Andy Lykens

Innovating and operating through growth

music industry

Being a standout music industry candidate.

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The music industry is an interesting landscape to navigate. In the last 8 months I have met with a great many companies in the industry from EMI to Warner, from Amazon to some well-reputed independent shops large and small. I’ve met with ad agency contacts who need music, have done music marketing consulting, and interviewed for jobs. To top it off I have started my own independent music publisher and began producing my first artists this month. There are flaws everywhere in the music industry – some companies are aware of them and some are not. Some actively work to try to right their course, while others live it up in the old ways. The flaws are usually how they approach business development.

Many companies are greatly focused on themselves. How much value they have, what they’re worth, how cool they are. Others are starting to realize that their ways are the old ways. I have been writing for years about how the industry needs to change and needs a different approach. Most of the adjustments have to do with a loss of focus on their clients. Sooner or later, the client gets what they want. Someone supplies that demand. Simple.

Right now, the majors are STILL in a state of flux. Some are hiring more MBAs (which I think is a good first step because MBAs better understand the value of the client relationship) and ousting their old leadership. But knowing how the majors function, there’s a long way to go and it will take a long time to get there. And even when they arrive, will their relationships be salvageable?

Independents are all over the place. While they may definitely have a client focus, some may still be operating in the old music industry. Some are lead by stereo-typical creative personalities who may not understand how effective great business development and client relationship skills can be. Their hiring processes may be less defined and therefore makes it hard to attract top talent or find the right fit for their company.

For all these reasons if you find yourself applying for a job in the music industry it is important to be highly diligent in ANY meeting preparations. Whether it’s an interview, a freelance opportunity, or a gig. Have an idea of what problems the company is looking to solve BEFORE you show up. Prepare material that’s relevant to their needs and request to meet with heads of departments at companies BEFORE there are job openings (digging up a CEO or VP’s email is very easy).

If you really are a cut above the rest, show up with the ammunition to blow them away. There are a TON of problems to solve in the industry and the well-prepared can capitalize on the all of the great opportunities.

Spotify and Google Music leave me searching…

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In my opinion, there still isn’t a good solution. Granted, in a 2.0 world, these are 1.0’s. They’re the first music services of their kind, they probably won’t be the last, but I expected a lot more (and still do from Google).

Let’s start with Spotify: great idea, amazing implications, lack-luster executions. The best part about Spotify is that I could find an amazing array of music any time I wanted. The downfall is that after 2 months, I found myself barely using the app on my iPhone, and having never downloaded the desktop version. In fact, when I paid for premium service and found it wasn’t just a web app, I actually got mad. Not a good sign.

The iPhone app worked, but it left a lot to be desired. The interface isn’t terrible smooth, the playlists aren’t terribly well organized, and there just generally seems to be a lot missing from it.

So, when my credit card expired and Spotified notified me to update it, I just didn’t bother. I suppose I don’t find myself desperately needing to listen to music I don’t already own terribly often.

Google Music is different. The first and best thing I like about it is that it is an online interface, and the second is that the interface is nice and makes sense. Sure, I had to spend about two weeks uploading my music, and that really, really, really, really….really, really…really blows. But once it was up, it worked well.

The other big bummer is there is no iOS app for it.

I suppose you could say the verdict is still out for google, and sure, they’re probably just trying to avoid getting sued by basically everyone, but at the end of the day it just isn’t really doing it for me.

iTunes, you’re up next. Can’t wait to see what Apple brings to the table in the realm of hosted music services!

Too big of a ship or too big of a head?

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This week HP announced that they will no longer be competing in the PC industry, instead they will be focusing on cloud computing. Hold on. What? You mean the largest PC manufacturer in the world is going to just stop. And they’re going to stop making tablets and smart phones too? Yes, it’s true. In fact, if you’d like to read a great article about what this means to their industry, check out this one.

So why am I writing about this in a blog typically geared towards the music industry? Well, as usual it’s to point out the failings of the music industry. Let’s think: when the music industry was faced with a competitor that absolutely, 100% got something right, what did it do? What was the RIAA’s reaction to Napster? And what’s more, what does the industry continue to do?

