You can’t convince customers cheaper is better, not in music.<\/p>\n
This week Apple and Microsoft announced their quarterly results.\u00c2\u00a0 Apple’s were staggeringly good.\u00c2\u00a0 Mac sales dipped ever so slightly, but iPod sales were up and iPhone sales were humongous.\u00c2\u00a0 In other words, people will pay premium prices for perceived quality.\u00c2\u00a0 Just like you can’t get a ticket for a superstar act.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, unlike Apple, the music business isn’t building any new superstars.<\/p>\n
Superstars…\u00c2\u00a0 Remember Microsoft’s Bob initiative?\u00c2\u00a0 The woman who spearheaded it became Bill Gates’ wife, but it was derided by the public and never adopted.\u00c2\u00a0 Same deal with those Microsoft tablets.\u00c2\u00a0 These products were ill-conceived.\u00c2\u00a0 Microsoft had the infrastructure to develop them, they just never asked themselves whether the public would want them.<\/p>\n
And now Microsoft is telling people to buy their products because they’re cheap.\u00c2\u00a0 Imagine trying to get people to see a developing act live by saying tickets are $30 instead of $100.\u00c2\u00a0 God, you can’t even get people to go for free! They’ve got too many entertainment options.\u00c2\u00a0 Shit, no one cares if you’re giving away a single on iTunes or Amazon anymore.\u00c2\u00a0 People expect to be able to hear the new stuff for free.<\/p>\n
The music business needs an iPhone.<\/p>\n
But all we’re getting is Bobs and tablets.<\/p>\n
The starmakers are knowledgeable in the old infrastructure.\u00c2\u00a0 Their concept of innovation is finding a new act to flog, there’s nothing new at the core.\u00c2\u00a0 How do we get someone so cute, so sexy that the magazines and television will promote them.\u00c2\u00a0 They don’t ask how we can find something so unique that the public will be drawn to them.<\/p>\n
That’s our dilemma.\u00c2\u00a0 Where is music’s "Sopranos"?\u00c2\u00a0 Where is its "Slumdog Millionaire"?\u00c2\u00a0 Where is the product that’s unforeseen, yet is clamored for.<\/p>\n
The iPhone is a bigger hit today, based on not only its ubiquity, but its 3G capabilities and the App Store.\u00c2\u00a0 In other words, the iPhone is on its second album, and has toured extensively.\u00c2\u00a0 Unlike in the music business, Apple replaces the product with a new iteration each and every year.\u00c2\u00a0 Even iTunes is up to version 8.\u00c2\u00a0 In other words, don’t keep flogging the same damn album, working another single, but build off the album and make new singles.<\/p>\n
And you don’t know what the public wants from the get-go.\u00c2\u00a0 Speak to Eddie Rosenblatt.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, Fleetwood Mac with Lindsey and Stevie made a radio-friendly record, but who knew that Stevie Nicks would develop into a twirling witch on stage?<\/p>\n
You start, but you can’t plan the future.\u00c2\u00a0 It evolves.<\/p>\n
It’s not about the marketing so much as the essence.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not about Twitter or other online initiatives so much as the act.\u00c2\u00a0 The marketing surrounds the act.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re not selling marketing, you’re selling music.<\/p>\n
But it hasn’t been that way for a long long time.\u00c2\u00a0 Marketing’s been king since the days of MTV.<\/p>\n
Don’t worry if your track is radio-friendly, most hard core fans don’t listen to terrestrial radio.<\/p>\n
Don’t worry if your act is good-looking, videos are now just a peek at what the act looks like, akin to a photo in a magazine, as opposed to mini-movies.<\/p>\n
Know that cookie-cutter will deliver diminishing returns.\u00c2\u00a0 Unique can blast you into the stratosphere.<\/p>\n
Movies have an advantage.\u00c2\u00a0 Each and every one is new.\u00c2\u00a0 So you can pull the wool over the public’s eyes again and again.\u00c2\u00a0 But it’s hard to convince the public that the "American Idol" contestant is now credible.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to guard your image.<\/p>\n
It starts with the music.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s the driver today.<\/p>\n
