Computers and Blues
When music and computers come together, interesting stuff happens. When I was a kid, I'd imagine that my entire record collection was a bunch of digital files that I could access from any computer. I thought we'd all own huge file servers full of our music. I got it sort of right. I missed the cloud and streaming thing. But I've been thinking of what can happen when computers and music come together for a long time, at least 45 years, and I've been writing about this passion of mine since I started blogging in the fall of 2003.
Last month I posted a rant called Anatomy Of A Pirate in which I detailed my efforts to buy a record called Computers and Blues by The Streets. It was a healthy conversation (450 comments) and a fair bit of hating and loving on Twitter too.
I guess the record company in question saw the post because I got this email yesterday (name of sender withheld by request):
Since you're a fan, I wanted you to know The Streets' Computers and Blues will be released digitally next week by Rhino Records here in the US.It's frustrating when albums don't have coordinated/shared international release dates - especially at digital retail - but it's not always that simple. Label repertoires can vary greatly by territory; oftentimes there are different rights holders/distributors depending on where the title is released.In this case, Atlantic Records US is not the repertoire owner. The Streets are not on Atlantic's roster and Atlantic wasn't scheduled to release Computers and Blues. (As a fan, I personally badgered my contacts for months trying to get information on the project.)Rhino Records and the Warner Music UK int'l team worked ridiculously fast to gain the clearances necessary to schedule this title to US digital partners, including the publishing approvals that are typically out of our hands. I know it seems like another example of the recorded music industry dropping the ball, a lot of hard work went into getting this release approved for US release, and quickly.
That's really useful information and I wanted to add it to the debate. I'd like to thank the teams at Rhino and Warner who got this record out in the US quickly.
I also immediately went to iTunes and pre-ordered the mp3s to purchase a bunch of files I've had for just over a month now. You can do that too if you'd like. The files will be available for legal download on March 15th (tuesday of course, why is it always Tuesday?).
Like Mike Skinner sings on Without Thinking (1.25 in), when it comes to music "I have to think I'm a thief and plan it on my own." I'm not happy about that and I'd really like the people in the music business to figure out how to release music all over the world at the same time. When computers and computers come together, things need to change and this is one of them.
Comments (Archived):
You are right. Just too many people and layers between the group and audience.
So true. Glad some labels are listening. Last sentence: computers and computers?
let’s guess:Computers and Xx = creativesx = musicreplace and X with nothing?”computers come together” sounds about right
This will be solved when bands stop selling the rights to their work to labels. Then the artists will dictate these things.But those upfront payments are tempting.
yup
As a kid you imagined digital music and networked computers!–sheesh! **geek alert** **geek alert**We were all busy imagining being super spys, slaying dragons and getting it on with the gorgeous princess.Woulda thought you would have turned into the rock and roll party animal you are today.
i wear the geek label proudly
We all do! It’s a badge of honour.
These layered distribution rights antics are reflective of the old models of physical distribution designed to spread the financial tolls along the way.Same thing for the book industry where the author sells rights differently in different parts of the world, because rights holders are traditionally the distribution choke points.Books are music are bits and Yes,- their value chains must become entirely frictionless by embracing the digital value chain.
If they want to reduce piracy, yup. Let people buy when they’re most excited and want it once its available in whatever form exists – free or pay.And yes, some people will still put it online for people to download but if you know iTunes has it and you want it quickly, then you can go there – and if it’s not there then I’m sure people will check the interweb next….
Tangentially, this is a key to why Apple does well in consumer electronics and their competitors don’t. Apple products exist in rumor and innuendo all the way until the announcement. But after the announcement they’re available for pre-order immediately and often ship within a week. They build the anticipation and then capture the rewards at the height of it. Jobs is a genius for that and I’m surprised no one else has copied it.
The others exist in cumbersome land. On the Apple side, they seem to have done another big move. Name the game with iPad1 and let the competitors go nuts trying to counter move. Do a few (expected) additions bringing the iPad2 to market at a price that beats the competitor’s pricing. How fast can the competition do the next counter move?And Apple(?) is the one getting press coverage regarding their lower price.
Pricing is the real thing here. They have, even with the Apple Tax, produced a tablet that is cheaper than the competition that is known for being cheaper than Apple. Irony run amok.
