For an assessment piece at Queensland University of Technology I conducted a request for proposal for a business client, Passtime Poets has put out a request for proposal (RFP) for supportive input on the best means of producing their soon-to-be released album, ‘Versatility’.

In my research I came across Gerd Leonhard who is a well spoken authority on the topic of music 2.0.

Gerd Leonhard covers many aspects of what music 2.0 is and how social networking and web 2.0 has shaped the music industry. I have included a you tube video by Gerd Leonhard where he defines music 2.0

It is important to understand that the bands of today need to be able to communicate with the fans on a level where they are transparent and open. Web 2.0 allows for interaction between people that visit that particular site or platform. This can be anything from web-based communities, hosted services, web applications, social-networking sites, video-sharing sites, wikis, blogs and mashups.

When we look to the future of the online music industry we must look at web 2.0 technologies as they will have a major input in its development. According to Steve Ballmer (Microsoft CEO),

There will be no media consumption left in ten years that is not delivered over an IP network. There will be no newspapers, no magazines that are delivered in paperform. Everything gets delivered in an electronic form.

This shows a massive change in how the normal business models are operating. The music industry has had to rethink of its strategies on how it can remain competitive in the future whilst addressing these changing factors.

In the future are people wanting to go into a record store to buy music? Or are the next generation of music lovers going to want to buy music via a click. When we look at the growth of portable devices such as the Ipod we can see where the future lies, in digital distribution and downloads.

Bands such as Nine Inch Nails and Radio head saw these opportunities in the market place and moved on them. There has also been a growth in online web 2.0 platforms such as Garageband.com. Platforms such as these will play an important role in connecting bands into a wider community that up to only a few years ago was only possible through mass marketing and record labels.

The growth of these sorts of web 2.0 communities is astonishing. Garageband.com in its first year alone grew to over 100,000 members. They have also catapulted many unknown bands into stardom by featuring their music on their site and allowing members to download and comment on the music.

Enterprise 2.0 implementation framework

It is important before implementing Enterprise 2.0 to understand key drivers that exist. This framework also applies to Music 2.0. Bands that are looking to break into the industry need to look at the key drivers that are pushing the consumer and trying to harness those drivers by implementing key frameworks that will provide a competitive advantage. Those initiatives then need to be supported and there needs to be drive to push for ongoing change. Bands need to connect with the fans and clients to be able to collaborate and build an open and transparent environment for future growth. The music industry will continue to evolve over the coming years as music becomes more and more apart of out digital online experience.

Seit langem habe ich nicht mehr so ungläubig auf die Uhr geschaut wie an den beiden Tagen, die ich in Duisburg auf der stART09 verbracht habe. Diese Konferenz hat meine Erwartungen weit übertroffen. Ich wusste zwar, dass es jede Menge interessante Vorträge und Workshops geben würde. Sogar so viele, dass ich sie leider nicht alle würde besuchen können. Aber mit der überwältigend positiven Stimmung, die von Anfang an in der Mercatorhalle herrschte, hatte ich nicht gerechnet.

Der immensen Vorarbeit, die das Team der stART09 geleistet hat, ist es zu verdanken, dass mir der Konferenzbesuch eher wie ein großes Familienfest vorkam. Wer wollte, konnte sich bereits lange vor Konferenzstart über die Sprecherinnen und Sprecher informieren und mit ihnen und anderen Konferenzteilnehmern über diverse Kommunikationskanäle in Kontakt treten. Durch die kontinuierlichen Informationen über die Vorbereitungen fühlte ich mich eingebunden in „das große Ganze“, konnte alles nahezu in Echtzeit mitverfolgen und fand mich dank diverser Hinweise und Fotos im Vorfeld auch vor Ort gleich wunderbar zurecht.

Die Begeisterung und Hingabe mit der die Konferenz vorbereitet worden war, blieb beim stART-Team auch an den beiden Konferenztagen spürbar und hat sich offensichtlich auf die meisten Teilnehmer übertragen. So wurde aus dem Wunsch, den  Kontakt zwischen Kulturschaffenden und Internetexperten anzubahnen und einen befruchtenden und bereichernden Austausch zu ermöglichen, Wirklichkeit und ich konnte Zeuge werden, dass sich Prophezeiung auch im positiven Sinne selbst erfüllen. Darüber hinaus bin ich sehr dankbar für die Gedankenanstöße und Erfahrungsberichte, die ich aus den Vorträgen und Workshops mitnehmen kann.

