UPDATE.
i need to reaccess my perspective on this. seriously.
this is making sense to me. http://www.endofcontrol.com/
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i'm pretty skeptical about this.
Charlatans To Give Away New Album
"U.K. alternative rock veterans the Charlatans will release their new album as a free download with modern rock radio network Xfm's Web site, xfm.co.uk, in early 2008.
The band's new single "You Cross my Path" will be released as a free download from Oct. 22. The single and the as-yet-untitled album -- the band's 10th studio set -- will also be available from the Charlatans' website, thecharlatans.net, as well as the Xfm site. Xfm have also scored the first radio play of the new single on its "Music: Response" show after 8pm on Oct. 4.
"Why would you volunteer to join the army for 10 years unless you had no choice?" said the Charlatans' manager Alan McGee in a statement. "Record companies are kind of like the army -- very regulated. We were really excited when Xfm got behind us and were as enthusiastic about the download as we are -- they are the first people to embrace music for the people. The band will get paid by more people coming to gigs, buying merchandise, publishing and synch fees. It's the future business model."
if you can afford to take the potential risks, it's worth trying.
for me, the process of becoming with music is something similar to a relationship. kind of like you're trying hard to charm up a woman. curious. you see a beautiful woman, you think "oh, i want to know more". so you ask her out, get rejected and make the wrong decision. or try again. you succeed. take her out, read books, get inspired, etc. you try to become a better person. at least i do. so, you're in fact, spending $ to gain an experience. an experience of finding yourself, improving, questioning, loving yourself. that experience is yours and yours only.
i think that's how you build up a music/book/art collection. your own knowledgebase. the goods are a reflection of your thoughts and images. one gets inspired by whatever starting/reference point you have (be it the beatles, miles davis, rolling stones, rolf harris, john denver, cliff richard, stockhausen, etc), then you start to pave your own road. so the net result is yours and yours only. some may venture out to other forms of expression, some may not have time for pursuit and just quit at age 25.
for me, finding something, the mystery of it, was always part of the fun. it's definitely not a "community" thing for me. i do not wave the lighter at shows. i would maybe share opinions with likeminded cynical friends, but i don't talk about the "naff" (that's "uncool" for the yanks) nostalgia based music i may still like, like, er spandau ballet or whatever. but the reason i like spandau ballet is that when i was a kid in england watching top of the pops, sb were using synthesizers, which were really cool back then, they wore skirts, and they had makeup. anything different, so that i could talk about it or impersonate it at school the next day. or a few months later, they're all sweaty and g.a.y. like. so in an ashamingly embarassing way, i have fond memories of them. kind of like girls you fancied in the old days, but you'd never will now. your values evolve over time. nostalgia. time stamped. not many people hate their entire past.
>>>>insert your identity and value of music here<<<<
(there's probably no single answer. can it be narrowed down to two? or three?)
if you have it for free, that means there's no build up. no wineing and dining, no romance. once it's over, you can walk out. but she may still ask you to buy some underwear. it's like you can date angelina jolie when you feel majestic and then date britney if you felt really disrespectful of yourself. and all you need to do is buy a bit of cloth. that's a bit too roman empire for me. this may work for single territory, but what about international? different cultures, manners, habits. this still why the world is still interesting.
when was the last time the charlatans toured japan? does xfm exist in japan? (no). are you going to do a deal with another company for it in japan? (you can't, because i would of downloaded the songs from xfm whilst still being in japan. if xfm monitored ip and prohibited me from getting it in japan, i would still be able to get it via black/grey market methods and FREE). where's the tour support for japan going to come from? how are you going to pay the people to promote the japan tour? or have they just given up? what about china? india? markets that are just waiting to be connected? am i look at it from a potentially flawed perspective?
so i hear britney's single is number one on itunes. it means there are tons of people that either symphasize to her, just plan curious, or have some weird fetish. or just plain like the song, but the decision to click "buy" is probably based on a non-objective triggered thought.
i dunno, i'm one of them masochists that actually need to climb mount everest to feel the exstacy. once it's over, men are not about the horn. on the few rare occasions where i had free-for-all, i try it out a bit, get indluged, but then, always, the horn just doesn't work. i find some knob to twiddle or go on to the next.
at least that's what happens to me, i dunno 'bout you though. still not sure if the human mind works like that.
how much is right? well, i've been downloading a lot recently. not a LOT, but i've probably invested enough money into my music collection pile to warrant a few downloads, thank you very much. but the method is far easier, quicker and convenient than going to a record shop. not because it's free. it is the user interface. if i had access to the same content, for say a $30/month subscription, i would do it. but unfortunately, i live in japan, which is online purchase hell.
for me, once i set my aim on something, i want it. i don't want ketchup or fries with it. i want it direct and i want it now. which is probably why i fail with women, but....... anyway, downloading music is far more convenient. i don't really need the artwork (yes and no), that's all sugar frosted stuff now, ever since cd. i mainly just want the music.
going out, getting on the train (cos my local shop is utter shite) to shibuya, whatever, trying to find it, the shop attendant is useless, they don't have it........ that just does not give me the horn.
