Bruce Warila | 03232008 $850 Million Reasons
Last week the social networking site Bebo sold to AOL for $850,000,000. Count up the number of social networking sites and digital music businesses that have been built upon or around artists, music and music fans. Bebo isn't all about music, but music helped build Bebo. Just look what music has done for Apple.
Collectively, artists and their fans have the power to rapidly build billion dollar businesses.
Within 12 Months
Some social networking / music site is going to step up to the plate and make a blanket deal with artists that pulls artists in and pays them real money for every bit of upside they create. The deal will be hot enough to convince artists to motivate their fans to buy into the proposition, and at the expense of other alternatives in the marketplace.
Within 12 Months
On another front, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, or some similar company will end the practice of extracting percentages from labels and artists. The deal will sway artists to push the platform that offers the best deal to artists. Like dominos, competitors will have to follow suite.
Both of these scenarios will include all artists; not just artists signed to labels. These are two scenarios where you will finally see the "long tail" working for you and your wallet.
Music is a powerful force. Paying to gather that force and to keep it from competitors is on the horizon. Let the bidding begin.
Is this wishful thinking?
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to Friend
Reader Comments (2)
Optimistic more so than wishful. I think there is proof already that artists are making deals / creating opportunities that put more of the money in their pockets. So it would seem to follow that the digital media transformation would lean more towards artistic freedom and better artists earnings...with a mindful eye on the turning tides and a solid team of like minded partners.
There is just too much freedom and power currently in the digital domain. This allows for really creative people to expose their art on a massive scale at a ridiculously minimal expense.
Optimistic trumps wishful in my opinion. It just sounds more "solid".
Cheers,
Milton
I don't think it's wishful thinking. I think it's happening.