Besonders dem Vortrag von Gerd Leonhard und seiner Vision der „Zukunft der Kulturwirtschaft in einer vernetzten Welt” konnte ich viel abgewinnen, weil er mir die Art des erforderlichen Umdenkens plausibel erklärt und nahe gebracht hat.
Um nur einen Aspekt aus seinem umfassenden Beitrag herauszupicken: Er hat er z. B. am eigenen Beispiel erläutert, warum es für ihn als Autor kein Nachteil war, sein Buch „Musik 2.0” zum freien Download anzubieten. Weil das Interesse an seinen Inhalten wuchs und mit ihm die Bereitschaft seiner Leser, dafür – oder aber für andere seiner Leistungen – freiwillig zu bezahlen, stellte sich seine Entscheidung im Gegenteil sogar als vorteilhaft heraus und er verkaufte mehr Buchexemplare als je zuvor. Leonhard propagiert nicht, alle Inhalte per se gratis zur Verfügung zu stellen, sondern dafür, Inhalte zu teilen und ein Gespür dafür zu entwickeln, ab wann und wo man sein Kassenhäuschen aufstellen kann. Ganz im Sinne Fred Wilsons, den er zitierte:

Free gets you to a place where you can ask to get paid.

Ich verfolge diese Diskussion schon länger mit großem Interesse, allerdings bisher mit ebenso großer Skepsis. Leonhards Erläuterungen des Prinzips des Teilens hat mir allerdings Puzzleteilchen an die Hand gegeben, mit denen ich mein bisher lückenhaftes Bild vervollständigen konnte, so dass meine Skepsis doch erheblich gewichen ist. Abgesehen davon befindet sich Leonhard in namhafter Gesellschaft, denn auch Paulo Coelho vertritt die Meinung „Wer nicht teilt, schadet sich selbst”.

Als Beleg für das funktionierende Prinzip des Teilens von Ideen und des wechselseitigen Austauschs zwischen Autor und Lesern erwähnte Leonhard u. a. Coelhos Filmprojekt „The Experimental Witch”, bei dem er Filmkünstler bat, ihre Vorstellungen zu seiner Romanfigur Athena beizusteuern. Ein Projekt, für das er mit dem Cinema for Peace Special Award 2008 ausgezeichnet wurde:

Einige der wichtigsten Erkenntnisse, die ich von der stART09 mitgenommen habe sind,

• dass Kultur-/Live-Ereignisse nicht kopierbar sind und auch die Teilnahme an selbigen durch nichts zu ersetzen ist,
• dass (nicht nur) Kultur- und Internetexperten in Zukunft gemeinsam, on- wie offline, viel erreichen können und
• dass es sich gleichermaßen lohnt, uns für den Erhalt, die Weitergabe und Fortentwicklung unseres kulturellen Erbes wie auch für die Schaffung zukunftsfähiger Arten der (Zusammen-)Arbeit einzusetzen.

(Thanks Gerd!)

“Re-Industrialize the Planet”. A quick summary:

* The web is creating a global infrastructure for collaboration (which leads to disruption and confusion)

* As a result, all of our institutions have come to the end of their life-cycle

* The current recession is a crucial punctuation point in human history – the point where we said that we need to reset, the point where the industrial economy has finally run out of gas

* This paradigm shift is creating a crisis of leadership

* The Digital Natives are inheriting this situation – and they think very differently

* Kids are now the authority on many issues

* We have 40 years to re-industrialize the planet

Related articles by Zemanta

• What’s Next in Marketing and Advertising (futurelab.net)
• As Marketing Shifts Back to the Everyman (chrisbrogan.com)

Gerd Leonhard: Media Futurist, Author & Blogger, Keynote Speaker & Strategist

The Wall Street Journal calls Gerd ‘one of the leading media futurists in the world’. He is the Co-Author of the influential book ‘The Future of Music’ (2005, Berklee Press), as well as the author of ‘Music2.0’ (published in January 2008), ‘The End of Control’ essays (online here) and of ‘Open is King- Stories from the Future of Media’ (late 2008, some previews are here).