on the 'puter;
- i can find the music i want, pretty quickly
- i can find the background info on it quickly and far more accurately than some untrained 18 year old shop attendant (no offense, but you got to know your baseball cards and let's face it, you were hired either for your good looks or cheap labour, sometimes attitude). discography websites, wiki's, etc
- any views you may have on the music is yours and you can share that with your virtual friends
- it's hard to keep track of what i bought, but that's not difficult to achieve
oh, how much would i pay? i think we're talking about maybe half of what it is now for starters. so $7 or $6 for an album, $0.5 for a song. if that seems to work, then stagger it. back catalogue (which would of recouped by then, or define back catalogue as "recouped") would be cheaper, say $2 for an album, $0.2 for a song. put a limited creative commons license on it, let the users spread it. blog it, myspace it, youtube it, social it.
heck, maybe even offer them a % cut, an incentive to spread. but don't let that be the only reason. it will saturate the "spreading" quality in no time. expertise is still required.
use the back catalogue to drive the initiative. show the tradition and history of music. with upcoming web interface technologies, the visual and communication methods are already available or will become available. make the internetz abound and aplenty with the sounds of music. spread the data, it wants to flow. let the obscure artists and musical genres have their moment of opportunity, their say, before they die or lose interest in doing it because "the business sucks". a lot have passed already. use youtube.com, use any means of communication necessary. recycle. it's already being spread around via illegal downloading anyway. give the kids better quality audio than 192kbps. give them pictures, give them trading cards. give them something to talk about. let the legacy live on.
subscription. let the user determine if they want to subscribe or not. some may only want to buy a song a month. some may want to buy 300 songs a month. keep the options open for the user. service business. not an enforced marketing business. you can make your own customised sneakers now. why not music, is it that much more harder? i would imagine not.
then, for new stuff (there is good stuff out there), an important issue is startup and seed money. career advice.
a combination of some giveaway, some brand driven initiatives, some ad revenue methods. venture capital for musicians.
but for new artists, who need to establish a foothold and start the ball rolling, keep the option of charging regular price as mentioned above. they need to get in shape and get trained. they need good coaching. proper artistic and business management, agents that would locate deals. proper a&r, old school. not the "ok, let's protools that and auto tune this, stick this song and that song".
a lot of music has shelf life and it's the initial point of impact that is often important. maximise it, especially with new acts. deal opportunities. look at radiohead. how much discussion, disgust, worship and publicity has it brought to the internetz in a week?
were they being unfaithful to their fans? were they trying to rip them off? probably not. your girlfriend is leaving you, with your child. and in this case, one of the most desirable. not because she found someone she could milk for life, because she opted for her own independence and taking her own responsibility. you're freaking out. she's willing to live seperately and have a crack at it, but long term chances are slim. an american woman just said no too.
people still want to be shocked, amazed, entertained. they want a good tune, be entertained, forget their now and make a memory out of it. they want a reference point. "hits" will probably exist but in different forms and scale.
exclusivity of music rights may be a dead horse. or territory for that matter. the territorial restrictions are coming down day by day. deal terms. perpetual deals are pointless if you can't sell the stuff after what you thought was the "sell-by" date. maybe someone else can receycle it. but why do labels need to make money off of that recycle process?
maybe this means that the ownership of the masters should belong to the artists. not the labels. let the artists take responsibility of their own actions. and their music.
the label is probably a service business now. a PR company. not a wine tasting session. the roles may of have reversed. maybe the labels are the ones that get paid royalties from the artist. territory by territory. each territory has it's own distinct set of rules and tendencies. experience, perspective and execution wins here.
publishing and mechanicals, that's a different ballpark. probably opportunities aplenty.
anything that comes from deals other than sales of recorded music, such as ad or brand revenue, don't put all that cash into the label's pocket, cos what is a label now? put that mirror and razor or crack pipe down and put that hard earnt $20 bill into hiring a dedicated PR person, put it aside for touring, or buying drinks for your interns and stagehands (i remember those middle aged people that bought me food and drink 20 years ago). not up yer bum.
traceable, transparent. accountable.
those who want the artwork, merchandise, etc. create music salons where you can gather amongst your collector selves and socialise. look at the beautifully cut grooves on that limited edition (or bespoke) vinyl. most people want fast food. but some actuallty want quality. don't deny them their right or opportunity to engage. the mini vs. bentley. prices for physical will have to go up, but offer the user more. more art. more content.
this may be what is known as a venue. or a club. rough trade are doing what seems like good things at their new rough trade east shop (at least on text it looks good). if so, open up the lobby to commerce. a market and a place to interact, watch, listen and inspire. byoms (bring your own memory stick), fill it up, buy the cloth. a hipper version of the wfmu record fair?
don't saturate the physical experience, the sensation. that first live show is important to anyone's life. it could be that show you play tomorow.
collect user data. google analytics. user data is now worth $. relying on one outlet of information/product/data (ex. myspace) is probably a bad idea.
as for data formats, that is debatable and probably must synchronize with bandwidth demand, audio quality and data storage trends. maybe watermark it, but don't copy protect it, that is a pain in the arse. let the data flow, not stop and perish. whether you sell that on the net or via the phone, or wifi, those are simply different methods of data transfer. not really the main issue.
i know it's a different method of accounting and recouping and rights ownership, but it's not entirely reinventing the wheel, is it? it's just taking the muck out and being careful and hopefully wise.
for the musician, none of this really matters. for the most part, they don't get into it for the money. they need to make the music. if they can't sell it, they'll just keep on doing it. just like the days before edison.
can some clever accountant type please calculate this for me and see if it works?
