Facing the
Music
Rock stars and music-industry execs once
ruled the earth, but now -- in terms of size and profit margins -- the
music industry is becoming the book business (minus the literacy).
I just finished reading this fascinating article. Is the music industry doomed to become a low-margin, boring business? Maybe it will. Maybe rock and roll is just too worn out.
In my vision of the future of the music industry, the successful music companies make money by producing a huge volume of music and selling it cheaply to consumers. There's no need to spend millions promoting a promising artist. Just throw his music up on your web site so your subscribers can download it. Consumers do have an insatiable appetite for music, but they also get bored quickly. They are always looking for new music. Soon the music companies will catch on to that and give them what they want.
Posted by Doug Sauder at June 6, 2002 11:46 PM