And the music is just the beginning.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t worry if the music is free, don’t worry about monetizing the music.\u00c2\u00a0 Just get it in people’s hands, make it available!<\/p>\n
Radio used to perform this function.\u00c2\u00a0 People tuned in.\u00c2\u00a0 Now there’s too much music and most people aren’t listening, so to charge for the tunes is a mistake.\u00c2\u00a0 You need the public to take you on a ride.\u00c2\u00a0 How many people would have watched the Susan Boyle video if it cost 99 cents a viewing?<\/p>\n
Ultimately, pricing is irrelevant if there’s desire.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to build that desire.\u00c2\u00a0 And what sells in today’s world is authenticity.\u00c2\u00a0 And difference.\u00c2\u00a0 Where are the new acts that are authentic and different?<\/p>\n
And different today means sans tattoos and drum machines.\u00c2\u00a0 It means melodies and good voices.\u00c2\u00a0 Rather than driving deeper into the niches, throw a broad lasso by basing your product on these fundamental values.\u00c2\u00a0 Not that you have to.\u00c2\u00a0 But if you go niche, expect to stay niche.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s the flaw in the thinking of those who support indie rock. They think these indie bands will blow up.\u00c2\u00a0 But they can’t.\u00c2\u00a0 Because there’s not that imprimatur, that radio and television exposure that made R.E.M. ubiquitous, that even gave Marilyn Manson a chance.\u00c2\u00a0 If you start way off the radar, expect to stay way off the radar.<\/p>\n
Unless you’re not stylized, but good.<\/p>\n
Yes was respected for its members’ skills.\u00c2\u00a0 Jon Anderson had a pretty voice.\u00c2\u00a0 Therefore, their left field music could suddenly cross over.\u00c2\u00a0 Whereas a band with bad voices and sketchy playing will stay left field.<\/p>\n
We can discuss this over a cup of coffee.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s very complicated, and you’re getting pissed off, coming up with exceptions.<\/p>\n
The bottom line is don’t expect your favorite to be mainstream unless it’s got mainstream qualities.\u00c2\u00a0 Elements that appeal to a vast quantity of people.<\/p>\n
But, the caveat here is no one can predict the future.\u00c2\u00a0 And mainstream is wider than the industry presently perceives it to be.<\/p>\n
So you start somewhere and go on an adventure, not knowing exactly where you’re going to end up.\u00c2\u00a0 Chances yield results.\u00c2\u00a0 If someone says no, you’ve got to say yes.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to have enough rough edges to hook people, but not be so offensive as to alienate them.<\/p>\n
We’re starting all over again.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re building music anew.\u00c2\u00a0 And everybody with power today doesn’t give a shit. Because starting means no revenue, no commission.<\/p>\n
And those starting looking for an investor are barking up the wrong tree.\u00c2\u00a0 Because these investors want returns, and only know how to do it the old way.<\/p>\n
It truly is a D.I.Y. world.\u00c2\u00a0 Mellencamp doesn’t get that the same way Maureen Dowd doesn’t get Twitter.\u00c2\u00a0 Their years on the planet are clouding their eyes.<\/p>\n
Start small, grow big.\u00c2\u00a0 The eighties and nineties were an anomaly, when we all paid attention to MTV and Top Forty radio.\u00c2\u00a0 The world has splintered.\u00c2\u00a0 Music can unite it.\u00c2\u00a0 But you’ve got to start with the music itself.<\/p>\n
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You can’t convince customers cheaper is better, not in music. This week Apple and Microsoft announced their quarterly results.\u00c2\u00a0 Apple’s were staggeringly good.\u00c2\u00a0 Mac sales dipped ever so slightly, but iPod sales were up and iPhone sales were humongous.\u00c2\u00a0 In other words, people will pay premium prices for perceived quality.\u00c2\u00a0 Just like you can’t get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-uo","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1884"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1885,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1884\/revisions\/1885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}