Henry Chatfield

Original Twitter thread here.

I took seven pages of notes during a music/NFT Twitter Spaces yesterday. Here are some current & future music industry takeaways.

(ps none of these ideas are original. credit @ the end)

The concept of value: Music has become a buffet, free, easily copied, & disposable.

Value is how much something means to you & others.

It can feel arbitrary, emotional, and contextual.

As a musician, you might ask “does what I’m spending my time on have any meaning?”

Why NFTs matter for music: We often try to measure meaning with value. When creating music, that can get rough when it’s buffet-style.

NFTs create scarcity. 1/1 rarity. Right now, there aren’t many use cases for a 1/1. You’re basically issuing a collector’s item…

…but that collectible is digital, and on a blockchain.

It only becomes valuable if people care about that.

Why care? We’ll come back to this.

On cultural relevance: It’s nebulous. It involves timing, luck. It’s fickle, unpredictable, and can sometimes be manipulated.

Compare this to practical utility, and valuing music becomes even harder.

Yes, we’re going there: blockchain fixes this.

Immutability leads to truth; it’s a line to verifiability. It gives us an opportunity to acknowledge meaningful work in a new way.

We can all agree we need to figure out a better way to express and direct value back to those who contribute to culture. This is how we do it.

Building vs protesting: I’m seeing a lot more disdain towards music royalty collection societies & statutory rates than I used to. It never worked well, but now it’s become more of a barrier than a benefactor.

So much so that there's a growing movement to abandon it completely.

The general sentiment is: it may be easier to forfeit a bridge b/w techs rather than lobby for innovation within the current system design.

This is fucked up. And telling of how significant this is. We’re not talking about piracy here. Or low streaming “per play” payments…

…these are organizations that are supposed to solely exist to advocate and funnel value back to songwriters and performing musicians. If they inhibit the total achievable value realization for artists, do they even matter?

Perhaps they do not.

On middlemen: So what's happening now? There is a future where we can choose to collectively own what we build.

If we do this, we become the middleman.

Is that good? There are many hot takes here. It gets tricky due to inherent power dynamics that exist w/in this position.

On attention: Dominating the Cheesecake Factory background music is often a poor objective. So much noise, so much in your feed. It’s harder than ever to be “popular.”

Do you fight the algorithm, or organize a small, focused community?

On artist-fan value exchange: Fans may subscribe to your monthly label pool not bc it’s the best deal, but just to support it so stuff can continue to be made. NFTs may help realize this relationship in a way that was previously untenable.

With that, On coexistence: The goal is to build things that can exist in parallel.

Think of it as facilitating a broader scope of optionality for musicians, rather than a complete consumption medium replacement (eg not like the CDs > downloads shift).

Someone asked, “how do you not spend every waking hour on a computer?”

Amon Tobin’s answer: analog synthesizers. : )

When creating, process often informs end result. Amon says this about music, and I think it’s sage advice for most things in life.

The people I gravitate towards listening to aren’t here for NFTs… …they’re here to learn about what’s possible for the future of music.

The scope of what’s possible feels somewhat endless right now, which is exhilarating and uplifting.

And lastly, “I have 1000 ideas and no idea.” I love this notion. We all have a lot of creative ideas.

The tricky part: designing how we express them with the world in a meaningful way.

Likely, the best way to do that is by listening and learning alongside one another.

Thank you: Thank you for sharing your perspective in this conversation Amon Tobin & Thys.

Raihan & Catalog for hosting+++.

This very brief article hits so many interesting points in the contemporary music industry landscape right now.

Granted, you could literally write a book on this topic, but probably by the time you finished it, it would be outdated.

-Content distribution - promotion Vs revenue -Role of radio and its significance -Billboard / metrics that measure "success" of a release -Is there such a thing as cheating when maximizing impressions - or is it just creative marketing techniques?

"Ask any junior high student which rectangle is bigger, one that is three inches wide or one that is two-and-a-half inches wide, and they’ll tell you it’s a nonsensical question unless they have more information — specifically, the height.

And yet, we literally say one company or service is 'bigger' based on a single number — specifically, number of people who have 'used' it in the last 30 days. Even without getting into how 'use' is defined, this is dumb."

"Music, newspapers, books... most forms of media were exciting, high-pressure hothouses, environments with hits and winners and action and impact.

Many players in these industries are now trying to figure out where all the zing went. The mattering seems to have left. Where did it go?

It turns out that the air didn't get let out, the balloon disappeared.

Balloons have pressure because there's only one tiny opening. Scarce shelf space. Only room for one newspaper. Only forty titles on the Billboard chart. It's that opening that creates the environment that allows pressure to exist, that pulls the rest of the balloon taut.

