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10 Issues Facing The Music Industry

THE BEST OF HYPEBOT: WHAT ISSUES NEED TO BE CONFRONTED? Here, in no particular order, are what I believe to be the Top 10 issues shaping Music 2.0.  How they. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2008/08/10-issue-facing.html]

,   and  Bruce Houghton
THE BEST OF HYPEBOT:


WHAT ISSUES NEED TO BE CONFRONTED?

Here, in no particular order, are what I believe to be the Top 10 issues shaping Music 2.0.  How they develop will determine what the music industry looks in 5 or 10 years. Ignore them at you peril.

  1. THE DEATH OF THE ALBUM – Individual track downloads are killing the album market and the revenue that it once created. Can the album be saved? Should artists release in 1 to 3 track clusters?
  2. MUSIC TAXES – Is "taxing" music at the device and/or ISP level the answer? Or are these taxes unfair and further erode consumer trust?
  3. MUSIC AS A SERVICE – We used to call music "product".  Did the pendulum swing to far in that direction? Or is music a service – subscriptions, "Comes With Music", optional ISP licensing?
  4. MOBILE – Will more and more music be bought an enjoyed via mobile devices? How does that effect the music?
  5. NEW REVENUE SOURCES – From YouTube to imeem and We7 to Nokia, revenue is being generated everywhere. Who will be sending big checks to labels in 5 years and how will that revenue be distributed?
  6. NO ONE BUSINESS MODEL – It used to be that record labels made money selling records and bands made money live.  Is the future more varied: NIN, Radiohead, 360 deals, and partnerships with brands?
  7. 1000 TRUE FANS – Whether you need a thousand, 10,000 or even 100,000 true fans, how do you find, service and monetize a fan base?
  8. THE RISE OF THE MUSICAL MIDDLE CLASS – Do fractured media and short attention spans mean the superstar is dead? What new companies will rise to service and profit from a growing middle class of musicians with fewer fans but longer careers?
  9. THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF MUSIC DISCOVERY – Once DJ’s told us what to like. Now our friends do or we discover it ourselves and share the news.  How does that change how music is marketed?
  10. THE POWER OF LIVE – Is performing more important than ever? You can’t copy it and it’s a great place to build community and sell stuff. Or is that a music 1.0 notion and Twitter the new barstool?

Is there a number 11?

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