So by now I’m thinking that you’ve read the stories about Nine Inch Nails frontman, Trent Reznor, being among the many users of the now defunct Bit Torrent tracker, OiNK. Here are the two money quotes:
“I’ll admit I had an account there and frequented it quite often. At the end of the day, what made OiNK a great place was that it was like the world’s greatest record store. Pretty much anything you could ever imagine, it was there, and it was there in the format you wanted…If OiNK cost anything, I would certainly have paid, but there isn’t the equivalent of that in the retail space right now.”
“I’m not saying that I think OiNK is morally correct, but I do know that it existed because it filled a void of what people want.”
Perfect.
Put this together with the ‘whatever you want to pay‘ release of “In Rainbows” and Madonna’s move to Live Nation and you get clear evidence that the business model of the major record labels (or the plastic disc business) is over. Yes, over.
I have a MySpace account related to this blog and two things continually amaze me there. One, the shear number of “me too” artists. Whether they be cute/sexy/hot girls, cute/sexy/hot rappers, a mass of “alternative” rockers or a crop of country star wannabees, it’s hard to find anyone that’s doing something truly unique and interesting. Second, I’m amazed at how many people want to tie their careers – their LIVES – to the sinking ships of the music industry: the big labels.
I had a record deal in the early 90’s and I believe with all my heart that the label killed the band’s career. The Gibson/Miller band was an amazing group of stable, seasoned, mature (mostly…) men who loved and respected country music but had rock-n-roll in our souls. Our songs were great, our arrangements were tight and our live performances rocked hard.
I mention stable, seasoned and mature because four of the five members were married and four of us had kids (one from an earlier marriage that ended in divorce). Rather than let the music and our lives speak for themselves (we were, after all, selling to the exact demographic as ourselves), this is how the label marketed the band:
“Lock up your wives and daughters, The Gibson/Miller Band is coming to your town!”
They also over did the rock angle over and over to the point that country radio balked at the idea of playing our music in defense of the purity of country music. Fact is, we weren’t THAT rock-n-roll, but when you tell people something long enough, they start to believe it too.
The final nail in the coffin was the video for “Texas Tattoo” which ended up being a testament to the testosterone of the director. Don’t get me wrong, the video worked and the girl was a babe, but it was totally unoriginal, obvious and bland. It also prevented us from having a hit song because it hacked off a number of female radio program directors.
I remember thinking at the time, “this is nuts, I wish there was a way to simply connect with our fans directly as who we really are.” But at the time, this model was the only way to go. We had the talent and music and the label had the pipeline – recording, manufacturing, distribution and radio.
That pipeline is gone. You don’t need a major label to have a career in music anymore.
What you do need is something remarkable and a good head for business. Literally. You need something that is able to be remarked about – preferably positive remarks too. The world doesn’t need another Britney Spears, it needs the NEXT Britney Spears. Well, actually God help us all if we have another Britney, but I hope you get my point. Only about 10% of the people in music are doing anything worthwhile. The other 90% are copycats. Be in the 10% – be you.
And be a student of business, particularly as it relates to marketing – getting your message out and getting your “product” out. This will help you determine who to partner with instead of the major labels.
And when you read the article on OiNK and Trent, be sure to read what he says about iTunes too.
