The Music Biz is trying to adjust course

[AMuse]

Along the same line as the plunging sales thread but maybe with a brighter outlook. This article does indicate that the labels and the music business in general are trying to adjust. Like we have been saying, they will have to. This was interesting to read since I could not offer any immediate solutions so it is good to see some of the innovative things that these companies are working on to try and save themselves.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/biztech/01/07/future.music.ap/index.html

[Nautilus]

I am guessing that they will "adjust" at some point. The whole market transition that is taking place is not an overnight deal and belive me that lots of people in the business are watching and monitoring and forecasting how to deal with these changes.

I think for us as consumers though, it is a win/win situation :).

[duhb]

i agree that they will recover with new products or ways to get going
that main pattern seems to be that things just get smaller
remeber how big a record is compared to a cd and now digital? so smaller and easier to get to and buy. hmmm...

[robotrock]

Interesting article. Thanks for posting the link.

[Red and Shiny]

There are many forms of entertainment I guess that the public will pay for so the business maybe has to become not just music but entertainment with alll the various things that go with it. Music alone seems to have suffered too much to be workable alone.

[Dusty Chalk]

I disagree with that. What about us musicians who don't want to become entertainers? I mean, yeah, I don't expect to make it as big as someone who can say dance and sell Pepsi at the same time, but I know from the audience perspective, there's still a market for just plain good musicians.

[AMuse]

I may be wrong, but I think that the time for pure music and musicians may be behind us. :(

[Dusty Chalk]

I think it's a matter of managing expectations. I don't expect the next Edgar Froese or Eric Gates or Greg Howard to be as big as the next Robbie Williams or Madonna or whatnot, but speaking as a consumer, I guarantee you, they have an audience. The record companies (or whatever marketing machine you choose) just need to more accurately target their market, rather than trying to get everyone to buy it. They need to find out what kind of people will buy what kind of music, and market that music to those people. It's simply a matter of not being lazy. The old marketing techniques won't work any more. You can't only invest in the mainstream acts and expect it to pay off in large dividends -- they need to spend smaller amounts on the smaller artists and expect it to pay off in smaller dividends...but still pay off. The population is too large and too diverse for any one kind of music to appeal to everyone. It's like diversifying one's investments.

[A04]

I have a friend who was signed onto a major label here in Japan, but she is entirely a "soft" artist meaning that she has singles out and artwork, but it's all download. The label puts out its big acts on CD and tours and all that, but for artists with a niche market, they're doing the download thing. That might be the way to go. In that way they can monitor who is going to be the next big artist and the cost to do that is almost negligible. Staffs setting up record store promotions all over the country? You can reach a much bigger audience with two programmers doing online marketing.

[CaseInPoint]

Well, I'm no expert but I can't see the music business doing anything other than thrashing to make things work. Selling music for them has become less natural than selling hype and image which is entertainment so this is where it probably will stay. Todays kids need glam and vibe and all that crap that may or may not have anything to do with music.

There is still plenty of good music out there but for the most part what is selling is being produced as packaged goods for sale targeted for the market that it is in, music is just a side effect.

IMO of course.

[MiscGenius]

just look at what is really selling
when you see them on stage there lots of extras doing whole dance numbers
the song is just background music

[AMuse]

Looks like it all depends on who you talk to.
Here is an article that just dogs the entire situation....

http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10498664

[Red and Shiny]

Adjusting is the correct title alright. Here are some adjustment news.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/01/13/uk.emi.ap/index.html

[Dusty Chalk]

The next couple of years are going to be turbulent.

[AMuse]

No doubt, this will get worse and worse by some accounts. I am guessing that the record companies will morph so far away from where they were traditionally that 5-10 years from now the way they operate will not even be close to their business models of today.

[Red and Shiny]

They will become reality tv shows where the winner will actually relase the album, sort of like American Idol.