The book I read for my Record Label Development class was The Future of Music. It was written by David Kusek and Gerd Leonhard, and also edited by Susan Gedutis Lindsay. Although the book was published in 2005, the basic concept of it all is still very current.
This book is amazing on so many levels. One of the best books I have read. I found myself not wanting to put it down as the authors go on rants about the music business. I was so happy to see that others share my views of the industry.
The Future of Music takes you through the history of the business. They talk about the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s being the best time for the record companies. The business plan for these major record companies did not change for these three decades. They even tried to push the same business model for the 90’s and up into the early 2000’s. Why is this you may ask? Well let me start by saying what the authors told me. The music business as everyone says is dying, and suffering so much turmoil. What really opened my eyes is the fact that this statement is 100% false. The music industry itself is bigger and better than ever. As consumers, we know that music is all around us. It’s on our phones, in stores, in restaurants, on commercials, on TV, and most importantly on the web. The record companies actually only make up a small portion of the industry. This section of the entire music industry is classified as “the record business”. “Part of the reason that the music industry is in such sorry shape these days is that people who control the ‘old’ industry have convinced themselves that they are the music business, and that success in music means distributing products that they must control…” (Kusek, Leonhard, and Lindsay, 2005, page 36). I could have not said this better myself. Music is NOT a product and it’s not meant to be controlled! The real business that is dying and suffering so much turmoil is actually the record business. For years and years big executives sat in their offices getting richer and richer. Consumers were buying actual products. These products went from Vinyl, to 8Tracks, to Cassettes, and finally to CD’s. Each time a new technology was produced, consumers would go out and replace their entire music collection. Thus, the millions just kept rolling in for the record companies.
When the computer first came into the picture around the late 80’s. It wasn’t until the 90’s when every household began to own a personal computer, which then the trouble began. People started realizing they could download music illegally. This first started with a program called Napster. What the authors point out about this downloading is actually pretty shocking. The definition of music piracy is technically stealing music, making a copy of it, and then selling it on the black market. The 90’s kids that were downloading music were not selling it to anybody. In fact all they were doing was sharing files to their friends through an Internet program. The record companies were very upset about this. Instead of fixing the problem, and finding ways to adapt to this digital takeover, they attacked their customers. The big record companies sued 12-year-old children. It was completely insane, as these kids weren’t actually committing a crime. All they were guilty of was using this new technology that these tech companies had created. That’s what computers are for, entertainment! Again this all goes back to control. Record companies have the philosophy that consumers are going to buy the over priced plastic products, or else they will come after you!
I believe the part of this book that had the biggest impact on me was the first chapter. It really summarizes the future of music. That future being that music will be like water and electricity. The author’s talk about our world one day having a subscription based music service just like Spotify and iTunes radio. They believe that music will feel as though it’s free, just like our utilities. Every American gladly pays for their water and electricity. We think of it as something that just has to be done. One day we will think of music this way. It will be available on any technological devise that humans create and all for a small monthly fee. People will never buy songs or albums again. My favorite line in this whole book is this, “…it will be abundantly clear that trying to sell overpriced plastic disks to people who have ubiquitous online access to the entire vault of music will be like trying to sell snow at the North Pole” (Kusek, Leonhard, and Lindsay, 2005, page 8).
I could go on and on about the great aspects of this book, but I will leave that up to you guys. Check it out! It's really great and it uncovers so much truth.
References
Kusek, D., & Leonhard, G. (2005). The future of music: Manifesto for the digital music revolution (S. Lindsay, Editor). Boston: Berklee Press.
