Recorded music is an innovation in and of itself, barely one century old. Did songwriting not exist before Thomas Edison? Of course it did, and compensation came from the sales of sheet music to other people who could play. The technology of the Victrola cratered that model, as the technology of the computer is cratering the current one.

How did the songwriter create revenue then? By live performance before paying audiences, or wealthy “patrons”. We are returning to that model. Pandora’s box has been opened, and noone has the power to close it without alienating their own customer base beyond repair. In fact, that is already occuring with the misguided attempts to sue file sharers. Public outrage is high. Take a survey.

Also, people are interested in acts that can really perform, without autotune or extensive backroom editing like production entails today. They are sceptical of what they hear on a recording, but if the songs are good enough to pique their interest, it makes for the best advertisement to get an audience to the live performance near them, and word of mouth is the best PR buzz ever.

Because the audience will not change in their perception that recorded music should be free, I have changed my perspective to see recorded music not as the product, but merely the advertisement for the real product, a great band in live performance.

edison freeman, magnolia tx

that said, i dont agree with him at all…
you cant blame the ISP’s for the free flow of information.. and IMO some scary things came out of his mouth during that speech (govt regulation, etc)..

you cant legislate or block the flow of information on the internet.. the people will always find a way around it.. it has been proven again and again with DRM, copy protection, etc…
whats needed is a new way of giving value to content that is free to experience by offering enhanced experiences as the carrot for a paying consumer (the continued success of live music in the face of the record industry meltdown is proof of this)

the rub is, free content and the notion that joe schmo can build an empire from his garage doesnt fit into the current or past record industry model, thats why you see people like this blabbering for new laws and for shame to be slung on all the people of the world who have embraced this new paradigm.. he’s preaching from a mountain top that is crumbling at its base..it may be safe to say that if U2 were just starting out today, they wouldnt need him as a manager, they certainly wouldnt need Universal, whats the use for so many middle-men..?

he even admits that now is the most prolific time for music ever seen.. this free flow of information is creating an uber enlightined society (at least in the artistic world) .. where every piece of art ever created is at our fingertips to be experienced and digested as inspiration in creating new art..

no saying i have the answers, just that there is zen in going with the flow.. and new ideas will emerge that are in harmony with the current and future paradigm of free information..

chappy

I wish more people got the VC metaphor…

record label : venture capitalist : : unknown artist : web startup

There’s plenty of variants of the basic formula, but that’s the gist of it. If you can make it work on your own, giving away your music, hoping to cash in someday when you ’scale,’ well then you may just be one of the very few that are able to cash out that way.

Most startups need help, direction, guidance, and cash.

I say the majority of legit top-level artists have been built that way for years, and it remains to be seen that one can become a top-level artist by giving your music away. Are there examples of it working on some scale? Sure. But as a new business model, the jury is still out.

Wait…. “business model”??!! I thought we were talking about music and art, man.

Damn.

Get advice from people who have broken artists and who have worked with artists and understand the A to Z’s…..

Get advice from music biz people who have a proven track record and knows the difference between FACT and FICTIONALITY….

Do artists enjoy making other companies richer by giving away works for free? I suggest artists get a good manager that understands business and knows how to make them money.

We have our fingers crossed that the pendulum swings back towrd the artist in coming years… right now things don’t look so peachy.

At least the labels gave out advances, delivered a song to radio, exposed music to the masses, paid for photography, paid for a video, paid for press. At least this gave an opportunity for artists to maximize their own revenue (live show, personal appearances, sponsors) while they were on a ‘paid’ platform that was given to them by major music labels.

Do artists understand this???

Are you saying the labels are going to start raping the artists worse or that individuals are making it even worse for artists?

Its time for artists to stand up for their rights. Artists and labels have a new nemesis and thats ISPs and Pirate sites that are not interested in paying artists.

The good news is that ‘Change’ is about to come and we are going to force the thieves out of business.

‘The BPI has absolutely backed-up McGuinness’s comments with a hard-line stance of its own. “The time has come for ISPs to stop dragging their feet and start showing some responsibility, by taking reasonable steps to counter illegal music freeloading,” said BPI CEO Geoff Taylor in a statement. “Their failure to do so in until now is extraordinary – and it can’t be allowed to go on.”

Thank you Mr. McGuinness for bothering to talk about the issues that are a nuisance to you but are life threatening to thousands of us!