the value of music

14 Jan, 2009 • posts i've written • No comments

I want to write for your blog. Gratis. But you have to give me a great question or profound thought to ponder. Like Tom Williams did. Tom runs Hit Singularity where he writes about the intersection of music, business, and technology. Tom asked me to contemplate the value and price of music today.

The industry loves to blame the digital format and piracy for the erosion of their business. And as long as they do, they’ll continue to go the way of the dinosaur – and good riddance. Simply put, music is less culturally relevant today than it was in the 1950’s. Bob Dylan won’t be reincarnated. That popularity with that cultural message doesn’t happen anymore. Why? Well, for one, the industry today doesn’t think like John Hammond did. They aren’t looking for Dylans. Moreover, today’s mainstream is an emaciated corpse of its former self. Our interests and musical genres themselves have splintered. The industry saw demand slipping so they raised the cost of the concert ticket. They hope to sell the song for nothing so you’ll hear the band and want to pay the $50 to see them live. They practically asked for their own irrelevance.

Read the full post here.