THINQon : Seeking Solutions to a changing music industry

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Robin Layter, I qualify as a youth. I have long hair and it...

Seeking Solutions to a changing music industry

Latest Post: August 13, 2009 at 5:41 PM

21 followers

My friend told me this week that Mos Def is marketing his new album The Ecstatic in a new way. He's made it as a digital download, obviously not new, but rather than just sell the codes straight from his website, he is selling a T-shirt with the album cover on the front and the digital download code on the inside tag. I think that's a great way to battle the faltering need for actual albums. Plus it's a great design.

I wonder if we are going to start see a lot of solutions like this over the next few years. The problem with this method is you need a huge name for it to be successful. It's like Radiohead's In Rainbows, there is no way that would have worked if they weren't one of the biggest and most respected bands in the world. It's not only pirating that is hurting the music industry (though it is amazingly easy to get music for free) but it's also the new technology in general. The music infrastructure is changing and it must be so difficult for a rising band to focus on their music while at the same time promoting themselves in new and unique ways.

So how can a new band do it these days? It's got to be with live shows. And that has always been the case. Local fan bases and constant touring are still the only ways to popular success. But perhaps if more bands find solutions like Mos Def and bring an actual product with their music, there will be new types of bands springing up from the suburbs.

Rap is a finding interesting solutions as well. It is becoming very popular for rappers, especially up and coming ones, to create mixtapes and put them all online for free. The big name right now is Drake who was only signed a few days ago to a record deal but has been exploding for the last 6 months due to his popular mixtapes. Mixtapes have to be free because mostly the rappers are just using recycled beats of other artists and it would be illegal to sell them. They can also be put out super quick because a lot of them are just freestyles and can be recorded back to back over a single day. Mixtapes are also interesting because they allow for a certain degree of collaboration that is rarely seen in any other music genre. Drake, Lil Wayne, and Kanye are all particularly good examples of this. Each of them has worked with almost every big name in the industry and a lot of the times this is for free. It's great publicity and may only require a few lines or a verse.

Another way the music scene is changing is the arrival of big music concerts. There are more every year in the tradition of woodstock and they draw thousands and thousands of fans along with the biggest touring names in the world. They charge a lot of money and bring even more from vendor and T-shirt sales. The circuit is growing every year and it's likely ticket prices are still going up to substitute for falling record sales.

So the music industry isn't as dead as people make it seem. It is merely changing and falling into new and innovative pockets. And maybe now we'll only see better music because it should be harder to become successful. Though listening to the radio I'm not sure who I'm kidding )

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Hanna Clapson, I am an English major. I write and think. I...

July 7, 2009 at 6:59 PM

22 followers

For awhile I was disheartened by the music industry. I got over it. I am one of those pirates you hear about in the pub on dark stormy nights. The internet is a musical ocean with little to no chance of coast guard interference. Are we wrong for laying hands on the booty? Anyway, not necessarily to disillusion myself I am not quite your average pirate. I use a program called Mojo to share music. The way it works is if you are on a shared network you can trade iTunes music with other people who have mojo and also have it opened. So it is limited in a very real sense. It's normally me convincing my friends to download the free program and share some stuff or else happening on some other mojoer on an open wireless network. But as I hadn't really intended this post as an utter divulgence of my trade secrets and, anyways, as perhaps a retributional example of karma my personal computer has gone kapootz, I will venture into the next paragraph.

The music industry is doing fine, it's only the record people that are seeing the sunset of their greedy days. As you say there are indeed nice pockets where music is blooming in invigorating ways. Though with today's technology we often forget the almost archaic radio, there are indeed a lot of great independent stations out there. Almost every college town has at least one great station that isn't plagued by those annoying DJs with all their inspiring sound effects ("This is Freeway Rockin' Rich bringing you the best riffing and raging rockn'roll of your weekday in between blocks of commercials for all the latest penis-pumping pills to stimulate your classic rock libidos").

I love world cafe and echoes and they are both nationally syndicated. There are also a growing number of art and music collectives among us youth and a lot of new and energizing Do it yourself (DiY) shows that spring up in the most unusual spaces. (lots of illegal venues and parking lots)

Technology is also coming into play. Pandora.com is actually a great tool for finding new music that is similar to the sounds you like. It's a fantastic idea that looks at your musical taste as if it were a human gene with a million little strands. As you mentioned rap one of those sites where you can get free mixtapes is datpiff.com I think if you are a member you can download two albums a day or something.

So perhaps it's not the death of the music industry we are witnessing but the death of albums. I like the idea of the Mos Def t-shirt and it is a great album cover, though I think it's priced at $40 so I might have to hold off until I'm 50 and I find it in a garage sale for a few bucks. Not a bad deal for only two mustard stains and one unidentifiable brown smudge.

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Robin Layter, I qualify as a youth. I have long hair and it...

August 13, 2009 at 5:41 PM

21 followers

I just read Radiohead announced that they will no longer produce albums in the traditional sense. A bitter disappointment as they more than other contemporary bands know how to make a single album speak in a coherent voice. But, I think they might be onto something.

Might we be witnessing the death of the album as we know it? Let's think this through. If Radiohead says they will no longer be producing full length albums, but will still continue to produce music and tour, then they are probably going to be releasing a song or two at a time like they did last week with a song called Harry Patch (In memory of) about the death of the last man who fought in WWI. And given that song was released via digital download (I think the price was 1pound) as their last album In Rainbows was, it would be the logical guess that their future produced material will be released online.

Although the format of the album probably won't entirely disappear because it allows for so much artistic statement and thematic development, this idea of continual releases seems like a very smart way to enter this new music industry. It both keeps the band in the spotlight so they aren't forgotten between tours and album releases, and it might actually improve sales as the consumer only has to pay a fraction of the cost of an album. And although they receive a fraction of the material, it doesn't seem as much of a dent to their wallets.

I am surprised I hadn't thought of this myself (not that I produce music or anything) but what Radiohead is doing is very similar to how the rap industry works. While there are still albums in the rap industry, you'd be hardpressed to find a successful artist (aside from Dr. Dre maybe) who isn't constantly putting out free digital downloads between album releases. The danger being that an artist who isn't constantly touring and releasing new material will fall into obscurity before his album drops and thus see it fail miserably. Look at Drake for example, he just signed to a label and has yet to have a song released that costs money, and yet he is still a millionaire. He's proven that albums are no longer necessary to be successful in the music industry. However, I wouldn't like to see them fade into the past altogether, because as a format they allow great range for artistic innovation. But we'll see...