Majors vs. Indies, Google vs. iTunes: Make No Mistake, the Music Industry is at War - Page 2
And yes, the Internet is not only the new means of distribution but also the world's primary source of information. But in terms of the music industry, that information is so diluted, so opinionated, and so fractured and misrepresented, that upcoming artists and bands are acting on sheer inertia, and getting destroyed in the process. And interestingly, it's Google that controls the flow of information.
Hey, go ahead, upload your music to ReverbNation, SoundCloud, SoundClick, BandCamp, and dozens of other sites for showcasing and selling new music. Then what? How do you stand out? Selling digital downloads is not the only thing that stars are made of. Where's the star making machine?
The upside is that understanding how the business works is now a matter of doing your own homework, and no longer left up to business experts who left the creative side of things to clueless artistic types who basically said, "You do it. I just wanna make music."
The meaning of copyrights, mechanical licensing, subsidiary rights, royalty accounting and all other aspects of the industry are now undergoing a complete overhaul in the shapeshifting of terrestrial to digital. Legends like Willie Nelson, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, etc., they made their millions. It's the new kids on the block selling lemonade on the corner who, well...they need to sell a hell of alot of lemonade. But in Cybertown, finding your little corner to sell stuff ain't so easy. Gotta have a website, right? What do Indie artists know about SEO?
The uprising--the mercenaries in this global war--are taking shape in the form of Indie labels. But what is a label? Who's zoomin' who? No one is putting labels on vinyl anymore, so why are we even calling these mini-startups "record labels?" Music publishing? When's the last time you bought sheet music?
The current state of the music industry is total chaos. I don't believe anyone anywhere--analog or digital--has a grasp at all on what it means to be signed or unsigned, and even more significantly, how anyone in the music industry is going to make money.
More money is being made from product endorsements than sales of recorded product. And tell me, what has merchandising got to do with original music? Well, nowadays, everything. So much for the old rock and roll rebellion that allegedly build this industry. Remember how artists used to rebel against beer companies supporting tours yet alone clothing lines, perfume and sports equipment endorsements?
Continued on the next page
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