This may affect pricings over the next 2 yrs. for multiples compared to where they would be…if not for this move.Also, if they have already purchased a lot of material for production (1-2+ yrs. worth), they have advantage over others. Sort of like the farmer that filled his big tank back in earlier February…. for any fellow hicks like myself out there….;D
Yup. iTunes is a microcosm of how the entire music industry should be distributing their products.
It’s really great that they sent this and you posted it. I think we’re all a little too quick to dismiss middlemen simply “because of the internet”. This band COULD put all of their files up on their website and just sell them. Everyone knows that. But THEY DON’T.So there obviously must be some value that the middlemen are providing. I’m sure as fans of music, we all have our bias of how they could be doing it better, just as I’m sure the bands have different biases of how the middlemen could do a better job. I’m sure the middlemen would like to have different hurdles and opportunities as well….and I’m 1000% sure that the best middlemen in the long run will be the ones that disrupt and provide the most value in the chain—human or not.In summary: I think it’s always important to recognize that that in voluntary transactions, all parties are acting rationally—despite what it looks like to you from the outside.
Middlemen pay artists up front.
Yep. value #1
current markets are oligopolist, the best solution does not always win and incumbents are often so entrenched that there is no real alternative. what you are saying is more applicable in free markets which we do not have.
FYI, the Tuesday thing is a holdover from the days of physical distribution and sales tracking & charting. Week starts on Monday, shipments arrive, get stocked into shelves on Monday after close of business, sales start Tuesday first thing, track sales and report for the week the following Monday. Rinse and repeat…Antiquated and silly but the dinosaurs like their structure.
Computers? Digital files? When you were a kid?Are you kidding?I’m 54, (I assume you’re about that – maybe a few years short) but when I was a kid, the only digits and files I knew anything about were the files my mom and sister used to manicure their nails – at the end of their digits.And the only computing I was interested in was figuring out if my 25 cents allowance was enough for a pop and candy bar at the Palace Theater Saturday matinee – downtown Winchester VA. (Three cartoons, a feature movie, and a prize drawing at intermission – don’t lose that ticket son)BTW, I got in the movies with 10 RC Cola bottle caps. And yes, I won a ping-pong set one glorious Saturday afternoon when I was just 8 yrs old – only had to wait 5 more years till dad saved enough to by the table.Good times.
Thanks for sharing that story. Made me smile. 🙂
when i was a teenager i’d go down to the computer center at West Point and program the mainframes. that, it turns out, was the formative experience of my business career
there were some early “kits” that got me started which I managed to get to Mexico where i grew up here:http://www.computermuseum.l…and here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wik…
I grew up in Lincoln MA. Ken Olsen from DEC lived in Lincoln.My high school got a PDP11/70 (I believe it was free to the school district). This was in 1978 or so. That was the start of my geekiness.http://en.wikipedia.org/wik…
you were at it before me jerry
One can only wonder what did you do with your allowance.No Batman cards for you I bet.
My guess is he saved up to buy nice shoes.
You got really lucky that way. And I am sure there are some interesting stories to tell about the computer mainframe at west point.
Maybe the computer mainframe zapped him with some kind of electricity which transferred all of the universes’ information into his brain, thus letting him see the future and guiding him to where he is now………Who’d like to see a made-into-a-movie version of this featuring Fred? We’d have to scout for a younger version of Fred though.
Some of us were out playing in the woods.
You’ve got about 4-5 years on Fred, but I was also pretty struck by the fact that he was acutely aware of computers when for most of us within a similar age range this would have been in the context of sci fi. A jukebox seemed pretty fascinating and high tech to me as a kid!However, even 4-5 years in tech can represent eons of change.I think my love of “change” is a large part of what has drawn me toward the tech world.It’s like an all-you-can-eat-buffet of change.
At least a little resolution to that firey thread.When it comes to music distribution, record companies and how profits are shared, I keep coming back to the same thought that the recording industry as we know, and have come to accept it, is barely 50 years old; against the backdrop and form of music that has existed since the beginning of man.Working towards a better solution for artists, consumers, and middlemen is essential; getting angry and vicious about a profit-making mechanism is myopic. The answer to all this in my mind, in some form or other, will be an inevitable return to roots; live music and shared experiences around rhythm. While the internet and digital communities can (and are) facilitate this, at the end of the day nothing can replace the visceral human quotient of sharing music together; somewhere therein is the answer we will eventually stumble upon.Bill Hicks has some great things to say about all this; http://www.youtube.com/watc…
Since it is Friday, might as well add the close link from that video from the master.http://www.youtube.com/watc…I should have posted this one during the marketing fight from a couple weeks back, ’cause in the end, it is who can best market bullshit.
