'Redesigning the music economy'
- added January 23, 2008
- 12 responses
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- sloan
- added this
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- related topics
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- Entertainment (20702)
- Music (12054)
- Economics (650)
- Music Industry (137)
- Last.fm (14)
Cool news from the London-based social music site Last.fm: You can now play full tracks and albums, and when you do, the artists get paid. It's via their royalty-collection agencies for the established artists, and -- this part is way cooler -- directly to the artists (from a cut of advertising revenue) if they're unsigned.
Last.fm puts it in bold terms: "Today we're redesigning the music economy."
That might go a bit far, but it really is remarkable how quickly the last gatekeepers are tumbling -- how level the playing field is getting.
The cruel reality for would-be stars might be that massive success in this kind of music economy won't look like massive success in the old music economy, at least not in dollar terms; but the flip side is that perhaps many, many more artists will get a real shot at it.
So it means there are more winners, but instead of winning the lottery, you just get to make a living doing what you love. That's not bad.
Last.fm puts it in bold terms: "Today we're redesigning the music economy."
That might go a bit far, but it really is remarkable how quickly the last gatekeepers are tumbling -- how level the playing field is getting.
The cruel reality for would-be stars might be that massive success in this kind of music economy won't look like massive success in the old music economy, at least not in dollar terms; but the flip side is that perhaps many, many more artists will get a real shot at it.
So it means there are more winners, but instead of winning the lottery, you just get to make a living doing what you love. That's not bad.
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this is the coolest thing ever, seems like a win-win!
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Listening to Steely Dan from them at the moment. Very fine.
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RCRDLBL offers free music on a similar principle. There are some sick tracks on this site too.... -
Great idea! An impeccable business model. This is what Web 2.0 is really about.
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This is pretty damn cool. I've always been bullish on Last FM. I can't believe they sold out so early (to CBS)
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- joebrilliant
- 8 months ago
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I wouldn't call this business model "impeccable" -- that's a little much.
But I do agree that the Web spreads the wealth. This doesn't necessarily mean more artists make mega-millions, but rather that the income gap between the successful and the unsuccessful narrows. In the new music economy, more artists can make a living, while fewer artists will experience the gushing success or rock-bottom failures of the past. Of course, this is a generalization and nothing in real life will pan out as neatly as this, but I think this trend will be visible going forward. -
The one thing I'm worried about is that this might come to resemble the old MP3.com, just with a slightly better business model for artists. (That would be a bad thing; MP3.com was a howling void.) What gives me hope is that Last.fm is very good at what MP3.com was bad at: filtering & recommending the good stuff. But, it might turn out that you really do need a MUCH more selective (and possibly human) filter, i.e. something like RCRD LBL. We shall see.
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I like it. Music should be free. People should hear all of it. Like a painter, you can't just show one part of the painting? How will anyone buy part of a painting? Make the music to experience, those who like will come back for more.
This will change the music business for sure. -
The music economy definitely does need some major redesigning, in my eversohumbleopinion.
I love Last FM for introducing me to God knows how many new and overlooked music makers through its pulsing electronic grape vine; this is cool news indeed. -
Meta-prediction: with the clear destabilization of the RECORDED music model, and no clear end-game in sight, live performances/DJ sets/clubs will continue become a much stronger emphasis for artists and labels alike... that is until holograms and robots can rock like a good old fashioned humaniods.
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- joebrilliant
- 8 months ago
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You can?t even trade a single fart with the next guy. Each and every one of us has to live out his own life. Don?t waste time thinking about who?s most talented. -
Last.fm is launching a free on-demand jukebox too. AND they got the big 4 record companies to be ok with it... the catch is you can only listen to each song 3 times. Still super cool though!
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