A few words as food for thought via Bob Lefsetz B| for a reality check for Artists/Entertainers, and the Fans that support them B| NAPSTER WOULD KILL CREATION AND NO ONE WOULD MAKE MUSIC Just the opposite has happened. With new tools for production and distribution that bring the cost of creating and getting your work out at close to zero it seems like everybodys got a song in them. More people are making more music than ever before, leaving the audience overwhelmed with productions. MUSIC IS FREE It just feels that way. Americas #1 music service, YouTube, pays rights holders, as does Spotify. Can we stop the mantra that music is free? Sure, piracy exists, but it always did. If you think kids are busy stealing instead of streaming you probably went to the Apple Store to stock up on the discontinued iPod. MAJOR LABELS ARE DEAD Theyre more powerful than theyve been in a decade, because they have the relationships and cash to get their productions heard. MICROSOFT IS AN INVINCIBLE MONOLITH THAT MUST BE STOPPED It stopped itself by failing to innovate, by being eclipsed by others in the marketplace. This paradigm works in music as well as tech. Sure, people want to hear old tracks whereas theyve got no desire to use old computers, but if youre not cutting something new and great on a regular basis youre fading in the rearview mirror. TICKETMASTER IS THE ENEMY Acts are the enemy. Because they wont go to all-in ticketing. Ticketmaster fees are promoter profit. As for getting all seats in the venue on the manifest...now thats a challenge. STREAMED CONCERTS ARE THE NEXT FRONTIER The Allman Brothers were pioneers, their revenue tanked. Turns out people want to be there. Its not so much about the sound as the experience. TAPES/HARD DRIVES ARE ANATHEMA ELO and Milli Vanilli were castigated, now everybody uses them. LUCIAN GRAINGE CANNOT REPLACE DOUG MORRIS Oh yes he can. Then again, Doug Morris single-handedly rejuvenated Sony Music. If only Doug knew something about tech. TABLETS ARE FADING Theyre just merging with phones. They are now the computing device of record. A large hand-held is many peoples only device. If you dont have a mobile strategy, if your site doesnt render properly on a phablet (phone/tablet, get it?), youre losing ground. Dont forget, Facebooks stock burgeoned because they figured out mobile. INSTITUTIONS ARE BIGGER THAN STARS No, theyre not. Nate Silver has credibility and gravitas. Anybody can write about data, that doesnt make them worth following. How come the New York Times knows its about stars on the Opinion page, but not elsewhere in the paper? THE LONG TAIL Its out there, but no one is buying it. THE APP ECONOMY Turns out were all gravitating to apps, its inherent in the move to mobile, but everybody expects them to be free. OBAMACARE WILL BRING DOWN THE PRESIDENT AND TURN EVERYBODY INTO A REPUBLICAN When you lose the war, move on. The future is about new ideas, not hashing over the past. Turns out people wanted affordable health care and despite hiccups in the system, its turning out just fine. You can argue with me, but youd be proving the point. IF YOU WORK HARD YOU WILL BECOME RICH The rich start with huge advantages, in America weve got a self-perpetuating underclass. MUSIC DRIVES THE CULTURE We havent had that spirit here since 1989. Tech drives the culture. But tech is not art. Art trumps business every time, but it requires true artists to accomplish this, trained people willing to color outside the lines. NO ONE WILL PAY FOR RADIO Sirius XM has nearly thirty million subscribers. If you dont, youre the one left out of the party. Being cheap has consequences. YOU CAN COMPETE WITH HBO There are a limited number of quality writers and producers. HBO gets first pick, thats where the talented want to go. Sure, theres overflow left for Showtime and Netflix, but not much. FLATTENING DISTRIBUTION WOULD ALLOW PREVIOUSLY MARGINALIZED ARTISTS TO FLOURISH Turns out there werent a ton of unsung artists rejected by the major labels who did not get their chance. And now, more than ever, as a result of the Internet, quality can be found. Turns out theres just not that much quality out there. TELEVISION COMPETITION SHOWS ARE RUINING THE MUSIC BUSINESS Not a single star has been minted by The Voice. American Idol has faded to near irrelevance. If youre focusing on the TV paradigm to explain your lack of traction and the vapid music of today, youre just wrong. THE SPITZER AGREEMENT WOULD PAVE THE WAY FOR INDIES AT RADIO Just the opposite has happened. Playlists are completely dominated by majors. PUBLICITY EQUALS SUCCESS We can ignore everything, and the more were beaten over the head with something, the less likely we are to imbibe/check it out. -- Visit the archive: lefsetz/wordpress/
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 22:10:40 +0000