Why albums are released on Tuesdays: http://www.npr.org/blogs/th…Exec Summary: Inertia
yeah, i know. but i had to say that just to show my exasperation with the system
You know, someone could make big money by releasing on Monday
Or just release online and keep more profits.
RE: Distribution; Tunecore already has the pipe. They also have a ton of data on sales patterns. Might be interesting to see them choose a few more well known artists, offer upfront payments in exchange for exclusives. At least you wouldn’t have trouble “finding” it for sale.
Not just music – movies and TV shows, too. It’s such an obvious and simple way to tackle piracy. It wouldn’t eradicate it completely, of course, but it would make a huge difference.People don’t like to wait. End of.
Anytime you have gatekeepers who add no value but are just there cuz they have managed it for so long you have to say “stick it to the gatekeepers”.Be it the music industry or the financial services industry does not matter, gatekeepers are there to sustain themselves.When I read about “a lot of hard work went into getting this release approved for US release, and quickly” I am just flummoxed, these folks did not create the content just pushing documents back and forth mulling over who gets what percentage of revenue is not hard work really. Hard work is the creative process of making music etc. Damn gate keepers of the world you don’t create anything but decide who gets when and how one gets much of anything.I remember hearing one time a VC saying they don’t like to invest in ventures where there are gatekeepers and I am guessing USV is one of them as well not investing in anything related to music even if it was something you have dreamed about for years.
we are most definitely one of them
Friction creates higher costs and lower profit on both sides of what becomes an incredibly bloated equation very quickly. You want cheaper goods and more profits all at once? Remove the friction.
yes but you are a Gatekeeper, all you have is Friction and thats how you sustain your job as CIO and manger of many in the enterprise that hold on to their fiefdoms with multiple acronyms to certify their friction is valid.Thats just human nature for most folks, get something and hold on to it and become gatekeepers. That is why I could not work in an enterprise environment even just as a consultant and walked out.Though many still say I was stupid giving up a cushy job and lifestyle of farting and collecting being a gatekeeper.How you get rid of friction is something enterprises strive to avoid.
That’s true and what I was saying, remove the friction (gatekeeper) and costs go down for the customer and profits go up for the business. It’s win-win and it’s also ties in to Fred’s post a while back about ‘bridge technologies’. Gatekeepers are just the human version of ‘bridge technologies’, they shouldn’t be permanent and those that are have either found a way to pivot, or are unnaturally keeping their customers trapped inside of their created economy.
Whoops. I thought you said new Stokes (not Streets). Duh, losing…
too much sxsw partying?
Ha. Not yet. Leave tomorrow. Coming for Bigboi or what?
no, maybe they’ll stream it live on boxee?
Certain they’ll be a vid(s) of it.
HP should license Boxee, deploy it on a Internet ready TV running webOS, then they can build partnerships with content providers. Developers will build applications on WebOS as it is the best platform to build on — whats not to like about Javascript and HTML 5.But alas it is not how HP would see it. After all they don’t see themselves competing with Apple.Any technology vendor who is happily ensconced in the enterprise space ( gate keepers galore) will never look at such things. Consumer focussed products and services have fewer gate keepers and eventually enterprises are forced to use them to communicate with their customers — like Twitter or Facebook, Skype etc.Glad USV sees it wise not to invest in gatekeeper based products/services.
Just had a similar conversation with a friend yesterday – so true.
Back on Anatomy of a Pirate, sounds to me like you might need to spring for a better home stereo. If you had one you would want to be buying CDs and ripping them into a lossless format.
i stream everything to be honesti only buy the files as a way to pay the artists
I think record labels have forgotten to market THEMSELVES.Remember when Atlantic Records was such a powerful name – you may not know the artist on that 7in – but you knew it would be good. Atlantic Records had a “sound”…that’s what you were buying.Larger labels should focus on 100’s of smaller imprints and build value around each individual imprint – therefore bringing added value to each artist the imprint signs.
I just love how hard they had to work! I can imagine many meetings telephone calls, transatlantic flights etc etc for something that should be just a few mouse clicks 🙂
If commercial radio (AM/FM or satellite delivered to captured listeners in cars) ever dies, would record labels lose their ability to bargain with artists? Radio and video promotion seem to me to be the biggest value that labels provide.Obviously it would be smart for record labels and radio stations to work with car manufacturers to make sure that internet-connected cars stream their stations/artists. But I don’t see that system being closed for long.It’s an exciting world.
