Music 3.0 - The Book

The music business is changing rapidly, and although painful, will ultimately change for the better. Consumers are more selective and sophisticated in their tastes and technology and that's something that everyone in the industry not only should be aware of, but cater to. It's the only way to survive.

It's the first time that an artist can actually reach out and communicate with his fans, the fans can reach back.

This book looks at how to utilize Music 3.0 to it's utmost.

If you're an artist, you've got to be aware of all your options, both traditional and online. This book will tell you who controls today's music industry, who are the new movers and shakers, how to grow, market to, sell to and interact with your fan base, the new concepts that power M30, and finally, what you need to do to harness the potential of M30, all without spending so much time on-line that you don't have time to actually make music.

Throughout the book I refer to Music 3.0 as M30 or "M three oh". It has a nice ring and rolls off the tongue well. But you're probably wondering, how did we get to M30? What where M1.0, 2.0, etc. While we'll go over that in depth in the first chapter of the book, here's how I delineate the various stages of the music business.

Music 1.0 - the first generation of the music business where the product was vinyl records, the artist has no contact directly with the record buyer, radio was the primary source of promotion, the record labels were run by record people, and records were bought from retail stores.

Music 1.5 - the second generation of the music business where the product was primarily CDs, labels were owned and run by large conglomerates, MTV caused the labels to shift from artist development to image development, radio was still the major source of promotion, and CDs were purchased from retail stores.

Music 2.0 - the third generation of the music business that signaled the beginning of digital music, piracy ran rampant due to P2P networks but the industry took little notice as CD sales were still strong from radio promotion.

Music 2.5 - the fourth generation of the music business where digital music became monetized thanks to iTunes and later, others like Amazon MP3. CD sales dive, the music industry contracts and retail stores close.

Music 3.0 - the current generation of the music business where the artist can now communicate, interact, market and sell directly to the fan. Record labels, radio and television become mostly irrelevant and single songs are purchased instead of albums.

Introduction

1 - The Five Life Stages Of The Music Industry
Music 1.0 - The Original Music Business
Music 1.5 - The Suits Take Over
Music 2.0 - Enter The Digital Age
Music 2.5 - Digital Music Is Monetized
Music 3.0 - The Dawn Of Artist/Fan Communication

2 - The New Music Industry
Who's in Control?
Where Did The Record Stores Go?
Why Traditional Radio Is No Longer A Factor
Why Television Is No Longer A Factor
So What Is A Factor?
The New Players
The New Audience
Enter Music 3.0

3 - The New Masters Of The Domain
Seth Godin's Tribes
Radiohead's Grand Experiment
The Wisdom Of Trent
Chris Anderson's Long Tail
Irving Azoff's Steel Fist
Sanctuary's Blueprint

4 - The New Marketing
Your Music Is Your Marketing
The New Release Schedule
The New Importance of the Fan
Your Email List
More Is Less
Sponsorship
Marketing With Social Media
Social Media Management
10 Low Cost Hi-Tech Promotion Tips
But You Still Must Hit The Streets
10 Low Cost Low-Tech Promotion Tips
Measure Your Results

5 - The New Distribution
Digital, Vinyl or Bright Shiny Disc?
Collectibles
Digital Distributors
Paid Downloads
Ringtones
Subscription
Getting Paid
Submission Services
License or Distribution?
Games - Hip or Hype?
The New Brick and Mortar
10 Sales Tips

6 - The M30 Rules For Survival
Developing Your Audience
Establishing Your Tribe
Growing Your Tribe
Marketing To Your Tribe
Sustaining Your Career
The 1000 True Fans Theory

7 - How To Make Money In Today's Music World
Hit The Road, Jack
Swag Is Your Friend
The New Publishing Paradigm
When You Need A Label

Interviews
Ted Cohen
Richard Feldman
Bruce Houghton
Thom Kozik
Gregory Markel
Rupert Perry
Ken Rutkowski
Derek Sivers
Howard Soroka
Jacob Tell
Michael Terpin

As in my other books, I've sought out the help of some of the most respected voices on the cutting edge of different aspects of the current music business and I've included their interviews at the book's end as well as selected quotes along the way. The interviews are fun and very informative, and I can truly say that conducting them was one of the most enjoyable aspects of writing this book.

Let me briefly introduce them to you:

Ted Cohen - Known throughout the technology and music industries as being "part ambassador and part evangelist," Ted Cohen has been on the cutting edge of digital music from its inception. Currently a managing partner of the industry consulting firm TAG Strategic, Ted is one of the most influential voices in digital music today and can be seen speaking on the subject worldwide.

