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to them for the answer to “save the industry.”
However, the band members didn’t feel
they did anything especially innovative. They
stated they were just aware of the trends,
YouTube at the time, and capitalized on it.
Their advice for success in the ever- changing
digital music landscape was to be aware
of trends and jump on them before they are
played out. 4
Death, on the other hand, experienced success
due to word of mouth through fans
on message boards. The band started in
the ‘70s but didn’t have success because
the record executives did not find them
marketable. The band fell off of the radar for
decades after that until someone discovered,
somewhat miraculously, their demo at
a record store. The demo gained enough
traction through the web that the band was
contacted and now play sold out shows 40
years later. 5
None of this would have been possible without
the music industry becoming digitalized,
which begs the question, who exactly is
being harmed with these changes? Music
producer and musician Steve Albini
speculates that the only ones being harmed
are the crooked record executives of old,
who were harmful to the industry in the first
place. He paints a picture where executives
put up cash to finance a record deal, but then
artists were actually paid little to nothing due
to “recoup.” Recoup is where artists were
held financially responsible for all expenses
including recording time, materials, promotional
collateral, and outside employment
such as lawyers or promoters. The result of
this old model of the industry is that most
artists hardly ever made a cent. Only artists
as big as Michael Jackson could ever hope
to be successful. Albini states the only
ones throwing a fit about this new business
model in the digital era are these executives,
who aren’t making as much money (and he
doesn’t think they deserve to). He expresses
excitement in the new realm of digital music
stating that, “I don’t want to conclude without
reiterating how terrific the current music
environment is. I see more bands and I hear
more music than ever before in my life. There
are more gigs, more songs available than
ever before, bands are being treated with
more respect, and are more in control of their
careers and destinies. I see them continuing
as a constellation of enterprises: some big,
some small – most small but all of them
with a more immediate response from their
audience and a greater chance to succeed. It
is genuinely exciting.” 6
“There are more gigs, more songs available than ever before, bands
are being treated with more respect, and are more in control of their
careers and destinies. I see them continuing as a constellation of
enterprises: some big, some small – most small but all of them with a
more immediate response from their audience and a greater chance to
succeed. It is genuinely exciting.”
-Steve Albini
While Albini’s disdain for the industry
professionals may be overzealous, it is not
unfounded. The purpose of music is for the
artist to connect with the listener, and the
digital age has made that much easier. While
it is not at all unreasonable for label executives
to want to turn as much of a profit as
possible, it is unreasonable for them
to impede the value of the art solely for
money.
RISING FROM THE ASHES
There has been more than one response to
the shifting climate of the music industry. For
bands, there is much more revenue in advertising
and live events than there were in previous
decades. Pomplamoose for example
made many deals with advertisers, and as
they were an independent band, they were
able to pocket the proceeds. Live shows
have also exploded, in more than one way.
Firstly, more artists are playing at venues. It
is a simple fact that more artists are getting
noticed, and there is more of a demand from
the public to see them perform. Secondly,
live shows have become much more pricey
than in previous decades. A cheap show at a
reputable venue will most likely cost at least
$20 for a ticket. People are willing to play
much more than that, however, proven by the
festival tickets that cost at least $200 that
sell like wildfire.
While this is good news for artists, what
about the industry as a whole? The two main
sources of new revenue that have begun
to help the industry recoup from piracy
and dropping album sales are iTunes and
streaming sites. Apple released the iPod and
iTunes in 2001, just after Napster shut down,
with some success. What really launched the
popularity of iTunes was the iTunes store.
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