The consolidation of major multinational record labels and rapidly evolving music-sharing technology has shifted the power in the music industry and provided new ways for local independent artists to gain influence in the competitive industry.
At the recently held WA Music Industry Association’s music business conference, a panel of local and internationally based industry heads discussed the importance of online marketing as a tool for all artists, particularly up and comers.
US-based music marketing company Planetary Group founder Adam Lewis, local independent label Sub Continental Dub founder Kristy Brown, music media portal themusic.com.au founder Leigh Treweek and music management business Razor Blade Music founder Tony Edwards all agreed artists who used the internet as their number one marketing tool were more likely to succeed.
Mr Lewis, who has been responsible for the marketing of bands like the Beastie Boys, Iggy Pop and Bon Iver, said engaging with audiences through sites like Facebook, feeding news to bloggers and developing an independent website was crucial to musicians making a name.
It’s no secret the internet changed the face of the industry, with the advent of social networking site MySpace and controversial free download site Napster. They paved the way for artists to gain instant notoriety internationally and, while they are both now all-but defunct, the panel suggested other sites had taken over.
Pinterest is a content sharing website that many musicians use. Major music label Sony Music also recently started using the site.
Turntable is another up and coming music streaming site. Industry whispers suggest the site, exclusive to the US, plans to expand to service the southern hemisphere.
Another file sharing website, Spotify, is creating ripples in the industry because of its low royalty rates for artists whose music it sells and shares.
A consolidation of the world’s major record companies is also taking place. EMI is set to be acquired by Universal Music Group’s parent company Vivendi later this year, pending approval from European authorities, which will leave UMG, Sony and Warner as the majors dominating the industry.
Ten years ago, major record labels were still held up as the holy grail for musicians wanting a record deal, but independent (‘indie’) artists can now produce a record, feed it to fans on the internet and build a following.
Bourby Webster, founder of local production company North Street Productions, told WA Business News the new paradigm was thanks to the accessibility of production, the development of do-it-yourself production computer programs and a growth in home studios.
Ms Webster teaches business skills to final year students at the WA Academy of Performing Arts and does not expect that any of her students are going to go for a record deal with a major.
“If I was to say to the entire year group ‘how many of you are focused on getting a deal with Sony or how many are working with a local label’, I don’t think you’d see any hands go up for the majors. They aren’t even aspiring for that anymore; they don’t see it as all they have got to do,” she said.
Incoming WA Music Industry Association chief executive Wendy Were said bricks and mortar were still required for the industry in WA, which has a long-standing reputation for fostering inordinate talent, but it had suffered because of the separation from the largely east coast-based commercial part of the industry – record labels, publishers and managers.
“One of WAM’s objectives is to foster the industry here and build it. In our strategic plan we are hoping to double it within 10 years,” she said.
“WAM’s role will be bringing more people here, really focusing on that business side. We don’t need to foster the creative talent in WA, we have that in bucketfuls, it is about helping them make that into a viable career.”