Ok, this raises another question. I think, even today, that we’re still primarily radio listeners- we’re just listening to pandora instead of the radio as we know of it. Can pandora launch a band? Can they start sticking into streams (at a price) to launch someone?
Most people don’t want to steal anything. Most people are consumers though, and increasingly expect to be able to have whatever they want when they want. This is especially true of digital media I think, as the iPod, etc., have made personal choice constant. I am sure that it is easy to over-simplify all the legal BS associated with the licensing rights, etc., to get this stuff out … but, they’ve got to figure it out. When they do they will make more money. That is the part that I don’t get — and, it seems, they don’t either.
OLD INFRASTRUCTURE TOO BLOATED TO SURVIVE ON SMALLER PROFIT OF DIGITAL SALES.THEM NOT FIGHTING BECAUSE THEM STUPID. THEM FIGHTING BECAUSE ONLY LIFEBOAT TO FUTURE NOT BIG ENOUGH FOR THEM.
good point
If I ever release a ‘business’ book, I’d love to have a chapter including some of your quotes Mr. Dinosaur..
ME, GRIMLOCK, REQUIRE BIG FEE FOR EACH QUOTE. IT PAYABLE IN BEER AND BACON.DRIVE BEER TANKER AND BACON TRUCK TO HOUSE, US NEGOTIATE. ‘<
Sort of off topic, but what other rappers do you enjoy?
old skool: wu tang, dre, big l, de la soulnew skool: wiz, chiddy, lupebig time: kanye, jayz
MUSIC INDUSTRY OBSOLETE SCAFFOLDING THAT REFUSE TO BE TORN DOWN NOW THAT BUILDING US ALWAYS DREAM OF FINALLY BUILT.IT ANNOYING, BUT ULTIMATELY NOT MATTER.EACH ARTIST, MUSIC OR OTHERWISE, THAT USE INTERNET TO KEEP ALL RIGHTS FOR SELF, SELL DIRECTLY TO FANS, ONE MORE BRICK OUT OF DAM HOLDING BACK FUTURE.SUPPORT FUTURE BY SEEK OUT NEW THINGS DONE RIGHT WAY, BUY THEM, TELL OTHERS.
STARTUPS NOT NEED BIG UPFRONT $ NOW, BANDS NOT EITHER. THIS DISRUPT WHOLE ECOSYSTEM FOR BETTER.ONLY DIFFERENCE AM THERE NO ANGEL ECOSYSTEM FOR BANDS YET. MAYBE THAT NOT EVEN NECESSARY.
You’re close FG, but to do the get out in the public face, decent equipment is essential. Some below wondering about the radio are just not quite seeing what will be available in the short term.There are outlets you can put yourself on and broadcast worldwide. If you had someone who did a service that placed a “What’s Hot” based on number of times asked for, you would start a trend allowing the smaller names to get heard. Though some of the data used would be based on bullshit, you would still have a foundation to do something music lovers would love.Better yet, not categorize styles all over the place. That in the long run would promote creativity that, sad to say, is lacking no matter how you want to say it ain’t so.
GET ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE FREE. THAT GET FANS.FANS PAY TO SEE LIVE PERFORMANCE.THAT PAY FOR UPGRADE STUFF. GOTO 10.ONLY CATEGORY THAT MATTER AM WHICH HUMANS ARE FANS. EVERYTHING ORGANIZE SELF FROM THERE.
You’re getting there:GET ON TWITTER, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE FREE. THAT GET FANS-People do this already. Trick is to establish a forum that maybe has some celebrity involvement and plays current submissions that have the ‘it’ factor, give and take and so on. This is how a group doesn’t have to do the give blood in Nashville routine. The phones, tabs and teley’s translating into automobiles will be able to pick this up. Regarding what I’m doing, the listener would be able to ask for something that would deliver a group name/style/submission date and so on with results being delivered in a back and forth…. FANS PAY TO SEE LIVE PERFORMANCE-Yes they do, but the forum mentioned above widens exposure and for that matter could receive live stuff so a person driving or younger ladies @ a sleepover could watch what’s hot live…for in the end, you want to sell units establishing image/fan base and intellectual property. THAT PAY FOR UPGRADE STUFF. GOTO 10.-Playing bar gigs only pays so much…moving up to the weddings/conventions takes time and then you’re probably going thru group member changes and so on. Trust me, doing the convention stuff on the road and you truly can’t hear the guys on the other side of the stage is kind of a drag.ONLY CATEGORY THAT MATTER AM WHICH HUMANS ARE FANS. EVERYTHING ORGANIZE SELF FROM THERE-As I say often…ACCELERATE!!!! The stuff you mention is not accelerating things and acceleration is what we need to produce something worthwhile ;D
OLD THINK ONLY GET IN WAY OF NEW THINK.PLAY AT WEDDINGS, CONVENTIONS OLD THINK.IT LIKE STARTUP. BUILD ON OWN CHEAP, SELL STRAIGHT TO EARLY ADOPTERS, SPREAD THROUGH INTERNET.TOOLS ALREADY THERE. ONLY INERTIA HOLD IT BACK.