Gerd’s background is in music (he won the Quincy Jones Award in 1986 and is a graduate of Boston’s Berklee College of Music) as well in technology and the Internet (LicenseMusic, Inc. and Sonific LLC).

In these two videos (two because of restrictions imposed by youtube), Gerd Leonhard talks of the future of the music industry.

For more on Gerd Leonhard
http://www.http://www.mediafuturist.com/about.html

Greetings, and welcome to MediaFuturist.com.

I work as a Futurist in the Media, Technology and Communication Industries, Author and Writer, Strategic Advisor, Keynote Speaker & Presenter.

I focus on these industries and sectors:

• Recorded Music & Music Publishing
• Radio & Broadcasting
• Telecom & Wireless
• Social Networking & Web 2.0
• Social Media and User Generated Content
• Online Gaming & Virtual Worlds
• Film / TV / Video
• Print / News / Journalism
• Advertising & Branding
• Public Relations & Communications
• Education & Training
• Cultural Policy

I live in Basel / Switzerland – and aboard a good many airplanes.

According to Abba, money is a thing of hilarity if you are lucky enough to have plenty of it in the first place, but as the majority of artists I know are yet to have written enough über hits to fill a musical and then some on top; it appears to be more of a thing of worry then joviality.

Here at Sentric Music we’ve distributed a lot of money to a lot of artists and quite often when I inform an artist of the amount coming to them I usually add the question “So what plans have you got for this cash?” within the email as I’m genuinely intrigued to know where it’s going to be spent.

So I thought this week I’d pick a  figure (£2,000) and propose some ways in which it could be spent to help you out.

A few justifications before I begin.

Firstly; why £2,000? There are a good few of our artists who have received more than £2,000 from us since joining Sentric Music so I don’t believe it’s an unattainable figure to achieve. Also, I’ve mentioned several times before that if you’re seriously wanting to make a career from your music then you have to realise it’s an investment. If there are four of you then £500 each isn’t too big of an ask really is it? If you’re a singer songwriter then just go put £15 on red 16 on the Roulette table at your nearest casino and you’ll be fine.

Secondly; every artist’s situation is unique. Hopefully at least one of the areas mentioned within this post may make you consider a potential avenue for your cash.

Thirdly; money is highly more effective when used within conjunction with a strategy (a point that @Mr_Trick feels very strongly about). It’s all very well having a couple of grand in your pocket, but if you randomly piss it up a proverbial wall without a plan to accompany it then it’ll be far less useful then if you did. Read here for advice on how to apply basic business theory to your music.

Ok then, let us begin (I asked a few friends their thoughts as well).

Equipment - Who do you want to sound like? Muse wouldn’t sound like Muse if they didn’t have the futuristic gear they do and The White Stripes wouldn’t sound like they do if they didn’t have all the vintage gear behind them; both of which cost a lot of cash. If you want to sound like The Wombats however you’d probably end up with £1,750 spare after kitting yourselves out.
Never rush a purchase; do your research online firstly. Do you really need a new guitar? Or would an effects pedal give you the sound you’re looking for at a fraction of the price? Once you’ve narrowed down your search then go and annoy the staff at various music shops to the point of insanity by trying out every alternative and most importantly; don’t be intimidated by that one guy that every guitar shop has who is in his mid thirties and is insanely good at ‘masturbating the fret board’ and who makes your ropey rendition of the solo from Night Train by Guns ‘N’ Roses sound as awful as it truly is. They may be able to compete with the guys on the G3 tour, but they’ve never set foot on a stage in their life so you win. Fact.

Recording – I like to think it’s pretty much essential to have at least 3 tracks recorded to a high level of quality good enough to be played on the radio if the opportunity occurs. These tracks can be then used for a lot of things; giving them away for email addresses for your mailing list, content for websites/MySpace etc, you could put them up for sale on iTunes if need be (although I don’t think it’s worth releasing anything digitally until you’ve got a decent fanbase going). A friend of mine who is an A&R for a major label suggests “Find a really local engineer/producer and spend a little bit of money working on a couple of tunes. If they’re on the same page as you and you’re happy with the sound and direction they’re taking you in, then spend some more money and do some more tracks. If not, find someone else“. A wise point there; don’t commit to spending too much money until you’re happy with the engineer/producer.

