People may be down
on the Internet at this point in time but if they continue to ignore it
they may end up going the way of the dinosaurs. I will conclude with
the story of a company that was at one time the leader in its industry
but resisted adopting to new trends in its marketplace and faltered.
Lotus burst onto
the new personal computer scene and gave the IBM personal computer its
killer application, Lotus 1-2-3. 1-2-3 was a powerful spreadsheet
program that gave businessmen a reason to purchase a computer because this
program gave them faster more efficient ways to do things. What would have
taken them hours to do by hand they could now do in just minutes. It opened
new doors and helped them run their businesses more efficiently. Lotus
soon became the largest software company in the world. But they got fat
and complacent with their success. They figured they had the market cornered,
people knew and trusted their product. So when Microsoft told developers
about a new operating system they were developing for the IBM PC, Lotus
ignored them. Windows? Who needs it? Our program works fine under
DOS. Microsoft never misses an opportunity to attack a new market, especially
when the competition drops the ball. So they decided since Lotus wasnt
going to port their spreadsheet program to Windows, they would retool their
own spreadsheet for the Macintosh over to Windows. When Windows caught
on in the market place Microsofts Lotus killer, Excel, became a best seller.
Lotus rushed to recapture the market they once dominated but their first
Windows version of Lotus was riddled with bugs. A few short years later,
Lotus a company that was once the largest software company in the world
was sold for a song to IBM.
Will we see the major
record labels suffer the same fate as Lotus? Will their resistance to the
Internet leave them in the dust, while up-start Indys move in on their
turf and dominate the market because they used every tool in their arsenal?
As far-fetched as it may seem, it is a very real possibility if they dont
wake up to the 21st century soon. The bottom line is always to get
the music out to the people. It's important for new artists to get exposure
so the music scene doesn't become stagnet, so if the majors fumble the
ball by not playing by the new rules of the game they may end up losing
to up-start indy's who use every angle they can find to get their artists
the exposure they deserve. Just remember this the next time you seek
out content on the web for your favorite artist. If you have a hard time
finding it, chances are it wasn't the publishers who decided not to cover
the artist but the record label or publicist who dropped the ball.
So the reluctant publicist and their artists aren't the only ones who lose,
you do too.
Fan Speak Here is your chance
to agree or disagree, call me names or praise me for my insight. Everyone
has an opinion. You just read mine, now lets hear yours!
Fan
Speak:
Posted by the max:
I'm sorry...I made a mistake. 5 seconds is waaaaay to long for a TRLies attention span.
Posted by the max:
ICP fans tried the exact same thing and got their votes thrown out and they got arrested. One Panterea video is not going to do anything, cause they'll just show about 5 seconds of it. Not quite enough time for a TRLies attention span to notice.
Posted by THE REVOLUTION:
HERES THE PLAN, ON AUGUST 6th EVERYONE CALL OR EMAIL A REQUEST TO TRL, VOTE FOR PANTERA , REVOLUTION IS MY NAME, THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN DECIDED. AND WILL ONLY WORK IF YOU VOTE FOR THIS VIDEO, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO CHANGE THINGS, BUT YOU HAVE TO GET OFF YOUR ASS, THEIR WILL ALSO BE A GATHERING OUTSIDE OF TRL ON AUGUST 5th WEAR YOUR PANTERA SHIRTS OR ANTIMTV SHIRTS. BUT PLEASE SHOW UP WE NEED YOU
Posted by miguel:
As quoted in Star Trek VI:
Spock: "They're dying, Jim"
Jim: "Let them die!"
Posted by the max:
Great article aG, but the reason you couldn't find songs on the band or their labels website is because the label doesn't seem to think hearing the music is as important as the look of the band playing it. Remember these are the people that are shoving boy and girl bands down the throats of the youth. They feel that the look of the band outweighs any talent they have. Most record companies are making the mistake of marketing bands with a more "adult" feel the same way they would market a boyband. I agree that they do have a problem with embrassing the internet...but there biggest problem thus far is not where they are marketing...but how and what they are marketing. Noone seems to recognize the fact that there is more than one audience out there. These companies are missing out on few huge genres of music cause they are too afraid to steer away from what they think is the only thing that works.