Good point my oversized robot friend with accomplished AGI… my talking of the ’80s wedding guitar player and so forth is old school, yet many fall into that.Just a matter of moving the ball…
INERTIA ON ALL SIDES. ARTISTS AND CONSUMERS BOTH NEED TO LEARN.
The FAKEGRIMLOCK band will surely be a hit.
You are good at closure, Fred.
I’m still baffled that the music industry has had 15 years to adapt to the new digital value chain, but still is battling with counter currents to embracing it.
Entertainment companies like this day of the week. DVDs are also typically released on Tuesdays, presumably because sales figures are released on Monday so they have the most amount of time to sell a new title before the next report comes out. Makes their weekly sales numbers look better.I found this explanation on Yahoo Answers: http://answers.yahoo.com/qu…
Things sure need to change. But looks like you have a megaphone of a blog. 🙂
-“I’m not happy about that and I’d really like the people in the music business to figure out how to release music all over the world at the same time. When computers and computers come together, things need to change and this is one of them.”It’s easier said than done. Change is not something that can be done over a day. Also, if they’ll be releasing music all over the world at the same time then it would remove the sense of competitiveness of those who wants to always be the “first” in everything (first to be updated, first to have a copy of such song, etc). This will also directly affect the economy of the music industry as well one way they generate bigger profits is by placing extra charges to those who wants to receive their products (in this case songs, albums) first.
What sort of music were you playing? Can you post a link to a sample of it here?
Nowadays, bands would be better served distributing themselves (tunecore, bandcamp, amzn) and hiring a good PR agency.Good PR, then good booking agency. Tour, tour tour.
Chances are their contract does prohibit using alternative means of distribution. And for that, and many other reasons, I completely disagree with Andy about the importance of middlemen. Yes, people are signing up for these deals voluntarily but the net value is after all things are considered is probably less than the artist initially perceived. We’ve all bought a product that doesn’t live up to its expectations.This is clearly the case where the middleman is acting more like a bottleneck than a market maker in this instance. The band signed with the the label to provide support in some areas, but now the label is standing in the way of sales through critical channels.Middlemen, by their very nature, represent a temporary plug for an inefficiency a the market. Most times they become obsolete when two things happen, 1. They are replaced with technology that does they same job they used to do and 2. Both parties on either side of the middleman have access to the same information that only the middleman once did.
kind of interesting: maybe there is more of a need for middlemen now because of curation issues
Then they should not sign them.But at the end of the day if you offer a band made up of a few kids who work as baristas making $8/hour several years of their current salary up front they are likely to take it.It’s a great offer if your band goes nowhere (as most do).It’s a terrible offer if your band does well but does not get huge.It’s an OK offer if you become a superstar.
I listened to some of it before you took it down. It wasn’t bad.
Charlie, it is hard to post up something from a ways back, since no matter what, you know how you’d have played that track different.Make you a deal, post something and I’ll post something of mine that is embarrasing for me due to my back up vocal going flat… otherwise, you right about the system.
Makes me think of Tumblr blogs. Very nuanced curation based on a very specific personality which will have a wonderful overall quality to it for certain individuals, relating to at least a few nuances that it could encompass.
I’m surrounded by musicians — most independent, a few on label.I think most of them would stay independent if they didn’t need the marketing and booking support or the up-front income. Those who depend on a band have to “make payroll” in order to keep the players committed. They really do resemble a small business — actually, some of them ARE a small business.But it is interesting that there is much less anxiety among this group about whether they get a distribution deal than there was 5 – 10 years ago.
Great location Charlie. Live music and brewers nearby, my 20 year old paradise :). I still love a great show.
interesting