INNOVATION | creative deconstruction

It Didn’t Work for 8-Track – Why We Should Stop Clinging to CDs and Embrace the Digital Market

Posted on 27. May, 2009 by refe.

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In a conversation this morning an artist said that she planned on fighting file-sharing by never allowing her next album to touch a computer. I asked her if she would also release her next music video exclusively on LaserDisc.

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Can’t Live With the Major Labels, Can’t Seem to Get Around Them

Posted on 13. May, 2009 by refe.

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Right now the whole music industry is caught in a Catch-22. The major record labels are bleeding money and lack the capital to invest in real talent. Real talent is usually risky, and right now the majors can’t absorb any risk. Yet, the ones who would rise up and bring the creative deconstruction have their [...]

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Imogen Heap Uses Twitter, ‘Heapstream’ To Connect with Fans

Posted on 05. May, 2009 by refe.

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I have talked ad-nauseum about the opportunities that social media provides artists to get the word out and connect with their listeners. Sometimes I feel like I am beating a dead horse – surely everybody get’s it by now, right? But the more I talk with new artists and record labels the more I realize [...]

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Why Bands Need to Completely Change the Way They Think

Posted on 12. Apr, 2009 by refe.

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For decades the economy of the music industry revolved around the Album. Record labels built their empires on them. Artists’ careers could be measured in release dates. Fans would often wait for years for their favorite band’s latest masterpiece. Touring was also seen primarily as a way of supporting the release of a band’s latest [...]

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Bands Offer to Pay Fans to Download New Album

Posted on 10. Apr, 2009 by refe.

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Those who believe that free downloads have devalued music are going to love this: In an effort to stand out from the flood of free music pouring onto the Internet these days, indie band Officer Roseland recently offered to pay fans $1 to download their new album Stimulus Package. At MyStimulusPackage.org, fans can either take [...]

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Cable on its way to Becoming Obsolete

Posted on 02. Apr, 2009 by refe.

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The cable industry’s annual trade convention is going on this week, and the big topic of discussion this year is the Internet. According to yesterday’s article in the Chicago Tribune, Cable has watched the Music and Newspaper industries struggle to adapt to the digital world, and there has been a lot of talk about how [...]

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Bands offer Pay What You Want Merchandise

Posted on 02. Apr, 2009 by refe.

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One of my favorite blogs posted about a few bands who have taken a ‘Pay what you want’ approach to selling merchandise. Radiohead was the first high-profile act to use this model when they offered their In Rainbows album to be downloaded with an open price tag from the band’s website, and since then many [...]

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What is Creative Deconstruction?

Posted on 25. Mar, 2009 by refe.

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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 [...]