creative deconstruction

What is Creative Deconstruction?

Posted on 25. Mar, 2009 by refe in INNOVATION

By now everyone seems to agree that the Music Industry as we know it is crumbling. Video killed the radio star, plastic banished vinyl to the ten cent bin, and now free music is turning traditional Industry business models on their heads. For many, the ‘digital revolution’ is a great step forward toward near-limitless access to music – or as an artist, access to fans. I can record a song onto my laptop, upload it to MySpace, BitTorrent, Last.FM, or any of the countless web-based options out there today, and have it available to download within minutes – all without shelling out a dime. Consumers can then listen to my song, download it, comment on it, link to it, pass it along to their friends and generally spread it around to places I never dreamed of when I was just strumming into a microphone in my basement. Artists who could never catch the ear of a major record label now have the opportunity to distribute their music and find success on their own.

This is great news for music lovers, great news for artists and, frankly, old news for everyone else. New ideas and innovations are constantly rippling through the digital world. The companies and individuals who are able to ride these ripples and successfully adapt are beginning to shake things up in a big way. Of course, not everyone likes to be shaken up. There are still a few influential stakeholders in all of this that are resisting these changes. Major record labels, distribution companies, collection societies, etc. are pulling out every weapon in their considerable arsenals to fight innovation and maintain the status quo. It appears that they have yet to realize that they are fighting a battle they cannot win.

This is Creative Deconstruction. You have, on the one hand, a long established economic Empire that has enjoyed years of lucrative prosperity and control. On the other hand there is a constant stream innovation that is incessantly introducing new ideas and new ways of doing things that are driving the former models out of date faster than the old system can adapt. As the Empire struggles to stay in the game, new players are given the opportunity to take the ball and run with it and eventually replace the old system entirely. It’s inevitable, and more importantly, it’s good.

The Creative deconstruction of the Music Industry needs to be embraced in order to create an environment where innovation – even game changing innovation – can flourish.

That is really what CreativeDeconstruction.com is all about. Our goal is to encourage innovation, promote new ideas, and wherever possible to reconcile these new ideas with traditional systems in order to help those systems adapt. As often as possible we will post articles discussing relevant current events, highlighting success stories, dissecting failures, and sharing our own ideas related to new business models, revenue sources and whatever else might be appropriate.

I want to encourage anyone and everyone to submit stories, news tips, ideas, etc. and to make sure to comment on our posts. We want a discussion, not a monologue. We’re just getting started, but as things get moving and begin to pick up speed please let us know what you think!

Tags: business, creative deconstruction, economics, INNOVATION, MUSIC INDUSTRY