TheCapitalClinic

I don’t agree with all they are saying (because, basically, I agree more with the notion of David Fricke (Rolling Stone) that “buying music is a social transaction”). However, in preparation for the Long March [in Marketing and Distribution*] for musicians at all levels in the modern era, here are a few quick take-aways from three must-read articles by some smart guys written over the week-end about music, new technologies, and business models: 1. Lefsetz: “…You've got...

It was "predictable" that, on the strength of the enthusiastic fan take-up of their latest marketing initiative and the overwhelmingly positive reaction to their expression of complete trust in their fans, Radiohead would join a growing number of globally recognized artists to take a completely different cut at distributing their next album and leave the major record companies behind. The NY Times reported in an article today that Radiohead, who let their fans set their own price...

Pardon my language. In my amazement over what the Fuzz folks put together, this is one of the few times that you will catch me going ballistic with my language. This Monday release is jaw-dropping. Based on the buzz around the site over the last week, I was up at 3:00 this morning waiting for the new release. Nothing much happening then except the Chronicle story that just whetted my appetite. Then, at about 6:30 am, while waiting for the "secret sauce" of a preview, whoa...

Lefsetz, who is an astute observer of the music scene, had a great Friday rant about the problem of the music industry today, It’s the Money. Here are some quoted take-aways in the inimitable Lefsetz style: 1. That's how this business got fucked up…We want our money and we want it NOW! 2..If [you’re not willing to leave money on the table], you're not a member of the new team, but just a money-grubbing player on the old one. 3. if you're a new band, and you want...

tibii pointed out in a recent blog, (i) in the bad bad old days, when mass media was king, we had the likes of knowledgeable Facilitators, such as John Peel to sort through and find our music for us [what a cool guy he was!], and (ii) today, when we have boundless choice in music, it's like Christmas. The paradox of the "long tail" phenomenon is (as tibii accurately observed): 1. In the web-based era, people are now spending more money on music than ever. 2. However, most of...

In a previous blog about the world of "Big Music" and Finance I set forth some reasons why what I described as "Music Ecosystem II" has arrived. This conclusion was based in part on the acquisition of EMI by Guy Hands, whom I described as a brilliant UK-based financier, and my assumptions about the leveraged financing provided by banks who typically require firm exit strategies for their part of any acquisition financing. [Been there/done that]. Here is yesterday's...

In my previous blog on The Politics of Resistance, Small Group Dynamics, and Super-nodes, an experienced "micro-label" operator and artist referred us to some seminal thinkers [activists] to provide some guidance to help artists [as agents/actors in a multi-dimensional, push-pull world of conflicting interests] through the current crises in the music industry as they come to grips with a failing business model and new technologies. This week I have decided to take up some of the...

UK-based Wayne Gerald Trotman has uploaded a good cross section of his electronic music hybrids for Fuzz listeners. We can almost imagine ourselves at the movies when we listen to these world fusion tracks. Sitting in the dark with Trotman soundscapes takes you to another, more private, place where we all should be from time to time. Although they cover a variety of moods and cadences and are a cross-over of several genres at once, I added a selection of WGT's well-crafted compositions...

As reported in Digital Music News "Radiohead Spins Donation-Based Album Sales Strategy" and at Tooker's blog who first broke the news for his readers here at Fuzz, Radiohead is making a pay-what-you-want [plus minor delivery charges] for its upcoming album, In Rainbows. If you go to their website, you will note how choked their servers are at the moment. If this really happens, what Radiohead is doing is game-changing in digital music distribution. This is, indeed, what we...