I’m in the midst of a very exciting piece of research – perhaps my most challenging yet. I’ve come to the final stage of my Masters at Birmingham City University in MA Media Enterprise which has provided some interesting opportunities to study and reflect on my own creative and media consultancy practice.
I’m now in dissertation mode, and my research is all about the opportunities and challenges of digital music for what I’m calling the ‘micro industry’ of music entrepreneurs. This includes independent artists, bands, promoters, non-major labels, independent retailers and those who create, produce and sell music that’s driven by aesthetics and passion rather than the ‘music-by-numbers’ approach of EMI et al.
My provocation: if the digital space is a ‘brave new world’ for independent artists, who are the winners and who are losers? Is one structure of the major label music industry just being replaced by another set of gatekeepers in the media conglomerate owned platforms like Last.fm and MySpace? How do small producers exploit the ‘long tail’, niche markets and cut above the ‘noise’ of the digital space (where everyone is a ‘Pro-Am’ musician?).
I’m particularly interesting in this work in exploring two key areas:
- 1. How intergenerational tastes in consuming and producing music are affecting young people versus their parent’s generation. Are younger musicians motivated by different drivers? Do younger music fans value music and invest in it in the same ways as my generation? What are the longer-term implications on music production and retail models on these new trends?
- Music is the first-mover and first effected of all the digital content industries. It has borne the brunt and learnt the hard way how not to deal with the effect of bit-torrenting (see the Napster and RIAA fiascos, met by the decline of major retailers like Tower Records and Zavvi). The existing industry has struggled to commercialise music as a product in the file-sharing age. What key lessons can other independnent digital industries – particularly film and computer games – learn from it’s failures and successes?
So far I’ve done a lot of reading and made a fascinating interview with Yinka Okewole from the band Sabatta. You can hear us rinsing about all things independent music and internet related here. I’ve also chatted to my old bandmate Roger Simian who now runs Shark Batter Records who waxed lyrical on the ‘devaluation’ of music by fans – a theme that’s recurring in more conversations.
I hope my research is going to I hope be a fascinating insight into the changing dynamics of what the music ‘business’ means here and now, and how grassroots, independent music entrepreneurs can adapt to the challenges in the future (if you’re interesting in this theme I’d also heartily recommended a mooch over to Andrew Dubber’s New Music Strategies website).
Wanted: music enterpreneurs to help this research
To bring in a wider range of views, I’m conducting a survey to questions on your current music enterprise, your use of digital tools and asks a set of ‘provocations’ to ask your opinion on online marketing and distribution like copyright, direct-to-fan marketing and bit-torrenting.
I’m looking for the following people to do it:
- Solo musicians
- People in bands
- Live music promoters
- Music retailers
- “Super music fans” (gig goer, journalist, blogger)
I will share the findings of the survey and research if you complete the survey. I need completed surveys by March 31st 2009.
The survey takes 8-10 minutes to complete. Here’s the survey:
http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/104564/the-future-of-online-music-for-independent-musicians
It’s still early days, but I will be using this blog to update on my findings and instill some provocations and I’d love to get readers thoughts. Email me (susi@digitalconsultant.co.uk) if you have any opinions on this subject – or better still complete the survey. I’m looking for more people to do formal (phone or in-person) interviews with. I’m particularly interested in interviewing some teen music fans and bands, but being a bit of an ‘old rocker’ type myself I may struggle here so any recommendations of approachable bands much appreciated.
