There Is No New Business Model For Music?

from the say-what-now? dept

Nick Fitzsimons points us to a blog post by journalist/musician Rhodri Marsden complaining about everyone who keeps telling the music industry it needs to "find a new business model." According to Marsden, the people who say this do so without ever suggesting what that alternative business model might be. That is totally wrong, of course. It may be true of some, but plenty of us have spent years and years not just the explaining how such new business models work, but showing example after example after example after example of it working in practice. So, I'm sorry, but I find it rather silly to claim that such business models don't exist or that those of us who "smugly" claim the industry needs to find a new business model never suggest any.

Marsden then notes: "The fact that we're sitting here watching the music industry rapidly decline is a fairly big hint that no such model exists." But, of course, he's wrong about that as well. The music industry hasn't been rapidly declining at all. Every single aspect of the business is way up -- except for the part that's about selling plastic discs. The plastic discs with music on them business is in decline, but that's not "the music business." More music is being produced today than ever before in history. More people are making money from music today than ever before in history. The concert business has been setting records every year, despite the supposed "decline" in the industry. Even instrument sales have been going up. Sales of devices to listen to music, such as iPods, continue to rise as well. Basically every single part of the music business is doing fantastically well -- record levels -- except for the business of selling plastic discs.

So, sorry Mr. Marsden, but it very much is a business model problem. And, yes, there are tons of business models that work -- and many, many folks have been both laying out the fundamentals of those business models, as well as making them work. That you want to ignore them and pretend they don't exist or don't work is your problem, but don't claim that it's not happening. Open your eyes and look around at what's actually happening.

Filed Under: business models, music, rhodri marsden