K. Lewis

Will Music Sales Be Profitable for Record Companies in Ten Years?

There's a major disconnect in perception here. The labels have a lot of room to squeeze profits out of their music products. They don't HAVE to spend so much on signing, recording, and promoting acts that it requires 500,000 sales to be profitable. The emerging so-called 360 deals are an attempt to do things differently but even they are front loading the bet against a proven talent that may or may not pay off. The cost model has to change to put the money where it counts instead of spraying cash hoping to hit the target. Put simply, the labels spend to much on the hope of a products potential rather than shifting that spending to a later point in the product life cycle to focus the spending on products that are actually performing.

The labels have access to big media outlets to promote their artist but do so inefficiently. They can profit just fine if they stop wasting so many marketing dollars. If my label can profit beginning at 1500 sales, why can't theirs? If I can ramp up marketing spending based on a products performance why can't they? Of course the scale is different but the math is simple. Spend smarter.

Music Downloads: You Can't Regulate One Industry and Leave Another Alone

The many forms of this problem and the attempted solutions are, to me, wildly entertaining to watch as a student of business and marketing in mass media. The only certainty I can predict is that the consumer will ultimately win. The content controllers who survive and prosper will be the ones smart enough to pan for gold in the stream rather trying to build dams and levies to fight a losing battle against nature. As a songwriter, musician, and independent label owner, I'll be spreading the net far and wide to be sure my content is available whenever and where ever people look for it. Sometimes the folks looking won't want to pay and I'm sure they'll find a way to partake without doing so. That's part of doing business in a changing digital landscape if you ask me. It's only my problem if the seeker who's willing to pay can't find my work. For the folks intent on theft, I'll leave that up to karma.

Rhapsody's New e-Music Download Service Takes on iTunes

Many of the articles and comments I read on this subject take the stance that there will be one winner and many losers. I believe Apple will remain the largest player in this space until someone offers EASIER access to a media library that plays on the iPod. I use an iPod and every time a new service is announced, I check it out. If there was a library available as big as iTunes that I could access unrestricted via subscription, I would use it. What will probably happen is that as soon as that level of service becomes a reality, Apple will match the offer. That'll be a great day for me.

Napster's DRM-Free Music Store Will Struggle

A valid subscription service for iPod users is a value add to the available options if you ask me. Apple's model provides nothing for music fans looking for legal access to a vast array of music at a set monthly price. They will eventually have to once one of their competitors gains some traction. It may be Napster. Who knows?

Music Industry Downfall: The Rise of Social Streaming

The numbers don't lie but I have don't see streaming staying atop the heap without a factor of mobility. iPods allowing you to take your music library with you is the killer feature that keeps it ahead of the streaming sites. I stream internet radio constantly while I'm at a computer but once I'm on the go it's iPod and nothing else. The best bet to meet the demand for any song anywhere still appears to be on the device that allows streaming on the go. Cell phones are the closest to that prize and Apples a major player there as well. As for 25 cents per song, that seems low to me. Especially if it's the only option. I like Nine Inch Nails approach of a tiered offering of more content and supplemental content at a higher price. 25 cents for a simple raw mp3 download and nothing else, perhaps. For guys like me who like to hold a book of liner notes and see who wrote and produced each track, $1 per song with additional info doesn't seem too much to ask.

Microsoft Adds Content to Zune Marketplace

It was interesting to see the Zune commercials during the NBA playoffs touting a $14.99 subscription service. As an iPod/iPhone user, I just don't have such an option. If nothing else, moves like this do influence the decisions Apple makes because they represent a valid competitive move. MS shouldn't be counted out of a sector until they willingly leave. That much cash can feed a "loser" until it grows to maturity. (see XBOX)

The Music Biz: Something Important Is On The Horizon

Here's the truth of the matter. There will be new choices for music consumers at some point in the future and people will not stop creating new music as the current business model continues to break down. Original music will continue to be created and someone will figure out how to charge those willing to pay. Out of the shuffle in the coming years there will emerge a small set of choices that'll represent exactly what the market will bear. Any person who's every encountered a persistent sales pro has heard the term "well how much you got to spend?" Soon enough the music and movie businesses will learn how to ask that question and collect whatever happens to be the answer. They'll collect at the delivery channel, or the hardware device and they'll collect from whatever form we choose to consume be it single, album, streamed, leased, or "owned." AND there'll still be people stealing content.