Posted by `asterix:
yeah the indy's sure should capitalise on web marketing avenues - I found sites such as heavy.com are really good culture focused web portals - hopefully a few more smaller labels will see some good investment there.
Posted by GREENMUSE:
cheers to antiguy for his usual quality work.
one thing i have noticed lately is a large crop of indy labels popping up
it seems they finally have a little more equality with the majors.even if they dont openly advertise,the net allows much quicker word of mouth transfer than before.and what is up with jeff?is he will fkin shakespeare?
Posted by `asterix:
Damn right Mojo. Jeff are you one of those irritating UNI students who speak in riddles to everyone.
Posted by Mojo:
Is it just me or are there a large number of ass-holes posting to this site lately? Case in point - jeff's comment below. i mean what's the point? It's just like that jackass on greenmuses story who is bitching about not having passwords. GROW UP PEOPLE. This is why the web won't change anything too many idiots and ass-holes out on the web! ! ! ! !
Posted by Max:
Interesting arguement. I think the major labels are scared of the internet so they are resisting it just like they did CD's and even tapes. There is a long history of the major labels resisting any change but the eventually adapt. I don't think they will screw themselves in this case, it just may take a little longer for them to utilize the full potential of the web.
Posted by jeff:
amazing artical....so many words....so little said.
Posted by `asterix:
p.s I think lotus lost out because the average business man didn't understand computers until Microsoft (and I'll write an apology to apple) gave them a seemingly easy to use platform in thier GUI. Office was chucked in with alot of PC and software packages also.
Posted by `asterix:
To record labels the web is better as an exposure tool than point of sale - and even in these circumstances they will never have monopoly in. People don't source music by record label - most will look to independent sources that relate specifically to them. I.e specialty mags (I get alot of good info from a surfing mag), a music cable channel sends me emails with regular updates and news, an online music store that specialises in alternative and overseas stocks does the same. I'll check out my preffered radio stations website to find out stuff about the band they've featured that week - if I really want to find stuff out I'll go direct to the bands website. Im not going to check out a Sony music/mca/roswell etc website, because I'd have to sift through all the irrellevant crap to find the music I'm into. Grand Royal I might because I like most of thier stuff. The larger companies have too much variety and the majority of people don't give a crap about who records it anyway. Individual band websites are a plenty - can't think of too many artists without one and they give me plenty of info - the chemical brothers or guano apes sites are pretty cool examples but whose going to those unless you're an avid fan. I don't want to follow up on everyband's website just to find out what they sound like. Sure I downloaded heaps through napstere etc but I still bought the hard copies just as much - can you really beat em?
Posted by aG:
Yes distribution is part of the equation but with new indy distribution channels like the ADA the indies are no longer tied to the majors like they were before. The net also allows bands to sell their music directly to the fans. Let's face it record stores don't carry a wide variety of music, only the most popular titles. That's why online retailers are great, you can order stuff from them and sure if might take five days to get it but that's better than 4 to 6 weeks you have to wait for a special order from a record store. All the major online retailers use the same wholesalers, so in fact that wholesaler could come in and take over distribution to record stores as well. The major label's hold on distribution is much less of a barrier than it was say ten years ago, there are other options available now.
Posted by Ross:
name withheld makes a good point as long as they control how CD's get out to the people they will control the industry. I do agree that the record companies need to do more to push their bands that aren't already popular. All we get are the same sorry releases from the same sorry ass bands each year. Britney, N suck, BSB, Limp Wristed.
Posted by name withheld:
record companies can afford to be smug because they own the only distribution channels in the marketplace. as long as they have the only way for consumers to get product they can run their business any way they want. that's why napster and MP3.com got shut down because they were distribution channels and threatened the record companies' real power sources. publicity is good but it works hand in hand with distribution. record companies have both the indies only have the publicity thing going for them and even there they're at the disadvantage because Sony, Universal, etc. have name brand recognition. so record companies are here to stay, like it or not.
Posted by Maxum:
You make some good points but I don't think the big record companies will ever lose there power. They have too much control over music for that to happen.