Pressing – You could get a hell of a lot of CD’s pressed for various reasons; selling, sending out, frisbees, mirrors for guinea pigs etc, or you could get a few vinyl pressed to sell to your hardcore fanbase. If you are going to get some vinyl pressed then don’t go crazy with the amount, get enough pressed to satisfy the demand then when they sell out you can tell everyone on your website that ‘YOU’VE SOLD OUT!!!’ and therefore must be really good so when the next single gets pressed other fans who missed out may be more eager to click and order therefore increasing your sales. It’s not technically lying per se; it’s just not telling everyone how many you had to sell to actually sell out.

PR – As Amy Woodhouse of Creative Cultures rightly says: “If you are creating a buzz and you’ve got a small tour lined up and/or are recording of a few songs, investing in some PR can help to alert the industry to a new band on the scene with potential. Don’t go mad with this, you aren’t Pete Doherty just yet, but a few well placed calls and emails may help to secure you some column space both online and offline – and the power of the media shouldn’t be underestimated. There are a lot of small music PR companies who can help you with this without breaking the bank.” It’s very hard to get decent media exposure unless you have contacts within the media outlets themselves so a good PR person can be worth their weight in gold, but they can also charge their weight in gold as well. Before committing to any PR work always be sure to ask what campaigns the company has worked on in the past and do a bit of research into how well it worked for the other clients. A good PR company should have stats to back up any campaigns they have so be sure to be filled in with any analytics available to you: data is valuable. Read here for more info on analytics and how you can apply them yourself for free.

Transport – We all need to get around now don’t we? You can get a second hand white van for under a grand these days which allows the rest of your budget to be swallowed by the other costs that come with owning a vehicle. Gigging outside of your local city is pretty much essential but don’t aim too far; try and conquer an area bigger than your city but less than ‘the north’ or ‘the south’ I.E. the north-west or the midlands etc.

Tour – If you’re already lucky enough to have transport sorted you could organise a small tour of the UK, or if you’re feeling adventurous and are incredibly frugal; the EU. Sentric artist ‘Baddies‘ have a bucketload of European festivals lined up due to some clever and strategic gigging in Holland. With help from Music Glue they played a few dates in Holland a couple of months before the music industry conference Eurosonic, at these gigs they collected email addresses and distributed free MP3’s and whatnot in order to create a fanbase. Then when they returned for the Eurosonic conference they invited loads of booking agents to their gig who then witnessed loads of Dutch people dancing like loons and singing along to a band who don’t even use the same currency as them. Booking agents: Impressed. Baddies: summer of European fun now lined up.

Radio Plugger – Radio plugging is a tricky art; they can cost you a lot of money with absolutely no guarantee of return, but then when they do get it right it could end up being the best money you’ve ever spent. When you start receiving high profile airplay, not only do you gain the exposure to the listenership, you also earn performance royalties which you could put against the initial cost of the plugger. Be aware though; radio plugging is extremely competitive and you’re up against the big boys within the industry.

Lessons – Have you got the technical guitar skills of John Smith or Ian Britt? Do you have an audience silencing voice like Andrew Metcalfe or Liam Frost? Can you drum to the ability of Suren De Saram? If not, maybe you need to tone your talent somewhat. Being outstanding at what you do will always get you attention, if you’ve ever seen John Smith play winter live then you’ll know what I mean (and if you haven’t then watch this video and prepare to be agog)

Branding – I’ve used branding as an umbrella term here as it could include the services of a graphic designer, a photographer, a stylist, some new clothes, a drum skin etc. Branding yourself is nothing new and is something I’m quite the advocate of, even if it’s as simple as something as a colour, a shape, a ‘look’ etc. Get a logo, get some good pictures (where YOU’RE NOT stood leaning against a brick wall, Out From Animals and Everything Everything had some great photo’s, check them out), make sure your website/MySpace/Twitter etc is all aesthetically similar to help build and maintain the brand within your fanbases conscious.

