Week 12: New Waves of Music Business

When I first started reading chapter one of this Music is Your Business it really left me wondering:  what decade are these authors living in?  I know that this book has a publishing date of 2007 and the author developed his “Four Fronts of Music Marketing” in the ‘90’s. But, come on, I do not feel like the authors fully explored the spectrum of marketing available online!  I later noticed that several classmates mentioned this on the discussion board.  In this constantly changing digital environment, I would assume a book like this would have to be updated every year.

 The Four Fronts of Music Marketing are listed as: Artist & Product development, Promotion, Publicity, and Performance.  According to the old model of music industry, if a musician wanted to break out of the local scene, then they had to let the record labels step in for them.  However, the future of music now is CHANGE – constant change. Most importantly, musicians have to be able to flow with this change, because many of the record labels are not. 

Seriously, this is quoted from the book (p. 7):

“Dollar and Sense Issues: It costs money to develop and promote music. To put it bluntly, it takes more money than talent these days to get your music to the attention of consumers.”

Is this still the case?  I observe many local bands, market themselves mostly online, through cheaply produced flyers, and through free zines.  Also, indie labels seem to be popping up all over offering sensible alternatives to producing music.  Why is this side of “dollar and sense” issues not mentioned?

 The “four fronts” mentioned above all have the possibility to be achieved online.  The Internet has become a sort of “wild west” for the music business, so who knows how much money an artist could make marketing themselves solely online.  It’s a start.  If a musician gains enough exposure and fans online, then that is already a powerful force to be reckoned with.  This is the kind if opportunity that was not available over a decade ago, but now more power rests in the hands of the musicians.  I believe that the record labels, and the authors, are aware of this, but have difficulty accepting the change.  Musicians are bursting through the local, translocal, and virtual scenes on their own.  The internet has ushered in a new climate for musicians and the music business, and some are acclimating better than others.

 Yet, as I skimmed other chapters in this text, it came to my attention that I know very, very little about the workings of the music business.  Therefore, I almost feel ignorant criticizing the authors.  This text serves as an excellent BASE for a musician who wants to make money and really take off.  Written much like a “textbook,” it contains easily understood charts and graphics, includes checklists, resources, and explains legalities in layperson terms. This book definitely provides an informative, thorough business structure tailored for the musician.  However, there is just something missing …

 The more I read, the more I realized how much the authors focus on making money.  “Money, money, money” … the ABBA song kept running through my head as I read on.  Is their some bias going on?  Then I read the author bios and noticed that both authors have worked most of their careers in the record industry with no mention of them ever being on the other side … as a musician.  So, one can infer that they have agenda that parallels the record industry and entertainment law; and they both seem to have considerable clout in these areas.  One important thing I have learned during my graduate degree is to research the authors of articles and books in order to determine if this inflects any bias into the work.

 The “future is now” chapter does touch upon several issues we have covered in class, most interestingly: licensing/copyright, use of music in video games, Internet promotional programs (cdbaby, social networks), DRM (the authors seem to fully support it), digital downloading, P2P downloading.  Yet, the authors seem strained at promoting these “changes” because what it comes down to is the “people behind the scenes” – labels, record stores, distributors – are making less money because these technological changes have allowed musicians to move forward in less expensive ways.

 This text does serve as an interesting source for librarians considering inviting musicians to the library. Several sections concerning live gigs and contracts lay out the expectations of both parties. It is professional for the library to have knowledge about what the band expects from you and you can communicate what the library can provide and your expectations.