The solution probably wouldn’t have been to resign the administration of all copyrights to Napster, but in the late 90’s and early 00’s, the industry was in pretty good fiscal shape and it’s my contention that they could have bought Napster, or at least made some sort of deal. But no. What did they do? Lawsuit.

And now the industry sits atop their recent “accomplishment” of having earned money instead of lost it for the first time in years. Wow. Way to set the bar high for yourselves. I’m not sure if you knew this music industry, but you’re actually supposed to make money in ever-increasing amounts EVERY year. Not fail miserably for 10 years and then trumpet your prestige when you finally earn a few pennies. Anyway, I digress.

What is really interesting and even quite cool about this HP thing is that they’re turning an awful big ship. Everyone uses the excuse in the music industry “well it’s just too big of a ship to turn quickly!” Really? Bigger than HP? Nope. Now what’s the excuse? Oops.

Now the only thing left to blame is the ‘vision’ (or blindness) of the leadership of the major music companies.

The tipping point.

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Check this out. It’s an article about the beginning of the end of an obnoxious, intractable and downright foolish “business” mentality.

This is the first evidence that the labels are no longer going to be able to sue their way to generating income. They have been a huge pain to deal with, they have refused to adapt, and now they’re “Hoping Apple Can Force Amazon and Google Into Cloud Licensing.” Nope.

Apple doesn’t care about licensing or playing fair with the music industry they just have a better relationship with the labels and more clout in negotiations. Apple deals with the majors because it’s easy for them, not because they think they need licenses and to appease them. Why would Apple’s deal force anyone to do anything?

Now we’ll see the majors start to scramble for income. They’ll start sacrificing rights, prices will drop. I mean REALLY scramble.

Mark my words folks, this is the beginning of the end. It took a long time but the labels are officially no longer in control. They’re down to a 49% say in digital licensing. The tipping point has been reached. Big change is coming in music licensing. Big change is coming in copyright valuation. It won’t be too much longer – maybe a few years max.

The snowball is rolling down the hill.

A quick brainstorm on the current music industry vs. Apple.

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Comparing and contrasting these two industries is an interesting exercise. One continues to fail in most all areas, while one continues to grow in most all areas. One focuses mainly on lawsuits and legislature. One focuses on perfectionist design.

Subscription content continues to make meager headway into the mass market. Music publishing (licensing) continues to generate growth. RIAA continues to try using the law to restrict access to copyright. Major labels are still run mostly by lawyers and boards of trustees who have little to no knowledge of music licensing, how it works, and why its successful. Steve Jobs and Apple have ALWAYS put design first and will continue to do so. Apple has just had it’s first $50-billion quarter. Streaming is inconvenient when no wireless connection is available. Apple products go out of their way to make things convenient – not free – but convenient. Apple just passed RIM in their market share. Apple sells copyrighted content and devices that access, and utilize that content seamlessly. The music industry has access to loads of copyrighted content and executes its exploitation poorly. The music industry consecutively sees revenues fall.

What can the music industry learn from a company like Apple? What can Apple learn from companies like WMG and EMI? If you had to rate Pandora as a music provider, what would you give it on a scale of 1 to 10? How would you rate Apple as a music provider? If you had to rate your iPod as a music player and content purchasing device, what would you rate it? How would you rate Pandora as a music retailer? How do you rate a major label as a music retailer? Post your thoughts to the comments!

Billboard Music in Advertising Keynote with Kid Rock

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At the BBMiA conference waaaay back in June I was simply blown away by Kid Rock. Not having really listened to his music (other than not really liking Bawitdaba’s radio domination years ago) I wasn’t sure what to expect.

What I heard at his keynote was:

1) A guy who has worked his butt off from day 1.
2) Someone who’s taken the time to learn ALL aspects of his craft (creative, business, etc).
3) A very down to earth individual with a fantastic outlook on life.

…and more. I was able to record some of the Q&A at the end of the session with my phone and I’m posting it here. I hope you enjoy it!

Kid Rock at Billboard Music in Advertising