Its been a while since we updated this blog. That is not because there is a lack of news in the music industry! Far from it! However it is simply because we have been pulled in different directions by the industry itself. At the moment there any tons of opportunities to make money and pursue new audiences in the music and sound sectors. Indeed the creative industry sector is expected to grow over the next 5 years, and that despite the global economic downturn. 

Does this mean the times are good for everyone or even that the money you can potentially make from your ‘art’ and skills is of a high volume? Well lets tackle those two questions.

Times are clearly not good for everyone in the creative sector. As we know large record labels are failing, indeed they have been for sometime. However the recession is accelerating the rate at which their old business model is dying out. This is due to a number of factos such as:

• People having less money on non essential purchases, such as music
• When they do want to buy music, they want it for less (same with films, see the crash in DVD prices!)
• Other industries which might have utilised music as part of their model, and hence are a customer of the music industry’s are trying to pay less, as they are making less. Ad funded websites for example.
• Recessions are time when people invest in new businesses with new models, and the record labels do not represent this sector of business.
• Some of the record label’s mother companies, which might have once absorbed their losses for strategic reasons are themselves losing money. Sony for example. Hence that puts more strain on any part of the overall business which is shrinking or failing, the music part for example. 

For sometime we have been used to music and advertising working together. In many ways, its never been subtle, from the famous Pepsi style ads, to HIp Hop acts wearing branded goods such as Nike and Reebok.

However, its never become a point of standard practise. Mainly because not all acts or all songs reach a large enough or relevant enough audience. Additionally, what with the economy being so tough at present, advertisers demand stats and feedback to deomstrate the bang they get for their buck.

A few years back, Sting’s video for Desert Rose was doubled up as the advert for a Jaguar. It was still subtle enough (in contrast to a pepsi ad) to fit around the narrative of the video but had enough shots of the car so that it could be used in a shortened form for tv and cinema adverts.

With everyone, reaching out and grasping new income models will the idea of advertiser driven content raise its head? We are already seeing how much of the tv industry is supplementing its income due to a market that has gone through huge amounts of fragmentation, and due to advert slots themselves being less effective partially attributed to the tivo style technologies that now exist. 

Shows are either being commissioned by sponsors or prexisting shows are being touted to possible sponsors who may like the concept and see a fit with their product or message.

Why not the same with music? I’m not only suggesting this for individual tracks or artists. Why not apply this approach to the great untapped ‘brand’ of the label itself? Labels have never understood brand. Even though they take great pride in their LABEL, apart from the DefJams or specialist jazz labels of this world, the ‘label’ has rarely stood for anything in the minds of the consumer. Consumers, for the large part, did not buy this or that album because it was on Universal or EMI. They followed the act.

However, if the labels can actually come up with identities (you could call them labels!) which have a very strong focus, and start to sell them as ‘channels’ being targeted at specific target groups- why then they might find that they have a platform which advertisers will want to embrace. This would help create targeted income on Utube Channels, physical product, tv slots. One can even see opportunities with regard to how their music is ‘presented’ on platforms such as Itunes, Amazon or the new mobile ‘unlimited’ music services.

Of course this could have a cynical affect on the music. However, it shouldn’t. After all, record labels have always pushed music that was appealing to an audience. Without doing that, it would not sell and hence not be supported by the label. All we are doing here is doing it in a more coordinated way and making sure the record company’s own label really means something.

We have already seen how music shows on tv are being snapped up by sponsors and ad agencies the world over. Now is the time to take that trend and make it apply to music in general and not just American idol and its copycat shows.