I think the most promising kinds of music startups that are on the right track in terms of 'saving' the music industry are the ones that are:
1. Lowering the friction of building a fanbase for the musician
2. Improving discoverability for the musician
3. Helps musicians monetize their loyal fanbase
In short, the musicians are there customers. CD Baby, Myspace, Soundcloud, Youtube all got it right.
Turntable, Pandora, etc. are going after the segment of the music industry that needs the least help, mainly brands (thru advertisers), listeners and music labels.
Serve the musicians, dominate the market. (all IMHO)
1. They are the highest-touch clients you can get.
2. They don't want to pay money for anything. They want their managers to pay. Their managers will gladly pay, but then go to the label for them to pay. The labels gladly pay, but put it into recoupable expenses. By the time reconciliation occurs, the manager has already gotten their 15% and points, the artist got their royalty, and you as a service provider rarely get your check in Net-30.
3. Algorithms don't curate taste.
4. It's very hard to bridge the chasm from "free" to "paid" when it comes to a fan base. With the biggest bands in the world (talking multi-multi-platinum), the conversion from a radio audience to CD audience to "upsells" (i.e., fan clubs, mercy, tickets) was tiny.
Who's really driving the industry?
Live Nation, AEG, Q-Prime, the Collective, Frontline/Azoff, Red Light, Montone....
If you want to build businesses around music, you need to build a business around music. Serving artists is a sexy one for sure, but its a very, very deep hole to dig.
1. Lowering the friction of building a fanbase for the musician
2. Improving discoverability for the musician
3. Helps musicians monetize their loyal fanbase
In short, the musicians are there customers. CD Baby, Myspace, Soundcloud, Youtube all got it right.
Turntable, Pandora, etc. are going after the segment of the music industry that needs the least help, mainly brands (thru advertisers), listeners and music labels.
Serve the musicians, dominate the market. (all IMHO)