Why Data Is The Future Of The Music Business
Video: Topspin's Ian Rogers On Direct To Fan Data
This video is months old, but I was struck by how clearly and succinctly it makes the case for direct to fan sales, data gathering and analytics. While Ian's lens is clearly Topspin, the concepts are damn near universal.
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The “Future of music” is the music. Tools no matter how beneficial might allow for an increase in profits, but in the end it must be about the long term artistic viability of the music itself, music is an art which we are increasingly treating as a disposable product and in the process doing it enormous harm.
Amen, Jean Renard! Couldn’t have said it better. Remember a few years ago when it was all about “subscription” and making those “true” fans sign up for more? If we approach music as selling only, then yes, these might be our “future”. But none actually deal with the changing (or not) role of music in our culture, and how as artists and purveyors of art we must focus on that first.
I know that artists are not going to want to hear this, but the only people that shape the way music is consumed and treated is the fans. The individual artist and musician cannot shape the way consumers listen to, buy or otherwise experience music, only the listeners can.
In the future, if artists, bands and labels, whatever level they are at, do not start paying attention to and understanding who there audiences are, where they hang out, and where they are moving to, then even the greatest music of tomorrow will be playing to empty rooms, its as simple as that.
I’d like to add my 2c to Simon’s thoughts on this.
1) Of course the fans have always been a part of the equation but now, with social media and the open communication it provides they have entered the picture in a big way and will not be exiting the frame for a long while. For that reason alone I think that the whole industry value chain would have to accomodate their way of thinking towards making sure that the fans’ views are taken into consideration in their decision making at some point or the other.
2) Basically how I see this evolving is that nowadays there’s too much potential time-sinks for artists to loose their focus on. In this context meaning social media marketing and all the direct-to-fan brouhaha. And that’s potentially just the thing that is separating the artists from the art. I’m my view you have to go hyper-local and direct your mandatory social media and fan relations to the places where it matters the most and have the biggest potential effect. Nowadays the artists need to know where their fans are to cut their time-spend on the marketing efforts specifically to the places where it matters the most – even if not for any other sake than to cut themselves a bigger part of their day to really make the things that justify their being artists and what ultimately makes the fans tick, aka. the actual art.