How We Killed the Music Industry, and What
We Can Do to Fix It
Editor's Note 8/03/2006:
Although this editorial still has a very active life on the Internet and
gets hits from new users daily, it's important to know this was written in
late 2004 (and that before today this page was last updated in June 2005
when someone noticed a spelling error we missed). I add this note because we
keep finding new discussions about this editorial with comments indicating
the reader is unaware of its age. Thanks for keeping this editorial so
active!--RR
by Randi Reed
Like anyone else in the
music industry, I'm often asked how music downloading managed to take over
the music business, where we went wrong, and what we can do about it. I'm
also often asked who's to blame for the easy access of free copyrighted
music over the Internet...as I was during the writing of this editorial,
when Ohio University student Kevin Lieske requested my assistance on a research project.
"Could this blame not rest upon the rapid technological advancements of our
era rather than the individual's
use of this technology to obtain such an innocent and pure entity as music?"
Lieske asked in the email interview.
"I don't think you can separate the two," I typed. "We all have
a role in it." Then, carefully considering the potential impact of my words,
I took a deep breath and wrote what until then I'd only thought, but not
voiced: "We in the industry fell asleep and didn't pay attention to
technology and to consumers changing buying habits."
Then I added, "But just because there's a nice house with the door wide open
and a lot of nice things inside doesn't mean it's OK to go in and take
them."
This editorial only concerns the music industry's half of the equation,
though. So, how the hell did we end up in this mess? There are a lot of
theories, and probably no definitive answer. But here's my opinion, from the
perspective of working in live concert promotion and booking at the national
level from the early to late 90's:
The roots of where we are now in the music industry actually go back to the
first Gulf War: during the first Gulf War, many artists didn't tour because
of high fuel costs and safety concerns overseas, so they didn't have the
opportunity to go out and support their albums. The live touring industry
never recovered from it, in terms of the number of artists on tour at any
given time.
This, along with the construction of new, expensive arenas, drove ticket
prices up--fewer artists on tour, but more expensive tickets to try to make
up for it. So, the average fan had no access to see their favorite artist on
tour--either because the artist didn't tour, or because ticket prices were
no longer affordable. When you see an artist in concert, you're more likely
to want to buy their CD, because the music becomes something real--more than
just something in the background, or something disposable. It becomes
something of value to you, because there's a strong memory attached to it.
Plus, you've seen that person create those sounds right before your eyes--at
that time, very few artists on tour were lip synching, and most played
instruments--so you have more respect for it.
Meanwhile, alternative systems for delivering music were invented (such as
new technologies for the Internet), which the industry actually welcomed at
first, because we saw it as a way to bring live music to more consumers. But
what happened instead was, people started spending their disposable income
on computers, video games, cell phones, more expensive cable TV packages and Starbucks, all of which had taken off while
the touring industry was changing. That had never happened before; even
during hard economic times, music had always been one of the things people
spent their disposable income on.
Now throw in the elimination of many school music programs. So now we have a
whole generation of people who have never been to a concert or seen live
music in any form, so they don't see the value in it. And when you don't see
the value in something, you try to get it for free.
We in the industry were in denial that it would come to this, because we had
access to live shows, we knew the performers, and we knew how those songs
were written, how those sounds were created, and even what went into the
photo sessions for the CD booklets...So the music had value to us. Most of
us got into the industry because of our passion for it; like a lot of my
colleagues, my first goal as a teen trying to break into the music industry
was simply to subsidize my concert habit and get my next musical fix. So, it
was inconceivable to us that a digital file would be an OK substitute for
all that heart, soul, and passion. (I still don't like digital files;
soundwise, to my ears, a lot of the mid-range and warmth are missing, and as
a liner notes reader, I'm unsatisfied with anything less than a real CD
booklet in my hands--and I'm not taking time out of my day to print one
out.)
So, here we are. Now what do we do to fix it?
1.
Invest in artist development. Give artists a chance to nurture their talent,
instead of dropping them after their first album isn't "successful."
2.
Redefine what a "successful" album is. Many of the artists who are still
selling out shows after 20 years had albums that didn't crack the Top 50.
3.
Encourage the development of good songwriting. Even in the pop genre, think classics--not
disposable, unmemorable songs.
4.
Don't run your artist into the ground; bring back longer album cycles so
your artist doesn't burn out and has time to produce decent material.
5.
Stop investing in artists that even the fans know can't really sing, play an
instrument, or perform their music live.
6.
Support the artists who really perform their own music live.
7.
Take a young person to see a show, and give your extra comp tickets to young
people so they can experience their first concert.
8.
Bring back the 2000-3000 seat venue.
9.
Lower ticket prices so that the average fan can afford to see live shows,
and can afford to see more of them.
10.
Crack down on ticket scalping, so lower ticket prices remain low.
11.
Institute a fair, comprehensive blanket licensing system for the Internet,
similar to that used in TV and radio, in which the Internet Service Provider
(ISP) is responsible for the license fees, which are collected from the
consumer in the form of a few extra dollars per month to the ISP.
12.
Bring back school music programs, and as an industry, take part in those
that still exist: If you're an artist, volunteer to play a show at a school.
If you're an exec, work to bring your artists into schools.
Those are some off the top of my head. I'm open to suggestions. -- RR
TOP |