But the opening is wide open now. The market has been offered infinity. Instead of a narrow, scarce selection of hits, those that consume media can have all of it, all the time. The long tail plus bite-sized pieces plus constant snacking.

A few generations ago, Gone With The Wind played at the only movie theater in town--every night for a year. Forty years ago, books stayed on the bestseller list for a year or more. Fifteen years ago, the front page ad on Yahoo was sold out for years in advance. Buying the one and only ad on the 'front page of the internet' was a no-brainer, a bargain at any price. Today, of course, there isn't a front page you can buy an ad on. No spot next to the cash register at the biggest chain of bookstores, either.

The abundance of choice feels like a good thing for those that want a choice. But yes, someone got rid of the balloon. All the economics are changing, as are consumption patterns, and they're shifting faster that the mindsets of those that create and publish.

Stop looking for the balloon. It's gone."

(Original post via: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/12/who-let-the-air-out-of-the-balloon.html)

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                                                         Preach.

"1. Focus on music not money. There's too much talk about grosses and too much bitching about Spotify. Amazon rolls out robots and we all ooh and ahh, there's forward motion in the music business and everybody complains. Change is inevitable, the future comes, the social landscape will be rearranged...best to acknowledge this and move forward as opposed to trying ineffectively to hold it back. Yes, people will lose their jobs because of Amazon robots, the same way recording studios closed and CD plants too. This is sad, but this has become the story of the music business, what we have lost instead of what we have gained. This sends the wrong message to the consumer. Yes, there are rabid fans embracing the work of artists. But in order for music to be healthy once again we need to reach the casual consumer, who can tell you the difference between the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus but not that between Iggy Azalea and Ariana Grande. 2. If you fail come back to the marketplace quickly. The Fire phone was a disaster. But instead of licking its wounds, Amazon is now hyping its aforementioned robots. When there's a failure in the music business the act retires for a year or two and is oftentimes forgotten by time it returns. Create often. Failure is inevitable. One hit trumps a raft of disasters. 3. The SoundScan chart ruined music. Because there was a different number one each week. The business will burgeon when it becomes comprehensible, when the same tracks dominate for a period of time. The chart is all about satisfying the industry, not the consumer. The industry wants to divvy out number ones, wants to influence dying retail. But when a record slips off the chart it's usually gone for good, whereas movies come and go on the chart but then they get another life on DVD, pay cable, Netflix... The film chart position pays long term dividends in terms of advertising. Music chart positions are momentary. 4. Focus on what people are listening to, not what they're buying. Buying an album does not mean one listens to it, oftentimes people only listen to the hit. Streaming, whether it be on YouTube or Spotify, indicates what is truly popular. Note to the wannabe...not everything is popular, never was, never will be. 5. The "Voice" is good for television, it's bad for music. Because it's a karaoke show and the music business depends on a steady stream of new hits. We need to extol the songwriter, who is sometimes the performer, not the face. Otherwise we're focusing on the zit, not the acne. And acne is an infection, and that's the goal of music, to infect people. 6. Acknowledge the inability to get a song out of your head is a good thing. That's the key to Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass." You may go on in your holier-than-thou fashion that it sucks, but if you hear it once you can't stop singing it to yourself. We need more of that. 7. Embrace experimentation. Today's artists are so worried about losing traction that they just replicate what they've done before. Test limits. 8. Identity and edge are everything. All the tech titans have rough edges. Hell, Travis Kalanick has dominated the news cycle and Uber just gets bigger. Whereas "artists" dress up instead of down and keep paying penance to their sponsors. Who can believe in that? 9. Utilize your power. Musicians dominate social media. But they don't use it to move music forward. Only oldsters like Bob Geldof and Bono seem to understand the power of music to open the discussion, to change things. Young artists can do this too. But they have to be educated, they have to realize the advantage, they have to understand that if you don't stand for something, you don't stand for anything at all. 10. The music business is the canary in the coal mine, everything happens to it first, yet everybody in it keeps complaining about this change. People run from those who whine, offer no insight and refuse to get with the program. Artists have to give hope. Hope to consumers who too are affected by the new world and are trying to navigate their way. Music needs to run shotgun with these people. Music needs to be indispensable. We've got to stop the warring within and acknowledge it's nearly impossible to break through and boost those who do. The biggest story of the year was Taylor Swift's media campaign and resulting sales. I wish she wasn't a front for Max Martin, but everyone agreed her social media campaign was brilliant, the ancient sales construct of a million copies in a week was repeated everywhere, her disdain for Spotify made headlines. Why wasn't there a concomitant news story when Avicii's "Wake Me Up" became the biggest track in the history of Spotify? Why do you hate on EDM? Why do we not realize that music done right is not formula, but cutting edge variations on the bedrock basics? You've got to be able to sing, write and play or get out of the way. We've got to separate the pretenders from the winners. And your job is to dethrone said winners. Not to bitch that they've got your spot, but to do something better that trumps them."

