“Those who are resistant to change, are destined to perish.”
- Old Italian proverb

Mashable’s 4 Things Old Media Can Learn From the Music Industry’s Last Decade inspired this rant, the article is about the evolving news industry, but it uses the evolving music industry as an example.

Both are going from physical to digital forms, and need to embrace it, as that is what the consumer demands.

This is still a struggle for certain music industry representatives (ahem, Warner Music – Youtube), and they are ignoring what the people want.

The article gives lessons of what the music industry did/is doing wrong, and how the news industry can take these lessons, and do it properly, without discouraging its readership, or turning them off of the media completely.

The music industry, specifically the American’s RIAA, still has yet to learn from this lesson. Ruining people’s lives by suing them for everything they’re worth is NOT the way to convince more people to buy more music.

Its disturbing to see it happen, and it only hurts this industries dwindling reputation.

People who see such negative actions will not be more driven to support the industry, but to destroy it and rebel.

Fear tactics don’t work on such a massive audience, and making an example of a handful of people has not yet, and won’t turn this situation around.

What these “suit-filled” major labels need to do is adapt, accept, and adopt new models to make it work for them.

And most importantly be a service for the people. The best way to recover from such a massive loss in sales is to give people what they want.

If the consumer’s happy, they will be more driven to support your business, and tell other people to do so as well.

With everyone so connected with social networking, and everyone hearing about everyone else’s antics this is the first and only step the industry should be taking.

From then on, keep the customer happy, supply them with what they want, and MORE.

Doing the bare minimum has never worked before, and won’t work now, especially when people can avoid the major labels completely, and get it straight from the artists. (The majority of Amanda Palmer’s income comes directly from her fans.)

Give people a reason to come back, and support your business, and make sure you’re always one step ahead of them.

This means supplying CDs, MP3s, vinyl, FLAC, tape, hell whatever people are still buying, or will buy.

What the industry needs is consumers, and I think this has been a major point the industry is missing.

Let’s stop resisting the change, and give the consumer what they want, without making them pay a price for changing their mind on how they want their product supplied to them.

Industries change, and evolve, constantly, why does the music industry think its any different?

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Music Industry · Success

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