Sony playing a Cheap Trick on musicians?

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And what about your justification...

...makes any of the major labels relevant? In response to your last paragraph, it's NOT about selling records (or CDs) anymore, and that's the major labels' collective problem. They still operate in some sort of time warp, not understanding the dynamics and implications of the internet. The typical consumer coming into their own targeted power buying demographic doesn't care about the artwork or the broken CD jewel cases. They're all about convenience, since the majority of all music listening is off an iPod or similar DAP device anyways. The traditional method of selling music is fast becoming a dinosaur with this demographic.

Moreover, the labels--particularly the majors--have seemed inept in understanding the power of the internet in terms of spreading the word on anything, including music. It's easy to found out about just about any musical act these days (thanks to search engines); Google has done way more for any musical artist than any traditional promotions department for a record label can using the past means (re: "expensive") of spreading the 411 out.

And as for radio promotions...visit any pro-iPod or other DAP site, and I think you'll find that prime traditional method of spreading interest in new music (radio play) isn't nearly as important to this generation of consumers as it was to mine. Fact is, many of these kids seem anti-radio, be it terrestrial or even satellite. Rather they get the word from friends (in-person or online) and from places like myspace and other like-minded community sites, where blatant corporate commercial promotions are usually frowned up to begin with.

And then there's the online sellers like iTMS, Napster, Rhapsody, Yahoo Music, and the rest. How much does it REALLY cost for a musical act to park their music on Apple's servers anyways? I'm guessing not a hell of a lot. Take for example an indie artist like Lumbajac, who's song '2Gs' is currently getting heavy promotion via Avis Rental Cars' XM sat radio TV commercial. There was no major label push (since their album was on an indie), yet thanks to some ad guy working for Avis who thought the song was great, it gets serious exposure. And the kids seem to LOVE this song and the download album that its from (currently available only on iTMS). The physical CD (2005) apparently is already out-of-print, and the act is living large solely from iTunes music sales. No major label, no profit-sucking promotions department, no MTV video...yet the music still sells. Avis wasn't approached by some promo guy working from Sony or Warner...this is small stuff making it BIG. So if the music is good, who really NEEDS a major label.

Your argument has done nothing to convince me that the way the majors do their business as any more relevant than how the traditional telecoms did theirs. ATT must die and it did, even if the name still lives on in a revamped SBC. The record label must adapt to mercy of the buying public as it is now, not spread rootkits and hope to control and contain the status quo. There are tangable reasons why after all the whining and threats Apple wins the day and still sells its songs for 99 cents, despite that--by all appearances--one would surmise that the big content holders should apparently have all the cards (since they ultimately control their content).

Guess what...the indie minors and artists can sell their songs at 99 cents a pop at the online stores all day long and not bat an eye; given that, try convincing a consumer that the major labels truly offers anything more that would justify the selling price increase of the staggered pricing tier that they so crave. It's not like CD manufacturing where the indies barely hang on because of the manufacturing costs to be recovered with each CD release. It doesn't take a hell of a lot to whip up a few info site pages and store music on some online service's hard drives, even for the small guy. All they have to do is convince Apple or Real that the songs are good enough to sell.

So remind me again on what really is the point is of the major record label?

Posted by: flatliner   Posted on: 05/02/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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