I think Edgar Bronfman, Jr. needs a lesson in digital economics.<\/p>\n
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.\u00c2\u00a0 The key is to get EVERYBODY paying for music, just like with cell phones.\u00c2\u00a0 The key isn’t to charge an elite a fortune, but to get everybody to pay a little.\u00c2\u00a0 Imagine if everybody in America was paying for music, ah…\u00c2\u00a0 Instead, the labels come up with CMX…which even they’ve admitted is about getting those who ARE buying digitally to buy more.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s not the answer, the key is to get those who are paying NOTHING to pay for music.\u00c2\u00a0 If everybody has a cable subscription, or pays an ISP fee, they should pay for music.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s the thinking that needs to be done.\u00c2\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
Guitar Hero and Rock Band have peaked, just like ringtones.<\/p>\n
Remember when ringtones were gonna save the music industry?\u00c2\u00a0 These overpriced snippets?\u00c2\u00a0 Well, sales dropped 7% last year and 8% the year before.\u00c2\u00a0 Seems that cell phone users are rolling their own.\u00c2\u00a0 AND they’re sick of getting ripped off.<\/p>\n
And now another fad is about to expire, music video games.\u00c2\u00a0 Why should they continue?\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t the labels get it?\u00c2\u00a0 That Guitar Hero and Rock Band are as evanescent as the crap they purvey?<\/p>\n
The Beatles will sell.\u00c2\u00a0 Because the Beatles always sell.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s mumbo jumbo about new features, the ability to sing harmonies, but the key is it’s the Fab Four.\u00c2\u00a0 But just imagine if the package had come out a year ago, or two.\u00c2\u00a0 If only the Beatles LED instead of followed.\u00c2\u00a0 Remastered CDs?\u00c2\u00a0 Who’s got the quality stereo to HEAR the difference?<\/p>\n
Go into a Best Buy.\u00c2\u00a0 The one in Sherman Oaks freaked me out.\u00c2\u00a0 The Guitar Hero\/Rock Band area looks like a record store.\u00c2\u00a0 As in bombed out.\u00c2\u00a0 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.\u00c2\u00a0 And even the publishers admit hardware sales are over. Do you really need to get a new guitar with every game?\u00c2\u00a0 OF COURSE NOT!<\/p>\n
But they are games.\u00c2\u00a0 Talk to any musician, he’ll tell you it’s not like actually playing.\u00c2\u00a0 These music games are the equivalent of hula-hoops.\u00c2\u00a0 Here today, gone tomorrow.<\/p>\n
But being in the game benefited those acts who were willing to make the deals.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re driving in the car listening to XM and "Slow Ride" comes on.\u00c2\u00a0 Felice starts singing along.\u00c2\u00a0 How does she know this?\u00c2\u00a0 ROCK BAND!\u00c2\u00a0 Same deal with the Ramones.<\/p>\n
So, the point is online, in the digital realm, you look for the bonuses, because the digital world is a shifting target.\u00c2\u00a0 Friendster was eclipsed by MySpace which was replaced by Facebook.\u00c2\u00a0 Only the labels could believe that MySpace could be the new home of music.\u00c2\u00a0 Meanwhile, Steve Jobs is laughing, because he knows usability is key, and MySpace SUCKS!<\/p>\n
So, rather than try to extract a pound of flesh from new digital entities, Edgar Bronfman, Jr. should see the momentary benefits.\u00c2\u00a0 And play along!\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, you can always make a contract with an end date, allowing yourself to renegotiate if by chance one of these sites\/technologies perseveres.\u00c2\u00a0 I mean what’s up with pulling music from YouTube?\u00c2\u00a0 If Google can’t make any money, should you?\u00c2\u00a0 Where’s the benefit?\u00c2\u00a0 The key is people find out about bands via YouTube, you’ve got to embrace it.\u00c2\u00a0 That doesn’t mean you can’t feed its successor, but don’t make a stand in the past.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what got the record companies in trouble.\u00c2\u00a0 Their strategies are always two steps in the past.\u00c2\u00a0 RIAA lawsuits?\u00c2\u00a0 DRM?\u00c2\u00a0 They fought these battles long after the public cared, when there was no real benefit to them.\u00c2\u00a0 Then, of course, in both instances the labels ultimately said they were wrong.<\/p>\n
Warner Music has one of the best catalogs in existence.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s where future monies lie, maximizing revenue on the past, not spending a fortune to create momentary hits in the present.\u00c2\u00a0 So, anything that burnishes the image of legendary acts…Edgar should say YES!<\/p>\n
And so should the acts.\u00c2\u00a0 Stop crying about how it used to be.\u00c2\u00a0 We live in an ever-changing world where opportunities are brief.\u00c2\u00a0 Claim them while they still exist!<\/p>\n
\nRingtone Sales Fizzling Out<\/a>
Video Game Sales In Freefall<\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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