Guitar Hero/Rock Band
I think Edgar Bronfman, Jr. needs a lesson in digital economics.
Warner may be the most innovative digital company, but track sales are never going to equal CD sales, the only way labels can make their numbers on recorded music is via some kind of subscription model, whether it be Napster/Rhapsody or Spotify. The key is to get EVERYBODY paying for music, just like with cell phones. The key isn’t to charge an elite a fortune, but to get everybody to pay a little. Imagine if everybody in America was paying for music, ah… Instead, the labels come up with CMX…which even they’ve admitted is about getting those who ARE buying digitally to buy more. That’s not the answer, the key is to get those who are paying NOTHING to pay for music. If everybody has a cable subscription, or pays an ISP fee, they should pay for music. That’s the thinking that needs to be done. But the reason I’m ragging on Edgar here is because of his war with video game publishers, that they’re not paying enough for tracks.
Guitar Hero and Rock Band have peaked, just like ringtones.
Remember when ringtones were gonna save the music industry? These overpriced snippets? Well, sales dropped 7% last year and 8% the year before. Seems that cell phone users are rolling their own. AND they’re sick of getting ripped off.
And now another fad is about to expire, music video games. Why should they continue? Don’t the labels get it? That Guitar Hero and Rock Band are as evanescent as the crap they purvey?
The Beatles will sell. Because the Beatles always sell. There’s mumbo jumbo about new features, the ability to sing harmonies, but the key is it’s the Fab Four. But just imagine if the package had come out a year ago, or two. If only the Beatles LED instead of followed. Remastered CDs? Who’s got the quality stereo to HEAR the difference?
Go into a Best Buy. The one in Sherman Oaks freaked me out. The Guitar Hero/Rock Band area looks like a record store. As in bombed out. I need a new Guitar Hero guitar, one of mine just won’t sync, but I couldn’t find one in Sherman Oaks, I couldn’t find almost any accessories, just blank shelves. And even the publishers admit hardware sales are over. Do you really need to get a new guitar with every game? OF COURSE NOT!
But they are games. Talk to any musician, he’ll tell you it’s not like actually playing. These music games are the equivalent of hula-hoops. Here today, gone tomorrow.
But being in the game benefited those acts who were willing to make the deals. We’re driving in the car listening to XM and "Slow Ride" comes on. Felice starts singing along. How does she know this? ROCK BAND! Same deal with the Ramones.
So, the point is online, in the digital realm, you look for the bonuses, because the digital world is a shifting target. Friendster was eclipsed by MySpace which was replaced by Facebook. Only the labels could believe that MySpace could be the new home of music. Meanwhile, Steve Jobs is laughing, because he knows usability is key, and MySpace SUCKS!
So, rather than try to extract a pound of flesh from new digital entities, Edgar Bronfman, Jr. should see the momentary benefits. And play along! Hell, you can always make a contract with an end date, allowing yourself to renegotiate if by chance one of these sites/technologies perseveres. I mean what’s up with pulling music from YouTube? If Google can’t make any money, should you? Where’s the benefit? The key is people find out about bands via YouTube, you’ve got to embrace it. That doesn’t mean you can’t feed its successor, but don’t make a stand in the past. That’s what got the record companies in trouble. Their strategies are always two steps in the past. RIAA lawsuits? DRM? They fought these battles long after the public cared, when there was no real benefit to them. Then, of course, in both instances the labels ultimately said they were wrong.
Warner Music has one of the best catalogs in existence. That’s where future monies lie, maximizing revenue on the past, not spending a fortune to create momentary hits in the present. So, anything that burnishes the image of legendary acts…Edgar should say YES!
And so should the acts. Stop crying about how it used to be. We live in an ever-changing world where opportunities are brief. Claim them while they still exist!
