a monopoly on what we can sample and discover. It will be much more difficult (one hopes) for less than talented artists to hold the publics attention by showing tit or muscle. I like to look at a nice pair of tits as much as the next guy, believe me. But music and booty--never the twain shall meet. And I mean as far as sex selling the music. There will always be a form of music that is built around the sensual, but it should still stand on it's own. There's plenty of shitty Electronica for example.

But getting back to the theme of this subject--I believe the future of music is indeterminate. Certainly a great deal of it lies in the digital realm, but just what that will look like is still up in the air, I think. I certainly hope that the ease of downloading isn't a two-edged sword. If the industry becomes too reliant on revenue from the downloads, and not enough people pay, then traditional CD sales might no longer be an option. Sort of an eggs in one basket scenario. It has to be tough for an up and coming artist. Should they sign with a major label and risk not be a favorite son when sales don't go through the roof? Or should they remain independent or sign with a smaller label and risk being drowned out?

Personally, I would like to see an all digital musical universe, with downloadable liner notes, graphics, and such. And I wouldn't be surprised if that turned out to be the case. I don't see how the major labels can continue with the old business model. They might try to buy up all the Internet competition and bully Congress into passing laws in their favor, but I don't see the music consumer, nor the artists, putting up with such nonsense. Just like anything concerning business, adapting to consumer tastes is the key to surviving. And if the major labels would get on board the digital train and give the RIAA legal arm the boot, they could be leaders, instead of hapless followers. Yes they would be smaller, and of course there are still questions and business models to be fleshed out. But if the powers that be (of every stripe) would come to their senses, the future of music can be a place where every artist has a fair shake at being heard, and can succeed or fail based on the merit of their music, and not how fuckable or charming they are.

It should be interesting to say the least. Your thoughts?