THE
sale of recorded music has taken a huge battering over the last decade.
As a result, it no longer makes sense to judge an artist’s commercial
viability based on record sales alone—especially when there’s a whole
new generation of fans questioning the need to pay for recorded music in
the first place.
And yet many struggle
with the concept of uncoupling success from record sales. It doesn’t
help that the Billboard charts, which many fans watch closely, continue
to be based on this outmoded metric. For emerging artists this is a
particularly precarious situation, since their careers can end abruptly
if an early recording fails to sell.
So
how should a ‘’content producer’’ behave in this new environment? And
what lessons can we learn from this new value model? Here are two key
ideas:
- Don’t treat artists as commodities.
- Value the artist-fan relationship as highly as traditional copyrights.
Smart
music managers realize every artist is a stand-alone business that can
generate income from multiple revenue streams, not just record sales. A
manager’s job is to create those businesses and run them well. This
requires thinking globally and remaining agnostic about which revenue
stream or geographic area is most important.
It’s
crucial for managers to identify talent early and develop it
cost-effectively over a long period of time. Artists—and their art—are
the only real assets. The music industry that surrounds them should be
treated primarily as a means to maximize their commercial value.
As
the digital age gathers pace, managers must engage in the shaping of
the new music landscape. This landscape is still plagued by a mindset
that regards copyright as an instrument of control rather than as a
remuneration right that can generate revenue wherever a market may be.
Future success will depend on accepting consumer behavior and looking
for as many ways as possible to monetize it.
The
music industry was the first of the creative industries to be disrupted
by the Internet. But the disintermediation that resulted has simply
focused the spotlight on talented individuals who produce great art. One
of the jobs of their managers is to create an environment that simply
allows them to keep doing so. The ways artists collect fans and fans
connect to artists will continue to change. But managers who embrace new
technological opportunities will have a significant advantage—no matter
what happens.
James
Barton and Brian Message are featured artist managers based in London.
Both are representatives of the Music Managers Forum UK, the largest
representative body of featured artist management in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment