The real money in the music business, he points out, has traditionally been in high-profile bands that are promoted by major record labels. But now that music is freely sold, bought, and shared on the Web, artists don’t necessarily need the big-money backing of a label. They can do nearly everything themselves online--and make more money because they get to keep most of it.
As a result, the money flowing to independent bands is expected to grow from about 20 percent of music industry revenue to more than half; indie music is already a $16 billion market, he says. There are plenty of online sites that help independent musicians sell MP3s, and sites that sell CDs, and sites that sell merchandise, and sites that sell tickets to concerts, making for a heavily fragmented industry. What’s missing is a service that coordinates and monitors all of these activities.
--from this interview in Inc.
Yeah, that’s what’s missing, another service. Personally, I think what’s missing is a system. Just a simple but subtle way to organize “all of these activities” in an efficient and profitable order. In 2009, I would like to be able to hand people a clear, understandable Workflow Plan for the music business. I would like to be able to say “this is what you need to do” and then walk away.
Open Source Questions
How essential is MySpace? Facebook? How important is video content? There’s lots of people on social networking sites, but does that matter to you? If you get in front of 100,000 people and none of them are interested in what you do, is that comedy or tragedy?
4 responses to "Bob Cramer: Independent Music Industry Worth 16 Billion a Year—WTF?"
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Jan 07, 2008 at 4:17 AM
Justin Boland
I’ve got a number of friends who make good money off myspace music sales. People are definitely spending money there.
I definitely do question the value of myspace as a channel. You’re right to use a cable metaphor, I dig that.
I also don’t think the market value of myspace is “free”—it’s useful to them, and they tolerate the glitches and marketing because of the connections it gives them. For an increasing number of people, the trade-off is no longer worth it.
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Jan 13, 2008 at 6:46 AM
Maki
Honestly, any exposer is good for the band. The bigger the buzz you can create online, the more likely you are to sway those undecided fans/customers. Remember always,
.Cash is King
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Mar 24, 2008 at 2:25 AM
fourimort
I’d prefer reading in my native language, because my knowledge of your languange is no so well.
Grab your avatar at Gravatar.
My name is Justin Boland and I'm a rapper, writer and hippie entrepreneur. I work for Back Brain Media and I run Brainsturbator, Hump Jones, Audible Hype and Skilluminati Research.
Jan 06, 2008 at 11:03 PM
Craig