Most record labels were started by people who loved a particular type of music and wanted to share their passion. They liked to make money, but most were driven by a real love for music. Labels had unique identities — Atlantic, Delmark, Blue Note, Reprise, Prestige, Columbia, Nonesuch, Verve, Folkways, Deutsche Grammophon… As I discovered music I felt a clear loyalty to particular labels that has been absent for decades. As the record business grew the focus shifted to what they did and how they did it — throwing money at radio, creating mega-stars, selling CDs, music video, etc. By the dawn of the Internet age the music business had been replaced by the CD-selling business. Lacking consensus and visionary leadership the industry completely missed the huge opportunity presented by technology companies like Liquid Audio and Napster. Steve Jobs stepped in to pick up the pieces which is pretty remarkable when you think about it. Apple is all about Why and they understand how music works in people’s lives. So what can we learn and what happens next? Why first, execution 2nd… The music aggregators of the future may not look like old-school record labels, but I don’t think success will be based on a particular distribution methodology. The opportunity is for smart business people and artists to get back to the Why of music and build from there. Smart execution is key to creating a profitable business and distinguishing yourself in today’s flattened, over-supplied, music world is a formidable challenge. But first you need to know…
May 29th, 2010
Why Do You Do It? — Pt. 2
No Comments, Books, Ideas, Music Industry, Strategy & Marketing, by Eric Jensen.May 28th, 2010
Why Do You Do It? — Pt. 1
No Comments, Books, Ideas, Music Industry, Strategy & Marketing, by Eric Jensen.Reading Simon Sinek’s new book, Start with Why I was struck by his statement that, “…people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.” Sinek describes a simple formula he calls the Golden Circle. The center ring is WHY, the middle circle, HOW, and the outer circle, WHAT. Most businesses he says, talk about WHAT and HOW, but real leaders start with WHY and work outward. WHY is what creates loyalty whether in business, politics, or the arts. I ask myself why I still listen to certain artists and particular pieces of music after decades. It’s not great technique or a killer sound that brings me back, it’s why they did what they did. Someone told me a story about Ry Cooder many years ago. I don’t know if this is true, but supposedly Ry showed up at a recording studio for a session, to discover that his favorite recording console had been “upgraded” to the latest and greatest. The owner enthusiastically extolled the virtues of his new board but Ry just shook his head, said, “We won’t be making any music today….” and walked out the door. There’s a guy who know why he’s doing what he does. When I asked LA indie band, Killola what makes them engaging to fans they said, “We tend to reveal ourselves in more realistic light, and show people that we’re just regular folks who just happen to have this outlet for making music in a band. I think that lends to the accessibility.” Sounds like WHY…
The other day an architect friend took me to The Judson Studios in the Garvanza (Highland Park) neighborhood of Los Angeles to view a project in progress. I knew a little about the building but had never had the opportunity to meet the artisans or see their stunning stained glass work up close. Everything about this place exudes a deep love of beauty and an attention to detail that makes no compromise. It’s hard to believe this Southern California gem is only a few blocks away from Penny’s Hamburgers and the T-Shirt Warehouse. William Lees Judson settled on the banks of the Arroyo Seco in 1893 and quickly became a driving force behind the Arroyo Guild of Craftsmen, fueling Southern California’s Arts and Crafts movement. In the late 1890s he founded the Los Angeles College of Fine Arts at this location. In 1901 his art college became USC’s College of Fine Arts and remained in Garvanza until moving to the central campus in 1920. Judson’s stained glass studio remains in the family to this day, producing profoundly beautiful work in a tradition unchanged by time. Horace Judson told the Highland Park News-Herald in 1940: “Here there is no rush. We work slowly and for perfection as they did six centuries ago.” As I watched the artisans work I marveled at the way architects manipulate light to create beauty and a sense of well being. When we look away from a painting it is gone, but when the light has been channeled in our living and working…
May 20th, 2010
Career Tracks: Killola
2 Comments, Interviews, Music, Music Industry, Strategy & Marketing, by Eric Jensen.Photo by Thaddeus Bridwell I recently had the opportunity to speak with the excellent folks in Killola, a four piece “Hardpop Altcore” band formed in 2003 and based in Los Angeles. Consisting of Lisa Rieffel (lead vocals), Mike Ball, (guitar), Dan Grody (drums) and Johnny Dunn (bass), the band’s indie work ethic and unique blend of garage rock, punk, and pop/electronica has created a devoted international audience. The band tours regularly in the US and UK and has a strong Internet presence. Killola were early Myspace adopters; they had songs posted on the site in late 2003. They have been consistently on the front edge of digital distribution and marketing, successfully deploying many innovative strategies including free tracks, USB flash-drive bracelets and Dog Tags, and a diverse, synergistic media presence. Lisa Rieffel is also an actress appearing in the upcoming feature film/rock-musical “Girltrash: All Night Long” (all the film’s music by Killola) and an original cast member of The King of Queens. In 2007 Lisa and Johnny began hosting a weekly radio show (on Dave Navarro’s personal Internet Radio Network ‘Spread Radio Live’) featuring a mix of music, interviews, fan interaction, and general mayhem. The band’s first 4-song EP was released for free on stencil-screened CD-Rs packaged in hand painted sleeves. Their first formal record, “Louder, Louder!” was released in January 2006. It was recorded frugally and sold well on both and 7” vinyl, particularly in the UK. They released a live DVD/CD, “Live in Hollywood” in October 2006 and self-booked a UK tour in…
May 13th, 2010
Nonesuch knocks it out the park with Brad Mehldau’s ‘Highway Rider’
No Comments, Music, Music Industry, Reviews, Strategy & Marketing, by Eric Jensen.Nonesuch Records is doing some very cool stuff with their promotion of the extraordinary Brad Mehldau recording, Highway Rider. The website is engaging and features an innovative scrolling musical score and a fascinating story book (with streaming audio) that takes the listener/viewer through the programmatic trajectory of this unique project. Highway Rider is available on CD for and for download in audiophile quality 320 kbps MP3 format (with bonus tracks). Nonesuch has created a compelling online campaign. The website alone is a real trip! I’ve been listening on Rhapsody and ordered the CD as well. One of the drags about downloads is losing the direct segues between tracks and of course, I want to hear this in highest audio quality available. Kudos to Nonesuch for supporting such great music and creating an awesome promotional campaign.