Richard Feldman - A very successful songwriter, producer and Grammy winner with platinum and #1 records to his credit, he is the CEO of a music library publisher called ArtistFirst Music. Richard comes to publishing from the point of view of a musician and songwriter, and he has a unique perspective on the changes that M30 brings.

Larry Gerbrandt - An expert on entertainment analytics, Larry Gerbrandt's Media Valuation Partners advises its clients on the economics of media and content on traditional and emerging technology platforms. Formerly a Senior Vice-President with research giant Nielsen Analytics, Larry provides a wealth of experience in entertainment market research that we're pleased we could tap. Get ready for some interesting and insightful facts and figures regarding sponsorships, branding and advertising - all the things necessary to monetize M30.

Bruce Houghton - Bruce Houghton started his highly influential Hypebot blog because he wanted to better understand the changes in the music business in order to help educate the clients of his Skyline Music agency. Since then, it's become a must-read for anyone at any level of the music industry. Bruce's keen observations come not only from being a highly prominent blogger but as a booking agent working in the industry trenches every day.

Thom Kozik - A seasoned tech industry executive for over 20 years, Thom Kozik has spent considerable time on the gaming side of the tech industry, having served as president of gaming search engines Wazap!, and All-Seeing Eye, (which he sold to Yahoo in 2004), before he became Director of Business Development for Yahoo!'s Media Group. Thom now serves as Managing Director for Bigpoint, one of the largest gaming companies in Europe.

Gregory Markel - One of the pioneers of search engine optimization and marketing, Gregory Markel's Infuse Creative touts major entertainment clients such as Gibson Musical Instruments, New Line Cinema, The National Geographic Channel, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, the television show "24", and many more. As a recording artist formerly signed to Warner Brothers (and a great singer too), Gregory has a deep empathy for the plight of today's artist and provides an abundance of social media advice in his interview.

Rupert Perry - One of the most respected and beloved executives in the music industry, Rupert Perry held a variety of executive positions with EMI for 32 years, from VP of A&R at Capitol, to president of EMI America, to managing director of EMI Australia and later, EMI Records UK, to president/CEO of EMI Europe, to the worldwide position of VP, EMI Recorded Music. During his time at EMI, Rupert worked with variety of superstar artists such as The Beatles, Blur, Duran Duran, Iron Maiden, Nigel Kennedy, Robert Palmer, Pink Floyd, Queen, Radiohead, and Cliff Richard. Rupert is well up on the latest technology and trends within the music business and shares some surprising contrasts between the old business and the one we're in right now.

Ken Rutkowski - Ken Rutkowski is widely considered to be one of the most informed and connected people in the media, entertainment and technology markets today. His daily radio and Internet show, World Tech Round-Up at kenradio.com, is a source of inside information for listeners in more than 40 countries, often scooping the major media and giving perspective to emerging trends, developments and industry maneuvers. Ken is also the creator and guiding force behind the Media Entertainment Technology Alliance (METal), a members-only group of alpha influencers.

Derek Sivers - Derek Sivers' life has certainly been interesting so far, from working as a musician/ringleader of a circus to a stint at the publishing giant Warner/Chappell to being on the road as a touring musician to creating and running CD Baby, one of the most widely used music distribution services today. After selling CD Baby in 2008, Derek now spends his time thinking of new ways to help musicians. As you'll see, his insights are as thoughtful as they are cutting edge. 

Howard Soroka - I first met Howard Soroka when he was the primary programmer for the famed GML recording console automation system some 25 years ago. Since then, Howard's gone on to being more executive than programmer, rising to vice-president of media technologies at Universal Music Group's eLabs. Always on the cutting edge of technology, Howard had some great insights on the digital workings of the world's largest record label as well as a look into the future of the music business.

Jacob Tell - Jacob Tell's Oniracom is a new breed of company that provides a full line of digital media services to artists, labels and management.  Helping artists in the digital space before there was a YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook, Jacob has watched the development of Web 2.0 and learned how an artist can best take advantage of it along the way.

Michael Terpin - Michael Terpin is the founder of SocialRadius, a marketing and public relations company focusing on social media outreach and strategy. Among the projects that the firm has worked on include the outreach for recording artist Will.i.am's Yes We Can video for the Obama campaign (which won 2008 Emmy, Global Media and Webby awards), social media event marketing for Live8, LiveEarth, the Green Inaugural Ball and the David Lynch Foundation, and the social media launch of start-ups ranging from Software.com to Shapeways.