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Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

tedgioia.substack.com

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Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#101

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

pavo-etc wrote: post #79
vlunkr wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I don't believe this will happen, and unless I'm mistaken, there's absolutely 0 evidence for it. People are usually attached to the artist when it comes to music. You buy a Bowie album because it has his name on it. You learn about them, look forward to their future work, maybe go see them live, etc. Will computers replace EDM and elevator music? I don't know, maybe, who cares?

Counterpoint: Hatsune Miku

Hatsune Miku was deliberately gamified as participatory marketing for creators, and is also representative of a specific culture.

You can't generalise to pop in general, because being a pop headliner is as much about glamour, lifestyle, fashion, and branding as it is about music.

No one wants an imaginary Bowie album, because it's a glamour-free proposition - a curiosity at best, most likely irrelevant.

People have been trying to make an Idoru for decades for now, and they always fail. You can only sell fantasy and identification when they're implicit. When you try to attach them to an artificial marketing concept it becomes impossible to suspend disbelief and make the fantasy stick.

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#102

Post by watwut »

kromem wrote: post #59
majormajor wrote: post #35

Interestingly, labels playing games about releasing albums is an old trick for various old reasons too. https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2010/apr/15/arti... https://www.buzzfeed.com/azafar/what-happens-when-your-favor... for a couple old references A change in negotiation power seems like a good evolution of the industry for anyone but record industry execs. But this "record industry is committing suicide"…

It's not committing suicide - it's just fighting over the rights to the tide pool where the water receded entirely unaware of the tsunami barreling towards them. When the software world can convincingly create new songs that sound like the hit songs people like, but sufficiently different to dodge copyright law, then it's game over. We don't blink an eye at efforts to do things like complete one of Beethoven's sympho…

> When the software world can convincingly create new songs that sound like the hit songs people like, but sufficiently different to dodge copyright law, then it's game over.

Bands have been creating music like that since forever. Most of small bands are like this.

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#103

Post by shrimpx »

Great article, and eye-opening.

Related tangent: VCs are trending in the same direction. Even YC increasingly wants to “see more” all the time before funding. That’s what they tell founders who are rejected in the interview phase. Come back with users, revenue — proof of a market. The more traction, the higher the chances you’ll get in next time. Simultaneously, the more traction you have, the less incentive to give YC 7%.

It seems they’re trading one type of risk for another: the risk that promising founders with little traction will fail vs. the risk that promising founders with traction will not apply again.

It doesn’t seem at all clear which type of risk is “riskier”.

Edit: An additional, obvious type of risk: Promising founders who are running out of personal runway will get a job and not apply again.

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#104

Post by [deleted] »

shrimpx wrote: post #103

Great article, and eye-opening. Related tangent: VCs are trending in the same direction. Even YC increasingly wants to “see more” all the time before funding. That’s what they tell founders who are rejected in the interview phase. Come back with users, revenue — proof of a market. The more traction, the higher the chances you’ll get in next time. Simultaneously, the more traction you have, the less incentive to give…

[deleted]

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#105

Post by swayvil »

Coolerbythelake wrote: post #99

Being a musician and audio engineer right now for 30 years, I see all this and I simply shake my head. I've long given up the hopes of monetary success for my music. One thing that remains is the energy exchange between an artist and the audience in a live setting. If you love music and you are not an emotional robot you know what I am talking about. Software can't replicate that and the artistry in the performer kno…

No post body was provided.

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#106

Post by dannyw »

swayvil wrote: post #105
Coolerbythelake wrote: post #99

Being a musician and audio engineer right now for 30 years, I see all this and I simply shake my head. I've long given up the hopes of monetary success for my music. One thing that remains is the energy exchange between an artist and the audience in a live setting. If you love music and you are not an emotional robot you know what I am talking about. Software can't replicate that and the artistry in the performer kno…

Quoted post unavailable.

High fidelity digital is nearly indistinguishable from analog.

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#107

Post by ushakov »

SyzygistSix wrote: post #98
ushakov wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

K-pop industry is literally a star factory K-pop, like pop is only popular because it’s forcefully shoved down your throat by marketeers who’s goal is to recoup the investments for the hit factory obsessive teens is merely the result of marketing efforts this is what happens when capitalism takes over culture

A crap product isn't an inevitable result of capitalism and is not limited to capitalism. Plenty of independent artists work within the capitalist system. They tend to be more working class than *stars* though.

in capitalist world music is made to be sold as a product

the cheaper you can manufacture the product, the more profit you can make from sales

pop music sounds the same, because labels want to be insured they can sell it in right amounts (based on what sold good in the past)

no risky art experiments are allowed here, only boring, formulaic manufacturing process

rinse and repeat until the pockets are full

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#108

Post by KevinGlass »

latchkey wrote: post #5
mr_toad wrote: post #3

I don’t get why artists even use record labels anymore. Is there something that Facebook/YouTube/iTunes etc doesn’t provide?

It is a lot more complex than it seems from the outside. If you want to play a live show somewhere big (reach the most fans, sell merch and earn the big bucks), Live Nation owns the venue. Live Nation is Clear Channel and Ticket Master. Live Nation also owns radio, where your show would be advertised. The big labels all have deals with Live Nation. It is all super super shady.

If you're a popular enough artist you can still get to big venues, even on important dates.

Vulfpeck, an independent funk band, played a sold out show at Madison Square Garden with no label and no manager and that was in 2019. Things are slowly changing.

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#109

Post by croon »

swayvil wrote: post #105
Coolerbythelake wrote: post #99

Being a musician and audio engineer right now for 30 years, I see all this and I simply shake my head. I've long given up the hopes of monetary success for my music. One thing that remains is the energy exchange between an artist and the audience in a live setting. If you love music and you are not an emotional robot you know what I am talking about. Software can't replicate that and the artistry in the performer kno…

Quoted post unavailable.

I'm not sure what this means. There is an incredible amount of music created digitally and transmitted digitally that is anything but cold and thin, whatever that means. If my ear can't tell the difference, there is no emotional or practical difference as a listener. (I've been playing acoustic guitar for 30 years and enjoy almost all genres of music if relevant)

Re: Record labels dig their own grave, and the shovel is called TikTok

#110

Post by tenebrisalietum »

swayvil wrote: post #105
Coolerbythelake wrote: post #99

Being a musician and audio engineer right now for 30 years, I see all this and I simply shake my head. I've long given up the hopes of monetary success for my music. One thing that remains is the energy exchange between an artist and the audience in a live setting. If you love music and you are not an emotional robot you know what I am talking about. Software can't replicate that and the artistry in the performer kno…

Quoted post unavailable.

A record player or tape deck can have the same level of audience-artist interaction as TikTok unless you're DJ'ing. The fast forward function is simply a lot slower.
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