George Orwell would be proud of today’s music industry

Big Brother truly is watching. With news feeds, tweets, and IPhone videos providing a constant interaction between Artists, Actors, Authors and their fans everyone can see the little man behind the curtain now. You can find out what Ashton Kutcher had for breakfast or where Britney Howard singer of Alabama Shakes buys her glasses, or that Taylor Swift just loves watching old John Hughes movies in an instant, non stop. In some way, this is great. The connection breaks down the perceived barrier between artists and their fans, they get to see the real person (sort of- at least the real person the artist wants you to see) frailty and all; likes, dislikes, what ticks them off, little odd idiosyncrasies. All designed to make the fan feel two things 1) Familiarity with the artist- “I know that guy” and 2) build brand loyalty- “Not only do I love her music but she owns a Siberian Husky just like me… that’s my girl.” Unfortunately, what is lost for the fan is the reverence and mystique that artists, authors, and actors once had. The larger than life side of performers had an upside as well. What are lost for the artist are privacy and sometimes the safety of their families or themselves. There used to be an unspoken covenant between the media and the artists; the artist would give access and interviews and in turn, the media would protect the artist from the public knowing about their dirty little secrets. This created an aura of being larger than life. While on the positive side the tearing of the veil allows the public to know that artists are not perfect or glamorous and that their lives are often nothing to envy, it also allows the public to know that artists are not perfect or glamorous and that their lives are often nothing to envy. In any trade off there is something gained and something lost and the mystique and aura of artists being “larger than life” has been lost in the same way as the beauty of album cuts and album art.

So how do we allow access to fans with trying to regain some of the aura? How is this to be taught in music business classrooms (should it be)? Where is the balance? It will never be the way it was again and that is probably for the better but the pendulum should not swing to far in the other direction; artists should want to interact with their fans. The artist is the brand and the brand is now the product not the music so interaction with fans is selling, however the discernment to where to draw the line is one that is ever blurring. 

rockstarprofessor: What is the greatest skill needed in the new music...

rockstarprofessor: What is the greatest skill needed in the new music...: How do we teach college students how to solve questions in an industry where the answers change quicker than the questions can form in t...

What is the greatest skill needed in the new music business and how do we teach it?

How do we teach college students how to solve questions in an industry where the answers change quicker than the questions can form in the collective industries mouth? How do we transform in an industry where the very cornerstone has eroded to the point where it cannot bear the fiscal weight of the industry itself? Where the product itself no longer has any value in the market place, yet there is more interest in that product than in any time in history. In plain terms what will the music industry be like in 5, 10, 15 years….or for that matter in 6 months? Truth is no one knows, we all know that and have for a while but the truth is the answer lies in paradigms of thought. Paradigms of new business models, or old business models that become a new in the cold light of the changes taking place; while there is no “one size fits all” business model out there for the music industry and I don’t think there ever will be again, there are new business models and concepts that will work for a vast majority of the time (at least for now), but more importantly the music industry as a whole (especially the new generation) must learn how to think strategically, in new ways. The answer is not in following a rote set of principles but in discovering new ways to think about the music industry. The challenge in being a music business educator is by the time we get a good text book (or any book) for that matter out and into the hands of students it is pretty much obsolete. For me the real solution is to teach them how to think. What I mean by that is teach them how to assess and discern their situation in the current marketplace and then decipher which levers to pull that will bring the most impact to their situation. We must teach them how to be dynamic thinkers, not conditioned responders. This is the greatest skill a student can have in the new music business- not great accounting skills, or being a great social networker, or great player, or producer, etc. because all of these skills and talents alone do not in and of themselves pave the way towards monetizing themselves, but adding dynamic thinking to one or more of these skills does. This is the key.

rockstarprofessor: Cheer up sleepy jean- A look at the Monkees legacy...

rockstarprofessor: Cheer up sleepy jean- A look at the Monkees legacy...: I was first exposed to the Monkees on the weekend of my Grandfather’s funeral in 1986. I was a young child and my older brother and I spen...

Cheer up sleepy jean- A look at the Monkees legacy in the music business.

I was first exposed to the Monkees on the weekend of my Grandfather’s funeral in 1986. I was a young child and my older brother and I spent the night at my Dad’s apartment while my Dad was off making funeral arrangements. It just so happened to be the same weekend that MTV was running a Monkees marathon and my brother and I stayed up all night watching every episode. It is vivid in my mind and my heart. It is one of my most cherished bonding moments with my older brother John. It was an escape from the pain of the very real life moment as my Grandfather was both my brother and my hero and still to this day the kindest man I have ever met.

