i.am.technology by T. Walker via iDEAL Distribution
One of my good friends from back home in Piney Green, NC, just released a mix-tape called I.AM.Technology. I am loving the theme because, just a few months, him and I just talked about the music industry, and how it is changing the distribution model. “All we need is a good product or service, a website, some advertising, and now we selling.”
Which brings me to my topic about the iDEAL Distribution.
In business there are four aspects to marketing which include promotion, product management, pricing, and well, the product. Then again when the product becomes an artistic creation such a song, artwork, book, or even a movie do you really need the old techniques of the past? Think about it, if you are a multi-platinum selling artist or major movie creation company such as 50 Cent or Dreamworks and distributed your own content – eliminating the middle man or process of distribution – imagine the possibilities.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of Dreamworks has said many times “A company like DreamWorks, all we do is make product. That’s all we do. We don’t own distribution. We are purely in the creation of content.” A distributor is ONLY the middleman between the creative force and the consumer. With internet technology artists, writers, or anybody for that matter can introduce their work to a potentially enormous audience at a very low cost without necessarily affiliating with a major distribution company. The design of digital content software encourages the development of cultivated content, aka really good SHIT. Websites or content libraries with hordes of media capital are the most successful. This, in turn, creates many opportunities for independent minds. Royalties from digital services could prove to be an important source of income. If an artist has already paid the upfront cost to create, manufacture, and advertise their content, there is little to no additional cost. Other middle men such as record companies and production companies will only become useful for promotion only.
The only reason an artist such as Madonna, Kanye West ever needed the Sony’s or the Def Jams is for their initial visibility. Sony and Def Jam is a brand that is trusted, turning more ears to the content of the true artist, which they are good at through marketing techniques of the industry. “…..existing companies who were quite experienced in finance, marketing, distribution and other disciplines but not necessarily experienced in the Web culture.” – John Patrick NBC Screenwriter. Assuming Mr. West isn’t contractually obligated to produce a certain number of albums, at this point in his career why does he need Def Jam? It isn’t for selling records? He has already proven he can do that. So what is stopping him from selling his records online through his own distribution channel? Well the sale of digital music makes up only 5-10% of the total income generated from music sales. At this point, most of world does not have broadband connections to the internet, making it relatively difficult for the general public to access content online. Many digital media services tend to focus overwhelmingly on major acts only anyway, but many new services are popping up every day! So not only is internet access limited but buying behavior is highly familiar. The mass consumer doesn’t know to go to certain specific websites to find the music they like. They know Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and only some know iTunes and Amazon. “….Distribution may very well have migrated fully to digital form by then, making a huge dent in the need to print film and physically distribute content. “ – Vinton Cerf aka ‘the father of the Internet’
You can download T. Walkers Mix-tape at http://omg.ly/kp8u or preview some tracks below;
[audio:http://idealpathill.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/3-STOP-DREAMING1.mp3|titles=STOP DREAMING]