May 12th, 2010
Making a profit by adding real value..
No Comments, Music Industry, Strategy & Marketing, by Eric Jensen.If we learn anything from the Wall St. crisis it should be this: Sustainable businesses make a profit by creating and adding value to the world. Windfall “paper” transactions are unsustainable and eventually lead to financial disaster, and/or the degeneration of industry. Take a look at this heated debate between 37signals principal, David Heinemeier Hansson and Mahalo founder Jason Calaconis. The good stuff starts 47 minutes into the clip. Calaconis represents the classic tech approach to business: raise capital, build your model, and sell for a huge windfall…if you don’t go under first. Hansson tears his argument apart and advocates building sustainable businesses that generate real profits. He describes profit as: “A measure of success of the impact you are having on the world…” Jason Calaconis vs. David Heinemeier Hansson on This Week in Startups What does this have to do with music? Well… In the early days of the record industry the business was much smaller and broken into niches that served specific audiences. Music was served up in neighborhood clubs and record stores. Impresarios and label owners were hardcore fans who understood music and their audience. Sure, they wanted to make money, but they did it by making great records. In the sixties people got greedy and very quickly the business became about selling as many records as possible to the lowest common denominator. The huge sales generated by international hits underwrote the enormous losses created by bad business practices, greed, and stupidity. Large labels were more concerned with grooming an “overnight” show-biz sensation, than discovering and…
10 years ago with the introduction of audio compression technologies such as MP3 & AAC, it became possible to shrink digital audio file sizes and enable distribution across the Internet. While there was a distinct loss in audio quality (file sizes were typically one tenth of the original), the average music fan didn’t seem to mind and convenience ruled. At the same time, sample and bit rates for digital audio recording were expanding as hard drive prices dropped, giving engineers and musicians the ability to work with higher quality digital audio. Since the early days of digital there has been ongoing debate in the professional audio world about the loss of ‘warmth’ inherent in analog recording technologies. Higher digital bit and sample rates make it possible for engineers to approach the sonic ideal, bridging both worlds. As hardware storage continues to shrink and broadband speeds increase, music providers have increased file sizes, enhancing audio quality for portable and computer devices. Bringing back high quality audio to consumers can create scarcity in the marketplace, which music creators sorely need. A bootlegged MP3 can’t compete with an audiophile, metadata rich, listening experience. The question is: “Will consumers support higher quality audio?” Engineer, producer, and musician Cookie Marenco, founder of Downloads NOW! says 96kHz downloads (super high quality) are outselling 44.1kHz downloads (CD quality) by 10 to 1 at her artist’s download stores. Last Sunday’s New York Times article, In Mobile Age, Sound Quality Steps Back examines this issue. What do you think? Has the appreciation of nuance and dynamics…
May 5th, 2010
Indie music mogul: The net’s great for us.
No Comments, Music Industry, by Eric Jensen.A nice interview on the state of indie labels and the future of the business with Martin Mills head of Beggars Group. Read the full article here. A few quotes: “The internet has improved things radically for independents…There’s fewer gatekeepers now. We don’t have to knock on a TV station’s door or a radio station’s door and it’s made us far more competitive” “The 40 per cent of the industry that has gone is almost entirely the cream at the top.” “We have to make licensing easier and faster, not necessarily cheaper, but easier. We’d like to see some kind of short-term government-endorsed trial structure that we could experiment with for 12 or 24 months, and see the impact of it.” - Martin Mills, Beggars Group
May 1st, 2010
Music brings authenticity to HBO’s ‘Treme’ — latimes.com
No Comments, Music, Music Industry, by Eric Jensen.Music brings authenticity to HBO’s ‘Treme’ — latimes.com Posted using ShareThis