Event – Why not throw a massive party? You could dress up an industry showcase as a single launch or just a ‘normal’ gig if you wanted to be a bit sneaky about it. Once you’ve convinced some important industry people to come down to your gig bribe your fans, friends and family with free booze so they all go mental when you come on stage making you seem like the next Arctic Monkeys to the sober, and a tad confused, industry types at the back.

Web Presence – A domain name won’t cost you more than twenty quid, but if you want a high, high, high quality website then expect to pay a lot of cash. But you don’t need a high, high, high quality website. So don’t bother.

Music – Another tip from the A&R gentlemen from before that initially failed to cross my mind: “If I was in a band I’d probably spend a bit of money on buying music and getting as many influences and ideas as possible, although no with Spotify this is an expense saved.” If you’re in a group then make each member compile a mix CD (or Spotify playlist) of their favourite music, swap them and swot up on each other’s influences and remember, if the bass player loves Journey then you’re inclusion of that rare Radiohead B-side just might be what he needs to help him gel with the rest of you.

Video – When most people see a professional looking video they expect that the artist in question has some financial backing behind them (more so than a couple of grand) so this is a good way to get people to grab people’s attention. ‘New Franchise‘ by Grammatics and ‘Dorothy Millette‘ by Screaming Mimi are two very good examples of music videos that didn’t cost too much to make but look brilliant. Caroline Bottomly from Radar Music Videos suggested that she’d spend the money on a tour whilst filming everything and then commissioning a music video from the subsequent footage. She went into so much depth that I’ll link to her full response at the end of the blog.

Live (as in life) – Gerd Leonhard argued “I’d pay myself to start blogging, sharing photos on flickr, setting up my video channels on Youtube, launch a Twitter channel, do Facebook etc — build my audience.  Getting engaged is what costs time which is £££ these days!” Time is indeed money so if you could justify leaving your job/girlfriend/boyfriend/children behind and use the money raised to live off whilst you spend 24/7 Tweeting things like “follow my band… LOLZ!” then go for it. Jokes aside though, I know artists who have done just this and used their savings to spend a good few months focusing on their music and nothing else and in the circumstances I know of it has usually paid off in some form or another. You can set yourself targets; “Within two months I want to have achieved, X amount of followers on Twitter, have 3 new songs recorded, have made 5 new contacts within the radio industry, have one of my tracks played at least once on BBC 6Music” etc.

A Sim Card – This obviously won’t cost you much, if anything at all, but in the responses I received from my blogosphere friends Tom Robinson (6Music DJ and new music advocate) noted “I would also buy a cheap PAYG mobile phone & sim card to receive calls for for my “manager”. Either you or a friend can field these; many business people prefer not to deal with the artist direct.” – An interesting musing there to take on board.

Holiday – or you can sod it all off and go on your jollies.

Have a gander here for suggestions from Andrew Dubber (New Music Strategies), Tom Robinson (6Music DJ), Amy Woodhouse (Creative Cultures), the A&R gentleman, Caroline Bottomley (Radar Music Videos) and Gerd Leonhard (Media Futurist). – Click on names for Twitter links.

What I’ve been listening to this week: Liam Frost and Skeletons

What I’ve been reading this week: the musings of David Mitchell.

Stay tuned

sP

Follow me on Twitter @sentricmusic

Pjesma Varaš ti Varam ja, prvi singl mog novog banda Dus And The Mosh Mislit’s, bit će predstavljena hrvatskoj javnosti u utorak, 12.5.

U pjesmi gostuju Edo Maajka i Saša Antić (TBF). Singl ću distribuirati kao besplatni 128 kpbs mp3, a teži formati (320 kbps i wav) za rodbinu, prave fanove, DJ zajednicu, radijske glazbene urednike, i ljude iz struke, bit će dostupni preko mog bloga Glazba 2.0 uz obavezno upisivanje važeće email adrese. Kao poklon uz link za besplatnu pjesmu (jeste li ikad dobili poklon uz poklon? ) članovi će dobiti i besplatni PDF primjerak knjige Glazba 2.0 Gerda Leonharda koja je referentna na području problematiziranja budućnosti glazbene industrije.

Više informacija o projektu saznat ćete u nadolazećim danima.

