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Mutiny For Record Labels
Music piracy is rife, we keep hearing. Music piracy costs record companies millions, we keep hearing. Music piracy stifles musical success for numerous artists, we keep hearing. Where does all this come from?
Agreed, piracy does play a major part of record sales nowadays – but in many ways this was an inevitable result of the expansion of the Internet – its place in history assured as the least controlled and censored medium. Anyone will do anything for a quick gain, so record companies, seeing the Internet explosion over the last decade or so, should have seen this coming.
Only now, have labels started to fight back. And even when they do this, it’s with the mentality of ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’. Universal, the world’s biggest musical behemoth, it has been reported today, has struck a deal with a web-site offering free music downloads, and exploiting the advertising opportunities on the web. This move seems like the first step on the path to controlling piracy, and it’s a wonder no other company has tried it before.
Surely, companies could have deduced that the opportunity of offering free music could be a powerful marketing tool, especially when they are harbouring exciting new talent waiting for a big break. Myspace goes to show how this can be a success. Artists such as the Arctic Monkeys, have achieved their success largely through word of mouth, instigated by offering their music for free at gigs, or on their website.
If anything, Myspace and the Internet revolution has gone some way to suggesting that record companies are no longer important in the marketing process. I could record my own music, set up my own web page and have my music at the fingertips of potentially millions of fans, in a matter of minutes.
So record labels are finally sensing that their death knell is being sounded, and it is only now that companies are trying to harness this potential for their own benefit. By setting up sites for free downloading, they can offer their artists’ music, and provide, obviously greater marketing opportunities, which potentially puts them back in the driving seat.
- Mutiny For Record Labels
- Written by: Andrew Boyers
- Published on: 19 Sep 2006
- Comments: 0
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Add to favouritesFree music downloads, in my opinion, offer so many opportunities for both artists and fans alike. For us music lovers, we can sample the delights of artists for free – without the risk of spending our hard-earned cash on a dud. Not only that – free music downloading and sharing gives us so much more choice and scope for enjoyment. If music is easy to produce and free to market, then more and more artists will be encouraged to make music, giving us variation, choice, and ultimately better quality music to listen to.
For artists, it offers a massive platform on which to build upon. By doing this so well, the Arctic Monkeys quickly mobilised a dedicated fan base, ensuring the massive success of their releases and live performances, with the sell out of their UK tour in a matter of minutes being testament to this.
I believe that for record labels to get a slice of the free music downloading cake, they need to offer something more than simply the free download. The adolescent demographic is fickle and will be tempted by something new, to draw them away from the sites that currently offer free music alone. It could be offered that should you choose to download from a certain record labels site, then you are assured better access and information to your favourite artists, and perhaps with a purchase of an album, you receive a first choice on tickets for live performances. Whether it is this or another marketing strategy that they come up with, record companies must offer something different – or else their target won’t be interested.
It is obvious that the Internet music is already a fiercely contested market. With the likes of iTunes, Napster, MTV and forthcoming music ventures from the likes of Microsoft later this year. However, by offering free music, record companies have the potential to undercut their rivals and continue to exert their stronghold over the music industries.
One thing is for sure though – whoever is the victor of all these multinational companies vying for musical supremacy – there’s a clear winner already – and that’s the music lover.
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