Dr. Luke To Sony
I get it, Doug Morris is playing to win. And of everybody extant, he’s got the best track record, I give him credit for this.
But I cannot applaud his deal with Dr. Luke. Sure, Mr. Gottwald may make hits, but Doug’s move seems as defensive as much as it is offensive. In other words, Doug is taking Dr. Luke off the table, he’s removing his ability to play for others.
Then again, Lucian made a similar deal with Mutt Lange, who I’d bet on before Dr. Luke anyway. Dr. Luke is great with today’s hits, but he hasn’t illustrated the breadth of repertoire that Mutt has.
But these exclusive deals are antithetical to the modern world. In an era where rappers release more mix tapes than official product, where all music is up for grabs, free online, to try to win by placing restrictions is so old school as to make me wince.
The future is about collaboration. That’s what social is all about. Talk to the younger generation, they’re about a free exchange of ideas amongst everybody. It’s about being a member of the group more than dominating as an individual.
As for Apple, which famously vertically integrates all its products, that was a failure of others to compete more than Apple squeezing out opportunity. As for iTunes’ incompatibility with other devices… The DRM has been removed, anyone can attempt to write jukebox/synching software as good as Apple’s, there’s no restriction on innovation.
Creativity is now open source. It’s not only about Linux and other software, but mashups and YouTube creations. These walls make no sense to users and they don’t make much sense to musicians either. You mean I can’t play with someone else just because they signed a deal with a different company?
Trent Reznor left Interscope. The only person deciding what he should do is him.
And Terry McBride may have been too early, but the unitary concept, of owning all your own rights so you can make decisions in your best interest on the fly, is what is coming. Sooner than you think.
Doug Morris is the guy trying to create a new company in the mold of the old. I don’t want to be ageist here, you don’t have to be young to innovate, but we’re now seeing the same movie as we always have, a bunch of fat cats banking on corralling an uncontrollable public into a future they think is defined, but which is really wide open.
I’d prefer to see enablers as opposed to controllers.
What Doug Morris has done here is anti-art. It’s all about the bucks. And that’s more about the past than the future.
As for his claim that he helped create Vevo…
Come back to me when the service is profitable as opposed to hemorrhaging money. Tell me when the public loves wading through the ads.
Doug is about roadblocks as opposed to freeways.
He can hear a hit, he can enable executive talent.
As for seeing the future and enabling artists at large?
He’s always been about signing who he can get on the radio and sell discs. In a world where radio is dying and so are discs.
Hmm…
P.S. Artists are different from producers. Artists are self-contained. Producers work with multiple artists. Tying up artists exclusively is bad enough, but doing the same with producers is akin to mind control. Music isn’t sports, it’s not a team game. The major labels just don’t get this.