This isn't a new song -- and I really wish I had discovered it when it first came out. Monophonics in general kick major ass. So funky. 

Fuck. There are too many of these anti-streaming articles popping up and it is killing me. As an advocate for artists to make a decent living off their music, streaming IS a very important piece to the puzzle and articles like this are taking us a step backward.

My response to Aloe Blacc, with all respect, but in heavy disagreement. (Read his article first by clicking the arrow at the end of this title.) (This is self admittedly a rant.):

This article makes me FURIOUS! Yes, streaming is still developing but it needs the support of fans AND artists to grow into a fully functioning system.

First off, Aloe Blacc, actually the fashion industry isn't protected by copyrights for 'high end handbag designs', which arguably has allowed it to grow and become more profitable relative to similar industries. (trademark of their names is an entirely different story, though).

Second -- aside from looking at Pandora, which is fucking evil -- if you look at your Spotify numbers, since "Wake Me Up" was released, it has been streamed almost 300 million times. So, based on Spotify's payouts the song should have grossed well, well, over $1 million to be paid to you and your team.

So, I ask you, Aloe Blacc, how much have you gotten paid for this song? If it is not close to $250k (divided by your songwriters and publisher) I would ask YOU what kind of outdated deal have you made with your record label (who is actually the one who is really invested in Spotify and will benefit with Spotify's IPO)?

One last thing, $250k, IS a decent amount of money to be paid for one hit song in one year, in my opinion. AND, if artists like you embraced streaming, think of how much higher that number would be!

Taylor Swift wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal a few months ago. Almost synchronously, PledgeMusic released a 15 minute video bolstering the value of the super fan to the future of the music industry marketplace. 

While I can only assume unintentional, both had a seemingly very similar message: The relationship musicians have with fans is, exactly that, a relationship. Like any relationship, there needs to be a connection that is nurtured and the deeper the connection, the more successful it will be. 

Or, simply as an equation:

Where, Amount of = X

(X) Artist engagement = (X) Fan interest/happiness.

And this equation is in full-force right now. It’s seen in Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, but unfortunately, this doesn’t directly translate to dollars. And that’s a problem. 

The equation should look like is:

(X) Artist engagement + (X) Fan interest/happiness = Artist Revenue

But there’s a new model emerging and it supports the latter equation.

Call it what you want, as there are different variations — which justly should be called different things — but for the sake of common understanding it’s called crowd funding. 

Don’t debate why it’s harder to sell a multiplatinum album in 2014; but agree that technology has allowed fans to be more selective with choosing “the one” when it comes to the purchases they make. Crowd funding is the ideal platform to help facilitate this relationship. 

For the first time fans are able to choose what kind of relationship they want to have with the artist. If they are a passive “minnow” (reference: bit.ly/1lDpWcS) and want to just dabble with the artist they can buy a 99 cent digital single. No problem with that.

But, what about if they want to take things a bit further? Why shouldn’t they be able to buy signed vinyl, or for that matter, have the opportunity to go behind the scenes and see their favorite artist set up their gear before a gig? Why not give that a tangible price?

Record labels are responsible for direct sales, but they’ve failed to effectively monetize this type of relationship. Social sites like Instagram and Facebook effectively nurture the relationship, but can only translate to indirect sales. 

More wise words from Seth Godin. This is Part One of a series of excerpts from a workshop he put on with a group of entrepreneurs. 

Unlike a surgeon, who spends years getting their 'ducks in a row' to become a surgeon, if you are an entrepreneur, you are an entrepreneur and you already have your duck.

The question is, are you ready to do something with the duck?

I was having a bad day. No parking, traffic, construction, slow internet...you know, some freakin' terrible stuff. Also couldn't find any good music and then I came across THIS.

Funky organ jam. No words needed to capture the emotion.

Halsey reminds me of Ellie Goulding with a more downtempo, melancholic sorrow of MS MR...or maybe I just made that connection because they both have a song named 'Hurricane.'

In 2001 I was 12. I saw Dilated Peoples' video for "Worst Comes to Worst" on Mtv2 and the first 19 seconds of that video changed my life. I became addicted to collecting records. That was difficult in rural Maine, but for the next 10+ years it manifested the singular outlook "Big city = record stores."

I never ended up making beats with the records, but this article about the literal art of collecting them really resonated with me. 

An eery, fatigued, unsure brooding with a guitar riff that's simplicity is incredibly addicting. So good.

I'm one to make quick judgements. And if someone told me to check out a song from a band with a hip misspelling that was fronted by one of the male actors from Gossip Girl I would have had low expectations (nonetheless definitely wanted to listen to it). But I have to say I am very pleasantly surprised and am looking forward to hearing more from these guys.