It seems that the music industry, which is supposedly there to understand and nurture creativity in music, lacks plenty of imagination when it comes to creating new business models and adapting to a fast changing world. It is currently throwing itself full swing into an expensive and unworkable strategy of attempting to control by force the uncontrollable. I am rather dissappointed in their vision of internet service providers as a police state arm of the music industry. That doesn’t seem to me the kind of industry with a heart that I would like to support until it changes it mind and becomes more creative in business. There are notable exceptions and a faint glimmer of light on the horizon with the likes of spotify. There needs to be more creative thinking like this in the board room. The world changes and businesses that survive are the ones that spend their resources adapting creatively and testing new models rather than fighting the impossible goal of trying to turn time backwards with a big stick. While the music industry is spending it’s money and politicians are spending ours on an bigger better stick, they could have been spending it on developing a workable approach.
My first advice to them would be to listen to Dan Pink on finding alternative business models rather than attempting to bash square pegs into round holes like an immature child. He shows some interesting economic research that music business directors should heed if they wish to survive this century, rather than be taken over by rather more clever and creative new comers.
