Seriously, it’s an incredibly transformative time in the music industry and right now I think we’re witnessing a very important point – I hesitate to call it a tipping point, but it’s without a doubt quite a watershed point for the industry. Numbers on Radiohead’s experiment came out, and depending on who’s spinning it either it was an abject failure or a good start – here’s a link to the BBC article on the results ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7082627.stm ). It comes down to “only” 38% paid anything for the album and of those, the average price was about six bucks. I fall into the “good start” camp because Radiohead had the balls to really put itself out there and people are listening – well literally, certainly, but figuratively as well.
Two Wall Street analyst firms took the Industry to task for their declining numbers and old-world mentality. In this article (sorry for the long url: http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9812275-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20 ) they mention that both Madonna and Trent Reznor are looking to follow Radiohead’s example, at least in spirit. Reznor, for his part, is presently testing the waters with slam poet Saul William’s new release, “The Inevitable Rise And Liberation Of NiggyTardust!” which is available online only for either free (for low bitrate) or five bucks for your choice of 320 or lossless. Here’s a link to an interview with Reznor and Williams which really outlines a lot of the debate on the subject: http://www.reuters.com/article/musicNews/idUSN0434171920071104 .
Make no mistake, however, things aren’t changing overnight – but they are changing. The above article on the Radiohead results point out that Radiohead established a loyal fanbase on the back of its previous record label – and the same can be said for both Reznor and Madonna – and they can afford to absorb the cost of experimenting in a way that up and coming artists can’t.
But that’s a fairly poor argument because in the last 30-40 years the path to success in the music business couldn’t be more nebulous – it used to be you gig it out in clubs, get signed to a major label, and, voila, success! Particularly with the consolidation of the record labels as well as the radio stations, it’s become even more difficult to break into major labels, much less get a real chance with them. So with someone like Saul Williams, what the hell, go for it – the alternative is don’t try anything. Nothing ventured, nothing lost.
To conclude, the article above about Wall Street’s take on the record industry is really the fiscal indicator that times, they are indeed a changin’; Richard Greenfield of Pali Research writes that "No matter how many people the RIAA sues, no matter how many times music executives point to the growth of digital music, we believe an increasing majority of worldwide consumers simply view recorded music as free.” That this statement is coming from a major financial assessment group speaks volumes. That article ends by again quoting Greenfield writing that the industry is “not ready to endorse such a move at this point" and points out that "Even if it was, the...transition will be incredibly painful." No doubt, but the inevitable is well on its way.
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