Streaming isn’t going anywhere… But something’s gotta change…

This week I had the pleasure of speaking to a class of 11 to 13 years olds about the music business. I asked the kids how important is it for them to own music. They all replied that it wasn’t important to them. They also laughed at the fact that there was a time that they had to buy music. I was told that if they wanted a song, they’re perfectly fine with streaming it or downloading it free. I know one thing; the business ain’t what it used to be. But what stays the same? Things have changed drastically. The way people see music has changed. When I was old enough to buy a CD player, cassette tapes were still being sold. The only way to really enjoy music you liked was to buy it. You could get a bootleg of it but if you really liked an artist, you really wanted to see the liner notes, read the “thank you” messages… stuff like that.

What happened? When mixtapes (CD), Napster and Limewire came into picture it became easier than ever to get the music you wanted for free. A new mixtape from a popular New York DJ drops with all the new bangers, download that. New album drops, go to Limewire and get it… Free. For me, I bought so many CDs that I grew a pretty mean collection. I’m also guilty of stealing music. I think we all have, but when did music start to lose its value? I’m not 100% sure but when Napster came around, instead of the music industry figuring out a way to work with the system that would eventually bring it to its knees, it fought against it. What the big wigs at the big 5 (Labels) should have tried to do is innovate but the Internet was changing too fast. It wasn’t about Napster it was about the evolution of the Internet.

After it got so easy to get music for free, the music business started to bleed out and sales have been declining since (Physical albums). What could have stopped the bleeding? Innovation. If things were put in place to innovate the concept of “The Album”, it’s a great chance the industry would be in a different position right now. Then iTunes came along and things really got crazy. The consumer could now buy songs they wanted from a body of work without buying the entire album. This is funny to me because I couldn’t imagine some of my favorite albums without hearing it in its entirety. Yes, some albums have that one song (or two) that you could live without, but I wouldn’t know for sure if I haven’t heard it all. When I hear albums, (if arranged properly) it makes me understand why each song belongs, as long as the song isn’t trash.

Streaming is the next big “frienemy” of the Music Industry. Taylor Swift and her label, Big Machine pulled her entire catalog from Spotify recently. A number of established artists are speaking against Spotify because of their low payouts. Actually, the artists on my label get less of a take than Taylor would on Spotify because bigger artists get to negotiate payouts. We don’t… yet. Personally, I think independent artists should have their music on Spotify. It’s about discovery. Imagine someone finding about your music and they’re on Spotify, and your music isn’t there? We’ll they’ll probably check YouTube first but still, you got to have your music in the places people are. Once you’re selling out stadiums, you pulling your music from a service like Spotify won’t hurt the bottom line. Whatever Swift and Co. reason was of pulling from Spotify, I’m sure it’s a good reason… For them.

I’m interested in not only being successful in this industry, but also innovating. I think what the game needs is more albums that offer experiences. Owning music should give you bragging rights. Putting the focus back in delivering a piece of art that has the feeling of worth. There are experiences that happen in music now, but only a small few pull it off. It’s time to take it a step further. I have plenty ideas on how to do this but instead of talking about it, I’d rather show you. The experience that I had opening up a jewel case when a new Jay Z album dropped could never be duplicated. I want the next generation to experience something similar. Music is art and should be treated as such.