The music business in 2008

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Seth Godin offers timely and relevant advice for the music business on the incredible opportunity that sits right in front of our noses.

It is amazing how relatively little effort is needed if you really set out to make it happen. Check this snippet from Godin’s excellent post :

“Many musicians have understood that all they need to make a (very good) living is to have 10,000 fans. 10,000 people who look forward to the next record, who are willing to trek out to the next concert. Add 7 fans a day and you’re done in 5 years. Set for life. A life making music for your fans, not finding fans for your music.”

This is something I’ve been preaching to the artists I produce and develop (and occasionally sign)… if you get 10,000 fans passionately involved in everything you do - building yourself or your band as a BRAND - you’ll be able to pay your bills and then some. This is, to me, the very definition of success, and at a level which most people with dayjobs playing in weekend cover bands would give a limb for.

My friend and fellow record producer Marshall Altman is quoted in this article on technology’s role in the death of music at Premier Guitar Magazine, and while the whole thing is worthy of framing and hanging in the halls and studios at Burst HQ, here’s a taste :

“[regarding the death of music in general] … I say let it die. Let it die, so it can grow back into something scarred and beautiful, tragic and noisy, brave, bold, stupid, smart, happy, sad, life-changing and everlasting.”

“Let every band with enough money buy the gear they want, make a record with too much compression and not enough heart. Let every singer-songwriter who suffers from having read too much and not having lived enough make a record, too. Let them all come - put them all up on MySpace. The end is near! And I can’t wait for the end, so we can all start listening again.”

“Good is within everyone’s reach, and technology has afforded us the easy opportunity to be good, but good is not great.”

A perfect tie in relating to the beginning of this post and another marketing guru. Jim Collins’ book, Good To Great, had been recommended to me by Marshall a couple of years ago and, along with Godin’s Purple Cow, has brought new life to the vision, new energy to the efforts we make producing music in our little corner of the world of music.

More from Godin :

“The biggest opportunity for the music business is to combine permission with subscription. The possibilities are endless. And I know it’s hard to believe, but the good old days are yet to happen.”

We’re dealing with this at Burst Labs with all of the opportunities in front of us… and it’s a direct result of shooting for a Purple Cow that we waited to launch our catalog and spent the time trying to be something different, something worthy of spreading to friends and peers. The early results look promising, to say the least.

And so, a sincere thanks to all of you for digging our music in 2007… we have big things in store for 2008 and can’t wait to see what surprises the future holds! [dh]