Obzirom na malo zatišje u oceanu vijesti iz svijeta Glazbe 2.0, odlučio sam vam predstaviti još jedan mali preview iz knjige. Riječ je o poglavlju pod nazivom Uzlet “Kulture sudjelovanja”.

Možete ga slobodno skinuti ovdje: glazba-20-cc-pdf-izdanje-preview-ii

Ovo je poglavlje pisano prije skoro 4 godine, ali još je uvijek u potpunosti aktualno – posebice u Hrvatskoj

Brzopotezne vijesti

• RIM Blackberry raste, i to naročito novi Curve – dok je udio u ukupnoj prodaji smartphone-a u SAD  za iPhone i Palm pao za po 10%, Blackberry je narastao za 15% na čak 50%! Neki kaži da će iPhone pokopati glupa politika nedozvoljavanja prodaje glazbenih aplikacija u App Storeu kako bi se zaštitio glazbeni dućan koji još uvijek odlično posluje. iTunes store je postavljen na klimavim nogama, i čelni ljudi kompanije Apple to dobro znaju, pa žele kravu izmusti što više dok je živa.
• 5 načina na koji klasični mediji postaju socijalni - Widget TV, Odabir glavnog urednika, Novine na YouTube-u, Pisci najavljuju knjige na YouTube-u, Literatura u 140 riječi
• pogledajte odličnu prezetaciju The Future of Selling Gerda Leonharda predstavljene na sajmu eCom u Berlinu
• Live Nation, glazbena kompanija koja dobro zna gdje ima novaca u glazbi, objavila je da ovog ljeta organizira 6700 koncerata u 35 zemalja.
• Jimmy Eat World napravio je odličan posao s Twitter kampanjom za novi album. Prema jednom istraživanju, čak je 20% ljudi album kupilo jer su za njega čuli baš na Twitteru
• Nakon što je otkriveno da Google i Apple dijele dva člana uprave, američka komisija za trgovinu ispituje zakonitost njihovog  tržišnog odnosa
• Cinram, jedan od najvećih svjetskih proizvođača CD-a i DVD-a, prijavio je pad prodaje od 33% uz gubitke od preko 22.3 miliona $

Mali poklon

Za vjerne posjetitlje bloga Glazba 2.0 evo i malog poklona iz moje privatne kolekcije – mp3 pjesme Playaz United koju sam napravio za predstavu “Tramvaj zvan želja” (režija: Ivan Leo Lemo, Dramsko kazalište Subotica). Sviraju: Janko Novoselić – bubnjevi, Elvis Penava – gitara, Goran Rukavina – bas, Zvonimir Dusper – Wurlitzer električni klavir. Snimano 2007, uživo u Sumosonic studiju, Krvavi most 2. Pjesma je inače kasnije korištena i u filmu “Vidimo se u Sarajevu” autorice Vanje Sviličić.

Academic

I’m becoming a bit of a fan of Gerd Leonhard. Gerd’s work focuses on the Future of Media, Content, Technology, Business, Communications and Culture, and he is considered a leading expert on topics such as Web/Media 2.0, social networking and social media, cultural changes due to disruption by new technologies, copyright vs. technology issues, online content commerce models, media convergence, mobile entertainment, entrepreneurship, the future of advertising and branding, future planning, digital content strategies and next-generation business models.

In his latest post on MediaFuturist he gives an amazing rundown of future development within media. Here are the key points, please read the complete post.

1. We will soon see the emergence of many different kinds of iPhone-influenced Netbook-like devices
2. Very cheap or free wireless broadband – at fairly high speeds, i.e. at least 2MB / sec
3. Collective blanket licenses that legalize and unlock legitimate access to basic content services via any digital network
4. Fuel-cells and other next-generation mobile energy sources are a certainty
5. Completely targeted and personalized advertising
6. the core economic business models – of newspapers, magazines, CDs, DVDs and books will be completely re-written
7. Today we pay to go online and connect; in the future we may end up paying for the luxury to go offline
8. Travel 2.0: alternatives to ‘actually going there’

Academic

Mic check, 1-2. Testing, 1-2.

<ahem>

Hello ladies and gentleman and welcome to the Hit Music Academy.

