Music Industry & Listeners Looking at "Choice" Future

It's no surprise that the music industry, pretty much from top to bottom, has been suffering big time in recent years. Downloads are way up -- arguably a good thing -- but the industry estimates that fully 95% of them are unauthorized. That's a very bad sign for the industry as a whole, for the bands and writers who aren't paid for their creative efforts, and even for the record companies who aren't compensated for producing and marketing (what little there is) of its stable of artists.
Figuring out what the future holds for songwriters, recording artists, and record labels is certainly an inexact science, but there are some hints about what might lie ahead if you look at recent happenings.

INCREASED IMPACT OF BOUTIQUE LABELS. Many artists are opting away from Fat Cat labels in favor of smaller boutique companies that offer more support, allow for innovation, and provide a more hands-on effort to the artist's material. Even Paul McCartney, whose solo catalog has rested with EMI forever (and "rested" is the accurate word) has moved to One Little Indian, a small British label that released his Firemen recording (right) in 2008.

ARTIST-OWNED RECORD LABELS. Another approach being at least tested increasingly by artists is creation of their own label which they then market through their website and at concerts. This approach does get the artist more involved in the business aspect of making music but it also offers greater control without the pressure of a record contract demanding product and hits. Artists can put out what they want, when they want, for the cost they want -- all without interference from the record company brass. There is no way this approach could have been successful prior to the Internet, band websites, YouTube, and other social media networks that get the word out. The downside here is the lack of marketing dollars to push new releases, but given the little marketing support most music has from big labels the loss won't be felt by most bands. And if an artist is good enough then "going viral" is probably the best marketing there is.

CLICK! A LIGHT BULB GOES ON AT BIG LABELS. Of course there is the chance, albeit a slim one, that the major labels will recognize what's happening, take it to heart, and change what they're doing. Major Level Artists such as U2 and Neil Young command greater control and their labels are willing to provide flexibility and support -- but even much of that is via websites. If labels ever realize and accept that their world is changing there is the possibility they could adapt along with it. Stop laughing, it could happen.

DOWNLOADS CONTINUE TO GROW. This is a no-brainer. With the use of I-Pods and all the other similar music devices there is no reason to think the rate of downloading will slow. And even some high-end sites are offering audiophile-quality downloads, which means those folks think that even their picky customers will begin buying Beethoven and Shostakovich via computer.

INSTITUTE LEVELS OF DOWNLOADING. But though downloading isn't going to slow, something has to be done to prevent the theft of music by anyone with a hard drive. Subscription services are still floundering as most listeners prefer to get for free what they should be paying for, and subscription probably isn't the way to go for a variety of reasons. But here's an idea that's already in use -- just not for music: Establish various levels of downloading with different fees for each level. For example, if I want to hear Hanson's newest "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'" just to hear it and for my own use, treat it like radio and let me download it for free. Imbed something in the file that doesn't allow me to transfer the file anywhere else. If I want to be able to copy it or transfer it to one or two places, charge me $2.99; if I want to have unlimited transfers charge me $5.99; and if I want the whole new Hanson record Shout It Out charge me $9.99. Keep an eye out for this approach as someone has got to be looking into it.

MORE CHOICES FOR LISTENERS. Downloading is up but guess what? So are sales of vinyl records. Arguable the best-sounding mass market playback medium, vinyl record sales jumped from 1.9 million in 2008 to 2.8 million in 2009 -- and it might even be greater than that because many LPs are sold by independent record labels often not monitored by the industry. Record turntable sales are up too, which makes complete sense. Many artists like the vinyl record and have been pressing limited numbers of them for years, but recently more are adding it to the choices they offer listeners. CDs, while declining in sales, aren't going away as the vast majority of listeners own a CD player...The only medium that hasn't made a comeback is the cassette and 8-track tape (though a couple of new high-end reel-to-reel recorders have hit the market this year).

So from a listener's standpoint, more choices is great -- we can or probably will soon be able to buy the music in whatever format we want. And some artists will help out: Wilco, for example, gave buyers a free CD when they bought the Sky Blue Sky LP. The only downside here is ending up buying a record more than once -- someone I know has four versions of Neil Young's Harvest, (not inlcuding the Blu-Ray set), four versions of Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run, three versions each of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks and Moondance, and four versions each (including mono vinyl remasters) of all Bob Dylan records. But, hey, all it takes is a little self control.

On the whole the future might be bright enough to wear shades -- at least for the music listener. But the industry -- and that includes the music listeners -- has to make sure artists are fairly compensated for the work the do. Many of these options -- or a combination of these options -- might just provide the safety and security artists need to write and play so we can all continue to enjoy their efforts.