As I finish my Master’s degree in Entertainment Business, I can’t help but think about the future of the industry, and what lies ahead. Apple is perfecting this cloud music system, which is a new attempt to end digital piracy. This is the music industry’s answer to the massacre of peer-to-peer sites, having people pay a monthly fee for all the music fans can get their hands on. While it is quite revolutionary for Apple and consumers to have access to the Big Four’s music catalogs, one can’t help but wonder what is the catch? What are the limits? Do we really have access to any song we could so desire?
While Apple works on the kinks and bugs of acquiring the Big Four’s and the smaller independent publishers’ catalogs, some say the music publishing industry itself is next to break apart. A system that has been working since its creation is now said to be falling to pieces. We have arguments that music performers should receive royalties like songwriters and producers (see "Should Performers Have Rights?"). We have companies that are about to go belly-up, making the competition want to buy them out. We even have record labels saying that they will cut out ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and SOCAN, and collect their on performance royalties. All in all, the music industry is a mess.
Who knows where things could be in a few years? In the next few years, the Big Four could be the Big Three if EMI does fold in. But EMI is also the company looking to collect their own performance royalties from radio and other venues. The future of the industry could be on its way to a crashing point. Or, it could be on a blindside upturn. The real point of this post is that no one knows the future, but we can all do our part to change it. The real question is this, you see the problem, how will you and your music company be the solution? What do you have to offer a music industry that may be on its last leg? And more importantly, how drastically will your business plan change if the music industry does get the major over haul it needs?
These are questions only you can answer. The only advice I can give you is to keep your eyes open at all times…
...and Stay Tuned…
No comments:
Post a Comment