The Answer: Diversify(Major/minor Sytem)

Viacom the owner of MTV has recently cut 850 jobs in the rise of this recession. This recession has also allowed anybody to be apart of the music industry… WMG’s stock is at $2.67 a stock. People claim it is an old business plan, others say music is not a monetary market anymore. Every week I keep seeing album sales drop, but digital sales have been steadily rising. Kanye’s single sold 1.3 million times on iTunes to date (2/4/08). So is digital the answer?

In Business, sales have to show growth and improvement otherwise stocks will drop and investor confidence will drop as well. Usually when a business grows too fast (or even a decline in growth) it strikes fear. There will always be this wall that all businesses hit where they have to cut some expenses to continue growth until it can not make money anymore. That is where the flaw of iPods come in. If everybody has an iPod, where can the growth be? What improvements can they make? iPod sales drop now, but that is expected and still people lose confidence in them. Where to go when you hit the top?

Music is a business like any other, and no matter how much you market something, if people don’t need it they won’t get it. You can make it all pretty and everything, but if people can get it for free they still will. Digital sales, album sales, all music sales are close to failing soon, and I believe it is an end to ‘music sales’ but not an end to music. I see labels changing to the 360 deal which I believe is great to keep income and allow labels to not give up in pushing their artists. Yes, it is still mafia tactics where if you can’t get revenue from one place, you squeeze em in other area’s. The more I study business and marketing, the more I realize that without the push of a strong team, nobody can make it. As a more entrepreneurship mindset comes across America, we are becoming more DIY, but DIY can only get you so far. With the help of the internet everybody can DIY, but than comes the ego with that thinking your as strong as a label.

The way to a new beginning is not the end of an old. Every day should be a new beginning in expanding from what was of yesterday. People settle for one plan, one product, one everything. That is why I love places like Target. They can get income from many places. They do not have everything in one product which is what most labels do. We need to learn to do more than just music, artists need to expand from just singing/ rapping whatever they do. 50 Cent invested in Vitamin water and got close to half a billion dollars.

My point is, it is the end of one sided music. We need to learn to multi-task more than what we are already doing. Regular grocery stores should expand with music, and more mainstream items for kids, teens and more. Record stores should sell more band merchandise, open up a place for shows and etc. Places need to come on a major/ minor system where they are mostly "this", but they also have "some of this". Most places have that, but it needs to become more apart of the business plan, rather than just a side thought

From the mind of

Keveeno Reeverts

The Answer: Diversify
(Major/minor Sytem)

Music IS Business

I admit it. I'm the resident country music fan in this office (you may not have known this, but does it surprise you? I think probably not). And sometimes I feel a little out of place-- not because the people here make me feel that way, and not because I don't enjoy this indie rock thing, but because I don't know much about it. What good am I to an indie rock label?

I can't answer that definitely, but here's what I've learned so far.

Music is business. You can love it or hate it. You can claim all you want that music is NOT product, bands aren't brands, it's all about the ART. Unless you're sitting in your basement with a guitar and no intention of ever coming up, music is still business, and marketing, promotion, and management skills transcend genre. Since I'm here to learn about the music industry on a more hands-on level, I think we can agree that it doesn't matter that indie rock isn't my first musical love. I could be here working with rap or R&B, and I'd still be learning many of the same things.

I'm 22, and that alone gives me more expertise about current marketing strategies than some people who have been in the business for years. It seems like most new music is marketed to the 30 and under crowd (obviously with some exceptions), and people in my particular age group have grown up with the internet, and the social marketing craziness. We have ALWAYS had MTV and CMT. We inherently get it. We also know it's not new anymore, which gives us the ability to look beyond it. One of us is going to find the key soon, and it will be something no one, especially the major label dinosaurs, expected.

Key or no key, there will never be a magic answer. Big breaks are called breaks for a reason-- some people find their success the first year out, some people spend 15 years in undeserved obscurity before gaining much sought-after recognition. Nothing will ever happen if you're not out there doing your thing, but nothing might happen even if you are. Opportunity meets preparation was never more true.

Courtney

Music IS Business