Past is present is future

HIGH NOTES

Music consumption and the music business are in constant change.

At the recent Big Sound music conference a humorous comment made by Peter Jenner (former Pink Floyd and Billy Bragg manager) made everyone smile but also sort of struck a solid chord. He said, speaking, I assumed, on behalf of the music industry at large, “We have to re-think our scam.”

He was actually alluding to the days where astonishing music sales enabled music executives to feast on pay packs and perks that often competed with those of the artistes that they represented. But today, that is just a fleck of a figment of our imagination.

 

Today music industry people have to work not only extra hard, but work intelligently, and often fight for what they want. All of which really comes down to the fact that the tables have turned drastically.

It used to be that the music business, through mediums like TV, radio, and print (its hype machines), would tell audiences what was good and what they should listen to — much like the film industry or the fashion industry. It would dictate cool and people would willingly follow.

Somewhere around the mid-1990s this changed. And while Napster is often blamed for the catastrophic state that the music business suddenly found itself in, Napster was really nothing more than a proud flag announcing that “The future (digital music technology) is here and if you don’t acknowledge it and try to fight it, it will roll over you and you will have lost the battle.” This was more than the then-thriving music industry could handle, so they tried to shut it down. But they failed.

Music businesses today have come around to the fact that little plastic discs will not buy them a majority share in today’s music business. The few that still believe it will, and refuse to focus on the development of their digital capabilities, will soon find that the digital age has forced them into extinction.

To be fair, it’s easier to reason and comment in hindsight. But the fact is that “Fans, artistes and all kinds of music communities drive the business rather than being driven by corporate powers”, as is written in the book The Future of Music.

A recent article by the secretary general of the IMI (India Music Industry) on RadioandMusic.com lists technology, marketing, pricing and legal initiatives to combat piracy. What might also be a worthwhile strategy to look into is working with popular platforms to tap into critical potential revenue streams like social networking sites such as Last.FM and MySpace.com where music companies are hard at work trying to find an artist royalty solution.

Synch deals, subscription services, ISP and government intervention, online radio, social networking sites, pre-loaded music on mobile phones, or even Nokia’s latest “Comes With Music” deal, where consumers will have access to 2 million free tracks through their 5310 XpressMusic handsets, are just a few references from a music business in constant change and looking for new ways to earn revenue.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that there are a thousand solutions for every single problem and, while it’s obvious that consumption patterns have changed and are rapidly changing, what’s equally important to remember is that the music experience being sought by audiences has changed, and this needs to be addressed first.