Why Is The Music Industry Not Selling Music Like Hollywood Sells Movies?

What would happen if a blockbuster Hollywood movie went straight to TV, bypassing cinemas, DVD and cable networks? In the world of music there are no channels to ‘cinema’ release an album at the moment. In fact, there is little chance of an artist selling their album digitally at £7.99 since Apple effectively hid their music buying interface to instead push users towards subscribing to Apple Music. Streaming can’t be the only channel can it? It was only months ago that fans could still buy digital albums. Now there is only monthly subscription services. Something went wrong and needs fixing.

Music going straight to ‘9.99 a month for everything’ streaming services is not only diluting the importance of an artist and their music but also diluting the profits of artists and their labels. Artists are already feeling the effects. It appears that apart from physically releasing an album on CD and vinyl there is no digital equivalent that allows artists to put out new work at a premium. New albums go the same route as old and the value is lost. However, I don’t believe there’s a straight line in how this story will evolve. Just as tickets for concerts are available to fans prior to them being available to the public, music can be sold this way too. What’s missing is the platform. A platform that allows video, music, photos and other media to be shared in an artist app that collects the fan’s contact details before they view. That’s not a lot to ask a fan is it? But it opens up a marketing channel the label or artist does have. Music fans, at least the important ones (the ones that go to gigs and buy merchandise) are still interested in giving back more to their favourite artists. It’s clear to see this by looking at the growth of vinyl albums sales and less apparent, but equally important in merchandise sales. Merchandise is not just a t-shirt or a poster. Ed Sheeran’s mum designed a wristband and it’s now one of Ed’s biggest selling merch item at £25 each. Is it worth £25? You can probably buy something similar on Camden market for a quid but it connects you to the artist. Fans support their artists and buy in to everything they do. So, do you just want a play of your song (on SoundCloud for example) or the contact details of a fan, in exchange for a play of a new song?

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So instead of releasing everything “straight to DVD” think about staged releases of material - first to the super-fans and through an app that knows who’s listening – Don’t count your wealth in the number of “Views” or “Likes”. It won’t work out well.

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#Sales #Discovery #Market #Social