Times are changing fast...
I keep getting asked..So...these are some of my views on the music industry.
1. The music industry does NOT like to change.
2. The music industry ISN'T an innovator, they have tried (a few times) to follow WHAT OTHERS have done, and they couldn't do it.
3. Copy protection, COST'S THEM MONEY. They haven't gotten the idea through their head THAT savings could be past on to the consumer, and that they would MAKE LOTS MORE MONEY if they did so. Kill some of your Lawyers, Kill the Digital rights management constraints currently in place, kill the corporations SUPPLYING the Digital rights management infrastructures, and the price would be 1/2 of what everyone is paying now and pirating music would almost GO AWAY.
Almost overnight the music industry positioned itself from the outside looking in. They were complacent when things were going good so when the paradigm shift occured they never seemed to see it coming. THAT PARADIGM SHIFT IS GOING DIGITAL, and people stopped using outdated formats like the CD more and more, with the emergence of MP3 players like the ipod. The Music industry's problem was that they were following an outdated business plan. It was a way of thinking that needed to be changed from the top down.
In terms of promotions and marketing...we are living in the age of "the 24 hour news cycle" where it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay relevant. There are new names and faces coming out every minute, from J. Holiday to Joe the Plumber lol. Every week there is another flavour and this is part of the reason for why singers like Mya, and Brandy, etc...are getting dropped from their labels left right and center. A short peruse of the Billboard 200 from time to time will show you that the landscape in music isn't what it used to be (sales are horrible). The labels are faced with contracted revenue streams (this limits who can be promoted and what type of resources can be put behind them). Thus, it is becoming a major battle to get attention from the marketing departments of these labels.
Lil wayne is the hottest thing going right now and he's only at 2 million units. With all the controversy of that song "I kissed a girl" by Kate Perry, the album for that single has not even went platinum yet and that was a huge song with over 5 million views on Youtube. In order to get a record deal in today's world one will need what I call "a real impact song" or what's called a "so what" record...i.e. In da club - 50 cent or "hit me baby one more time" - Brittany.
Keep in mind how controversial brittany's song was when it came out 10 years ago, she was only 16 years old singing those very suggestive lyrics and being in a lolita like video. Fast forward 10 years to today's declining morality and the shock value that people are resorting to to get attention and that song wouldn't even garner that much press now. I've even heard manager's tell me that these singers nowadays are actually acting badly on purpose, getting arrested in hollywood and doing it just so they can stay relevant and be on the news and get publicity. I'm not in any way trying to be negative, it's just important to realise the obstacles and to be aware of the scene for what it really is. My work is the work of finding opportunities and my team focuses on every avenue available for cross-market success. A record deal makes getting endorsement opportunities alot easier, but maintaining them in today's climate is the key.
