I don’t give a shit how good your record is, what’s your marketing stunt?<\/p>\n
Ray Davies gave away his new album with a U.K. rag last week.\u00c2\u00a0 Did you hear about it?<\/p>\n
Probably not, unless you’re an Anglophile or a Kinks fan.\u00c2\u00a0 And despite being a dyed-in-the-wool acolyte, I can’t say that I’m expecting much, especially after his lame first effort.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, don’t hassle me, listen to him talk about his art school babe on "Storyteller" and then tell me that "Other People’s Lives" was good…\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, I’ll probably get e-mail from the ten people who care, telling me how fucked up and wrong I am.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t they know, NO ONE’S PAYING ATTENTION!
\u00c2\u00a0
Next week, the Eagles are gonna release a new album at Wal-Mart.\u00c2\u00a0 You HATE the Eagles.\u00c2\u00a0 You spew your venom whenever their name is mentioned.\u00c2\u00a0 Your displeasure is only eclipsed by your disdain for Nickelback.\u00c2\u00a0 But you wanna know something?\u00c2\u00a0 Despite Wal-Mart paying $30 million, purchasing 3 million albums one way, NO ONE WHO DOESN’T BUY IT IS EVER GOING TO HEAR IT!<\/p>\n
They’re not gonna spin "Long Road Out Of Eden" on Top Forty.\u00c2\u00a0 Yeah, right next to Britney.\u00c2\u00a0 Don Henley’s gonna eclipse her on TMZ.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, "How Long" barely made a dent on the country chart.\u00c2\u00a0 You see, MOST PEOPLE JUST DON’T CARE!\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got your fan base, and that’s…IT!<\/p>\n
Trent Reznor said he was going to release his latest production, of a gentleman named Saul Williams, in a slightly better than Radiohead fashion.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re not a NIN devotee, YOU DIDN’T EVEN HEAR ABOUT IT!\u00c2\u00a0 And this is just the SECOND TIP JAR EXPERIMENT!<\/p>\n
Don’t you get it?\u00c2\u00a0 These are stunts!\u00c2\u00a0 Equivalent to Duran Duran hiring a yacht to get their videos played on MTV.\u00c2\u00a0 And now MTV doesn’t play music and videos have been a joke for over a decade.<\/p>\n
So, if you want to get noticed, you’d better cook up your stunt.\u00c2\u00a0 What’s it gonna be?\u00c2\u00a0 Are you gonna set yourself on fire in the Tower Records parking lot and only release your album on iTunes, signifying the death of the CD?<\/p>\n
Maybe you’re going to give away your disc at baseball games.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, a lot of people go.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ll sing the national anthem that day.<\/p>\n
Or, you’re gonna do a Wii game.\u00c2\u00a0 Where people can move you with their controller.<\/p>\n
And unless your idea is executed in the next ninety days, no one’s gonna care whatsoever.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, Paul McCartney makes a deal with Starbucks and it’s big news.\u00c2\u00a0 Legendary artist Joni Mitchell follows him into the coffee emporiums and…customers shrug.<\/p>\n
What have we learned here?\u00c2\u00a0 That the major label model is dead.\u00c2\u00a0 Because, you see, it’s based on these inane marketing stunts reaching a zillion people who care, who’ll all rush out and buy a disc.<\/p>\n
But there were limited arenas.\u00c2\u00a0 Radio and TV.\u00c2\u00a0 And with limited outlets, people paid attention.\u00c2\u00a0 And MP3s hadn’t been heard of yet.<\/p>\n
Wow.<\/p>\n
Actually, it all does come down to the music.\u00c2\u00a0 Or, it will soon.\u00c2\u00a0 Unless you’re willing to sacrifice your soul and your sanity, like Britney, you just won’t be noticed by the public.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re gonna have your core, which you will try to grow according to Malcolm Gladwell’s "Tipping Point" principles, and that will be IT!<\/p>\n
You want to succeed in the future?\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t try a stunt.\u00c2\u00a0 Try the Musictoday fan club model.\u00c2\u00a0 Not the U2 fan club model.\u00c2\u00a0 Where you pay money for the right to buy a shitty seat.\u00c2\u00a0 But where you pay for ongoing goodies, all twelve months of the year\/your membership.\u00c2\u00a0 Not only good seats, but special product, special access.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s all positively micro.<\/p>\n