Before we get started I’d like to personally thank you all for joining me on this journey. I created this blog to share my quirky taste in music with a new audience and build social and professional connections. I also created this blog as an outlet for my ideas and theories concerning the music industry. There are enough gloom and doom stories about “the demise of the music industry as we know it” going around so I’m sure you’re well aware of the meaningful changes taking place in this field. These changes are a good thing.

Yes, a good thing.

Without a doubt this is a scary time for the traditional (antiquated) music industry establishment. The major players do not want to fathom a future where they don’t control the industry or aren’t as relevant in the music business as they once were because for them that spells huge profit losses. That’s why they have been in denial about the digital future from the very start of Napster. That’s why they relentlessly pursue their own consumers in legal battles. That’s why they keep figuring out new ways to structure record deals even more unfavorably for artists– the 360 deal (aka multimedia deal) being their latest attempt to take a bigger (and undeserved) portion of artists’ revenues.

And what has all this led to?

The average music consumer has a (strong) negative opinion of the music industry. Not music itself but the INDUSTRY, which is an important distinction. The desire for music–the NEED for music in our lives hasn’t reduced in the least. In fact, the next generation of consumers and decision-makers (Gen-Y) have a higher interest in music and consume more of it than previous generations. Just look through your friend’s Ipod one good time– my guess is there are at least 1,000 songs on it and your friend probably downloads and adds music to it on a regular basis. A generation or two ago most people didn’t have a music collection that big. The ubiquitous availability of free music these days has a lot to do with this major shift in consumer behavior. But the fact remains that consumers are still very much in love with music.

So why aren’t those old school major record labels making money anymore?

Because they want everyone to play by their rules and frankly, music consumers are sick of it. They’ve moved on and found ways around the record industry machine to get their music fix. Free. Digital has spelled the end of control in media, as Gerd Leonhard puts it.

Record labels fucked up (MAJOR) when they thought they could get away with selling overpriced, mediocre CDs. This flawed sales strategy only worked for so long. Once consumers caught on they grew dissatisfied with the lack of value in the products sold to them by labels and started downloading those one or two radio singles that they liked, effectively bypassing an unnecessary purchase of the artist’s entire album. Now we have a market where singles increasingly dominate sales and albums are mostly ignored by the younger generation.

Gen-Y likes things how they want it, when they want it. Instant gratification. Mp3 downloads feed into that perfectly. One major characteristic of Gen-Y is that if they–excuse me, if we– aren’t satisfied with the quality of the products or services we are offered, we will simply have our needs met elsewhere. We are not passive consumers. We know what we want and we know how to get it.

Attempts to stop the free distribution and sharing of music are futile but the RIAA and the major labels refuse to give up. If they have to sue every teenager, college student, and unauthorized downloader on the planet that’s what they plan on doing because they don’t have a better solution for their revenue losses. If only they were smart enough to pay attention to brilliant writers/thinkers like Gerd Leonhard and his peers. He has offered the music industry plenty of workable solutions. They just don’t want to listen. They are still in denial. But whether they like it or not, the future of music is coming.

So what is this blog about? What is it for?

Ideas. Education. Inspiration. The spread and growth of knowledge.

This blog started as a way of establishing a professional reputation for myself as a thought leader in my field, which is a pretty good reason for a blog imho. But now I see that this will be so much more than that. Now I see that ultimately I want others to benefit most from the content I publish. Independent artists, music biz professionals, aspiring artists, songwriters, producers, musicians, etc.

I am a tireless reader, researcher, and critical thinker. The insight I gain from reading the work of geniuses is so profound that I am convinced that you can benefit in some way from the knowledge I share. I want to teach you everything I know (and everything new that I learn) about the music business.

My goal is to empower you. To motivate and inspire you to embrace your talents and gifts. Cultivate your talent. Believe in yourself. Read to feed your mind with knowledge. Practice constantly to improve at what you do.

Right now is an exciting time in music. Innovative artists and bands are crafting exciting new styles and sub-genres of music. Technology has made it possible for artists to reach potential fans that were virtually impossible to reach 15 years ago without the aid of a major record label. Nowadays you have the power to self-promote and distribute your music and potentially reach a global audience at practically no cost to you–just your time and effort.

