Why The Music Industry Has No 10-Year Plan

Vijay Nair is a TED Fellow and band manager. In an interview on the TED blog, Nair was asked where he thought the music industry in India is going next. He replied that didn't have any idea—no one does. After, he noted that at some point in 1997, some record executive made a 10-year plan, having no clue what was to come. From the MP3 file to the iPod, everything changed. He rightfully says that there disruptive technologies being made right now that we have absolutely no clue about.

The future of the music industry is about being flexible and planning for the next one to two years. His words are a great reminder. Cultural shifts happen fast. The future isn't obvious to us. The next ten years in the music industry will be even more exciting. Even if the sky falls, we can rebuild it. Disruption doesn't stop.

"I keep thinking that in 1997 some record label executive somewhere made a 10-year plan. He didn’t know some kid was out there making an MP3 file. And that changed his entire world. And then came iTunes and the iPod and things keep coming, and it changes. You have to look at the immediate one year or two year plan, and that’s all that you can afford to do, if you’re being realistic. There are disruptive technologies being developed right now, which we have absolutely no clue about. And it’s going to happen whether we like it or not. So just keep it flexible and see where it goes." (Read on.)