Who wants to go micro?\u00c2\u00a0 Not Jimmy Iovine.\u00c2\u00a0 Certainly not Edgar Bronfman, Jr.\u00c2\u00a0 But, if you’re getting ALL of the money, you can make a handsome income.\u00c2\u00a0 An extravagant income?\u00c2\u00a0 Looks like those days are through.<\/p>\n
So, Prince, Radiohead, Trent and Madonna put the stake in the heart of the major label model.\u00c2\u00a0 And the majors wouldn’t sign the Net wannabes anyway.\u00c2\u00a0 So, all the majors are left with is middle of the road vessels willing to sell their souls.\u00c2\u00a0 But, what you end up with is an act that can play the House Of Blues…\u00c2\u00a0 Yup, that’s where Rihanna played in L.A.\u00c2\u00a0 Biggest record of the summer?\u00c2\u00a0 And you work in CLUBS?<\/p>\n
Let’s get a handle on this.\u00c2\u00a0 Let’s recognize that the old guard’s power has been stripped, or will be soon.\u00c2\u00a0 Doug Morris.\u00c2\u00a0 Terrestrial radio…\u00c2\u00a0 They’re at best, network TV.\u00c2\u00a0 Going from 92% of the audience to 31% as cable took hold.<\/p>\n
It’s not about SAVING the business, it’s about BUILDING A NEW ONE!<\/p>\n
And it’s gonna take a FUCK of a lot of effort.\u00c2\u00a0 With so much clutter in the marketplace, gaining traction is almost impossible.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to start with the music.\u00c2\u00a0 The music must touch souls.\u00c2\u00a0 It must sell itself.<\/p>\n
It’s not about developing artists slowly, it’s LITERALLY THE ONLY WAY!\u00c2\u00a0 Goose it, and you burn everybody out right up front.<\/p>\n
The new century, the new world is here.\u00c2\u00a0 Let’s stop asking how we can save the old one.<\/p>\n
Presently music is free.\u00c2\u00a0 Will people pay for it in the future?\u00c2\u00a0 How much?\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re an act, that’s not your number one priority.\u00c2\u00a0 The act has ALWAYS had a 360 degree model, sharing in ALL revenue streams…\u00c2\u00a0 But now the act is in charge.\u00c2\u00a0 People who service the acts are the ones who will survive as businessmen in the future.\u00c2\u00a0 The Clive Davis model is just the opposite.\u00c2\u00a0 And it won’t last.<\/p>\n
If you’re not willing to work for peanuts.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re not willing to convert fans one by one.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re not in it for the long haul…then you’ve got no future in this business.\u00c2\u00a0 And I didn’t decide this, the customer did.\u00c2\u00a0 The customer who was mistreated forever.\u00c2\u00a0 Who can now not only sample EVERY act’s music online for free (they call that MySpace), but has gratifying alternative entertainment options. Hell, just ask them.\u00c2\u00a0 What’s better…\u00c2\u00a0 Britney’s new record or HALO 3?<\/p>\n
You know things are fucked up when people believe in a computer company more than just about every act.\u00c2\u00a0 Apple is just a hair younger than Bruce Springsteen’s career, but I care A LOT more about Leopard than "Magic".<\/p>\n
Oh, don’t get your knickers in a twist.\u00c2\u00a0 This is how MOST people feel!\u00c2\u00a0 And Bruce is perceived to be credible!<\/p>\n
I’m selling Macs.\u00c2\u00a0 And so is everybody who owns one.\u00c2\u00a0 Because they’re GREAT!\u00c2\u00a0 And, if you’ve got your ear to the ground, you know that Apple is going to own the consumer sphere.\u00c2\u00a0 All you have to do is LOOK!\u00c2\u00a0 Check out Starbucks, or the airport lounge.\u00c2\u00a0 The Mac to PC ratio is staggering.\u00c2\u00a0 The people running record companies are not looking, they’re not doing everyday research.\u00c2\u00a0 So, they’re behind.\u00c2\u00a0 But we, the public, are not behind.\u00c2\u00a0 We decide who rules now.\u00c2\u00a0 Madison Avenue is not in control, never mind MTV.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to partner with us, the same way Apple partnered with a fan for its new commercial.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/p>\n
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