Social networks, widgets, and mp3s are all tools that you can use to spread awareness about your music career. Use these tools in an intelligent way and the sky is the limit for you. Promote yourself online, establish a consistent and memorable brand that articulates your identity, and create a marketing plan for your music career. Don’t make the mistake of overlooking the importance of strategic planning. In order to be effective and efficient with your efforts you must have a systematic way of reaching your goals. Which means that first you have to set some goals. And don’t be afraid to be ambitious.

Hopefully one day I can look back on the past and say that I did my part to tear down the aristocracy of music 1.0 and usher in a new era of educated, independent musicians in complete control of their careers and their futures. Your future is in your hands. Don’t let anyone tell you that you NEED a record deal to make it. Success is out there and it’s yours for the taking.

The final word:

This blog is a community not a one-way street of me talking at you. This is an active dialogue involving all of us. I encourage you to comment on posts, ask questions, email me, and connect with other visitors and subscribers to this blog. In general I want you to be social and share your thoughts and ideas with the rest of us. Whether you realize it or not, we can learn just as much from you as you can from us.

Congratulations on beginning your music industry education. Commit yourself to learning and to your training and you will go far, grasshopper.

Hier im Blog habe ich ihn ja immer wieder erwähnt, weil er für mich einer der Vordenker des Social Web ist. Vor allem die Musikindustrie und ihre Zukunft beschäftigen ihn schon seit langem. Die Rede ist von MediaFuturist Gerd Leonhard, den wir im September auf der stART.09 in der Duisburger Mercatorhalle begrüßen dürfen. Wer seine Blogposts und Vorträge kennt, weiß, dass wir uns da auf einen spannenden Vortrag freuen können.

Frank Tentler hat ihn bereits ausführlich auf dem stART.09-Blog angekündigt, daher gibt es an dieser Stelle nur den Link dorthin. Und als Appetizer empfehle ich sein Buch Music 2.0, das es hier auch als PDF gibt.

Wow it’s been a while since I’ve posted! I would expect a couple posts per month from me… that seems realistic at this juncture. So.. I definitely won’t be filling up your readers, but I hope to keep everyone in the loop as to the progress we’re making.

This weekend is very important for the life of our album. Pete and I head to Ohio to work with Chris Weibel (our producer) on the second mix. I’ll upload the new copies of the tunes you’ve already listened to, and maybe include a 3rd once we’re back.

Here’s what I am realizing more and more every day that I am further along in this process: I know nothing.  I thought I knew something about the music industry… but not anymore.

I started talking with Luke Myers about marketing stuff. I am still in the market (by the way) for a Manager once everything starts coming together. More on that later, but if you’re the managerial type and you think working on an album project could be cool… leave me a comment with why you should be our manager!

I’m also expecting a couple cover designs shot over soon from Ryan Davis – I can’t wait!  I’ll upload those for you to check out as soon as they come in.

Anyway, as I talk with Luke, and look more and more into things like artwork, marketing, mixing, all of that crazy stuff that goes into an album project… I realize that I know SO little.

With that in mind, I’ve started reading two books:

1. The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution by David Kusek & Gerd Leonhard, and
2. Donald Passman’s famed: All You Need to Know About the Music Business. As best as I can tell – these are the two premiere books on the subject.

I’ll keep you posted on what I learn from the two books. When I’m done, I’ll post reviews.  If you’ve read these or others like it – let everyone know what you think in the comments.  I’m open to book suggestions too.  I’ve just started reading and I already feel WAY over my head!  For instance, do I really need to hire a lawyer now that I am coming out with an album?

In the midst of all of this stuff I’m learning, I am asking bigger-picture questions like: What does God want to do with this album? Why did I write these songs? What role do I see for the music once the album drops?

My goal for the last week of January is to keep on figuring out exactly what it is that I don’t know, so I can have some kind of game plan for the next couple of months.

For right now – I need to focus on these mixes and make sure this weekend goes REALLY well. I’m looking forward to some time hanging out with Pete, who I consider my best bud.

Have you ever taken on a project that was WAY over your head?  If so, what was it?  How did you manage?  What did you do to stay on top of it, and learn what you needed to learn?  Let us hear about it in the comments.