Do Record Labels Exist Just to Publish 2 Songs?
posted in Business |A couple of days ago Hillel wrote a post asking why record labels exist anymore. I think I said something dismissive at the time. I agreed about the main point but even though costs have gone down a ton, like a VC, they put a big investment into growing the brand of a given band and getting it enough exposure.
Or do they? Today the NY Times writes that some record labels are signing acts and just producing two songs and selling them online. This really begs the question of just what value they are providing in this scenario- you have to assume they are signing someone to some pretty oppressive contract for probably less than $10k worth of value. Now I’ve got to totally agree that their old role is obsolete. If they are like VCs, they are like some form of slimy VC that preys on the unsophistication of their target, preys on their lack of business experience, and meanwhile acts as a drain on society as they fight to maintain their old position through legal means rather than business smarts.
All that I can say is there is one clear sign when you have a dying industry (or business). When they start spending more money on lawyers and lobbyists than on product, you know the end is coming. I wish I could say the end is near, since all too often they can stretch out things for a long time causing much disruption as they do.
One other comment on this topic- personally, I do find the shift away from albums to individual songs sad. I like albums. When I buy music on eMusic, even though I have the option to do everything as individual songs, I usually buy the whole album. I often find that those other tracks grow on me later, they help me get a better understanding of the artist, and (here is the key) eMusic makes it all cheap enough that its no big deal. Its not some $17.99 per CD BS, its more like $5 (or less on the plan I’m on), so its easy to take chances and collect every last song by each artist that I like. If there is someone in the music industry that doesn’t understand this as a great opportunity to make lots of money, while being customer-friendly, they really don’t get it.
Or maybe this is just another way that I’m clueless. I suppose I still don’t get ringtones, so that counts me out as a judge of popular culture. Or as Art Brut say- “popular culture - no longer - applies to me (x4r)”…