Davy Jones of The Monkees passed away today. The oft-beguiled Monkees, who were manufactured by two upstart film producers and a veteran producer Don Kirshner to become the answer to the Beatles. were patterned after the Beatles. They were patterned not only in looks but also in demographic and most importantly in the intent of harnessing the power of television. Following the success of the cheeky, Beatles film Hard Days Night; the creators thought they could cash in. The Monkees were wildly successful for a couple of years and toured to rabid fans across the world. The question I am asking is what is their legacy?

Were the Monkees the first sign of the musical apocalypse, where acts are created in an industry laboratory setting as opposed to organically from the people?

In some sense, the answer is probably yes. As Rock grew from an under ground movement into big commerce, it was exploited towards a lowest common denominator that would reduce risk and garner profits. This is just part of the tension of the music business. The artistic side of it loves innovation, experimentation, and change because it leads to transformation and great art but the business side needs to see profits and must assess everything through the lens of risk verse benefits. For the business side it is always about profits not art. This tension pushes and pulls on the music business and always has. The Monkees are in some ways a keystone marker of a subtle shift more towards the business side, one that the ripple effects are still being felt today.

Were the Monkees innocent kids who saw a chance to grab the brass ring and took it?

On this one, I think the answer is yes. In much the same way the guys in Milli Vanilli were. While the Monkees did actually sing the lead vocals on their recordings, they were not allowed to play on the early recordings and were not allowed to write on the songs. It is easy to pass artistic judgment on these guys until you place your self into their shoes. You are a young often literally starving artist who is given a chance to have a platform and most importantly feed yourself, and the artistic moral waters begin to muck up a bit.

Were the Monkees a cultural icon that left us some great guilty pleasure pop songs and an entertaining escape?

I cannot speak for you but as I started, this blog I can say for me the answer is yes.

Rest in Peace Mr. Jones.

Here is a link of Mr. Jones at his best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU615FaODCg

rockstarprofessor: New Artist Growth App

rockstarprofessor: New Artist Growth App: It is beyond both empirical and anecdotal evidence to state that one of the trending business models in the music industry is that of a move...

New Artist Growth App

It is beyond both empirical and anecdotal evidence to state that one of the trending business models in the music industry is that of a move towards the entrepreneurial. A loosely connected structure where pieces of the value chain, once provided to an artist through the traditional record label, are now either handled completely by the artist or their management, or through the hiring of independent contract service providers. While much of the technological changes to the industry over the last decade have been disruptive to the traditional model, these same changes are opening new ways of cost management in the new model.

Some of the challenges with this new model that artists and their management face are in having the time, knowledge, relationships, and capital to thrive and build all the aspects of an artist’s career. Given that this has traditionally been handled by many people and is now relegated to 2 or 3. Quite simply, if an artist spends all their time doing administrative work, or just business in general, then there is little time left for the artist to do what they presumably do best (write and perform). Well, there might be help on the way.

On January 17, a company with a music business app is launching. The company is Artist Growth and it has some heavy hitters behind it. The app works like any other app on the iPhone, Android and Blackberry. One of the primary investors in the company is former Sony chair, Joe Galante, who describes the app as the music business “in a box.” The promotional video touts that Artist Growth will allow musicians to keep track of tour schedules, recording, finances, accounting, equipment inventory and industry contacts; all literally at the touch of a button and in one spot. It even has a reminder feature on when to contact local press for PR, production schedules for recording, etc. Artist Growth marks the user’s calendar with to do lists for almost all aspects needed.

While this app can significantly reduce man hour time as well as cost management with
real time analytics on inventory and sales, it does not address two major issues that artists going the new model route face – capital and networking. Artist Growth asserts that it takes pieces of the value chain that artist’s typically do not know how to do and puts them in an easy to use format, including instructional videos on the industry with industry vets as the experts. However, this still leaves some gaps and is not in and of itself the new business model for dummies. Just because there is access to a network, this does not empower the artist to harness that network and make it work for them (just because you have someone’s contact info does not mean you have a relationship with that person). Secondly, it does not address (and really cannot) the need for raising investment capital. Business of any kind will always need capital, without capital all of the resources and functional usability that Artist Growth offers is moot. These two aspects are always the major hurdles for artists “going it” without a label (whether by choice or lack of choice).

The Artist Growth app does not address all issues artist’s face in this brave new music world, or perhaps it is better said that it does not jump all the hurdles for the artist, the Artist Growth app could very well be the most powerful tool in the new business model of the music industry. It has the potential power to save the artist and their management time and money, which alone makes it well worth checking out.

To learn more follow this link: http://artistgrowth.com/