The Music Business
February 5th, 2008
Its raining heavily today, so no work. At least this will give me a chance to catch up on a bunch of stuff I’ve been wanting to post about.
In this post I wanted to link to a couple of articles. The first is an article that recently (last September) appeared in the New York Times, about Rick Rubin and his new role as co-head of Columbia Records. Any serious music fan will be familiar with Rubin and his astounding body of work over the last 20 or so years. I find it very interesting that he has taken on a role at a major record label, and hopes to turn around the flagging value of the business.
What stands out, even more than what Rubin says, is what he doesn’t say. There is no tirade against piracy, bitching about radio, or moaning about iTunes. This runs contrary to what we mostly hear from the major labels these days: ranting that avoids the fact that the market has changed forever.
Rubin however gives us a glimmer of hope:
Now people ask me, ‘Why do you want to do this Columbia job?’ It’s always the same answer: ‘I’ve always liked doing the stuff that I like.’ I just like good music or comedy or whatever it is, and now I have the chance to bring that to a big record company. I have no training, no technical skill — it’s only this ability to listen and try to coach the artist to be the best they can from the perspective of a fan.”
I must admit at first that I thought he was being incredibly naive. However, upon reflection, he has (probably deliberately) touched on the one thing that that the major labels can still/could offer to fans of music everywhere: being trusted arbiters of new music.
What does this mean? As Kevin Kelly points out people are still going to be willing to pay for a service that helps them find stuff that they really like, stuff that gives them pleasure, context, meaning. Stuff that fills the narrative gap. I’d have and enormous degree of trust in Rick Rubin’s ability to find awesome new artists and bands. So, as the distribution model becomes less and less profitable for the record labels, an honest appraisal of what they can offer customers is sure to highlight that Rick Rubin is on the right track.
Of course, that perspective is largely from the point-of-view of the major labels; what about the artists themselves? How do they navigate the minefield that is the music industry? David Byrne offers some thoughtful insights from his many years of experience and success.
Byrne points out how money can be made from a career in music, and how there are essentially six different ways to approach the business. These range from almost complete reliance on the major-label machinery, to complete independence, and everything in between. He succinctly points out the pro’s and con’s of each approach. He points out the basic realities regarding distribution and monetization of music in our digital world. But he also points out that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach:
No single model will work for everyone. There’s room for all of us. Some artists are the Coke and Pepsi of music, while others are the fine wine — or the funky home-brewed moonshine. And that’s fine.
Sounds good to me, too.
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Now playing: Frenzal Rhomb - I Miss My Lung
via FoxyTunes