2009 was a year of retrenchment in the music industry. But at least it felt as if we were retrenching to somewhere rather than just participating in music's death march. Just before the start of the year, I wrote "3 Trends, 13 Companies & 1 Wild Card To Watch In 2009" on the MidemNet blog. In retrospect, I'm reasonably satisfied with the trends I picked for 2009:
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DEMOCRATIZATION - Giving entrepreneurs, artists and even fans the tools to compete with the major labels and mass media.
- DATA - Gathering and crunching actionable date. As you explore all of these new avenues for music discovery, what is working? How do you break a band in 2009?
- MONETIZATION - If you can't make money at it, you probably can't keep doing it. But how do you monetize music in a down economy?
How did I do with my other 2009 picks?
(Hint: at least one isn't even in business.) Take a look back with me at my predictions for 2009 and share your predictions for 2010 on the MidemNet blog.
