You Are Now The Marketer
A couple of weeks ago Nine Inch Nails performed their final show ever, an exclamation mark on an amazing career. Now die-hard fans everywhere are left to reflect, what’s their legacy? Certainly we could talk about their influence on the music or cultural scene over the past 20 years. But instead, how about some of Trent Reznor’s business advice: ditch your label – “you are now the marketer“.
Web technology empowers us to take Trent’s advice to heart. Acts like NIN, Radiohead, Prince or more recently Smashing Pumpkins have all taken control of their music and message by putting it out there themselves. This used to be trailblazing.
But now it’s becoming commonplace. Intertwined and like-minded communities are the new marketing channels. For many industries (like music) it’s an incredibly effective way of reaching an audience. In fact, just two weeks ago I was searching for musicians influenced by NIN and learned that Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree is a fan of Trent Reznor’s production skills. I downloaded some PT tracks and within days placed an order for 7 CD’s from their back catalog at Amazon. Also picked up tickets to see them in NYC.
Now admittedly, Porcupine Tree hasn’t ditched their label, in fact they just signed with a new one. But it wasn’t their label that got me hooked. It was PT’s participation in their community, band member discussions and downloads posted by fans worldwide. Now that’s marketing power.
So what’s the NIN legacy? Aside from the music, maybe it’s that Trent Reznor helped pave the way around the tightly controlled world that was once corporate marketing. Nine Inch Nails, among others, helped us realize that short-sighted executives are no longer at the center of the marketing world – you are.
If what you are saying is true, then everyone should (theoretically) be moving toward the middle.. Fewer mega stars, but bigger audiences for small bands.. Social(ism) Networking…
I can see several years in the future what you describe as becoming more commonplace actually spawning a resurgence in third party marketers (labels!) supporting independent acts. When everybody has the same format mastered, what do you to stand out?
Well, I’m not sure about the “social(ism) networking” angle, that might suggest one centralized marketer that markets everybody alike. The point is less about audience size, but rather that artists can reach their audience on their own terms.
However, I do agree with your comment about an increase in 3rd party labels, which is pretty much what happened in recent years with the steady rise of indy labels.
The key thought is this: the Web makes it possible for artists to avoid large labels and their controlling ways. They have an option to do it themselves, or with help from boutique labels that allow them room to create freely. By retaining control of their individuality and creativity – rather than adhering to some corporate exec’s formula – that is how they will stand out.
Aren’t we just talking about creating new channels of distribution that don’t have the same rules that generally keep new or unestablished or outside the mainstream labels/artists from participating?
Once the end user or consumer gets used to this as a viable option, whether via promotion, access, or just a compatability or authentication of format, it will lend itself to direct to listener and consumer offerings. For the established bands, that represents a removal of a few steps of the value chain (and more of a slice of the profit pool). For smaller bands, it lends to a faster and more direct route downstream. Either way, the traditional economics of the industry and the traditional rules of participating change to put more power into the hands of the creators and the end users, and less in the hands of the content deliverers or channels.
Another question is whether the larger labels will use their scale, scope, and resources to proliferate their SKU mix (in this case, offerings of other, less mainstream bands) to diversify their growth risk, or will they attempt to use newer forms of delivery for the same ol’ mainstream offerings?
I agree with your points: we are certainly seeing the rise of new channels of distribution that are helping shift the power from the deliverers to the creators/users.
I would also stress another point regarding the shift, which you touched on regarding the value chain, in that the economic structure is changing rapidly as well. For example, the live show and touring are becoming bigger drivers of the overall economics than the physical delivery of the content (whether it be CDs or downloads).
Personally, I think the larger labels will have to find better ways to apply their scale and scope toward a more fragmented SKU mix, since each SKU (band) now has more ability to do it themselves (or with a smaller label). It should prove difficult for larger labels to rely on a handful of big acts to carry the bulk of the freight, just as the average user now probably listens to far more different and smaller bands (on their iPod playlist) than in the past.