Damian Kulash (lead singer and guitarist for the band OKGO) has published his thoughts on the unusual distaste the major music labels have for their customers (and musicians) as represented by their continued unwillingness to adapt to an evolving marketplace:
Today, as the record industry’s revenue model has collapsed with the digitization of its biggest commodities, companies are cutting back spending on all but their biggest stars, and not signing nearly as many new acts. If record companies can’t adapt to this new world, they will die out; and without advances, so will the futures of many talented bands.
In these tight times, it’s no surprise that EMI is trying to wring revenue out of everything we make, including our videos. But it needs to recognize the basic mechanics of the Internet. Curbing the viral spread of videos isn’t benefiting the company’s bottom line, or the music it’s there to support. The sooner record companies realize this, the better though I fear it may already be too late.
…and curbing the spread of viral videos isn’t even the half of it.
Sad to say, this attitude actually makes sense once you consider the source. It’s typical of mega-corporations where the people making the decisions are hopelessly detached from the real world, from the interests of their consumers, and from the artists they’re supposed to be representing in the first place.
It makes sense when you only care about the bottom line, not about the quality of your service or product. It makes sense once you’ve stopped concerning yourself with satisfying your customers, seeking only to please shareholders.
This is hardly original thought on my part, though. People have been pointing out that the major labels are on the verge of collapse for some time now. Every now and then I start to feel like they’re seeing the light (like when they finally shifted away from DRM on digital downloads) but I’m hesitant to even give them points for that — it only solved a problem they were responsible for introducing in the first place.
Maybe someday things will change. Maybe someday…
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Update: It looks as though OKGO announced just today (odd timing, eh?) their decision to split with EMI. More here, here, and here.