Music and tech – not really the most likely of partnerships, given the Swift-Spotify faceoff last year. However, music artistes who think going down the Taylor-made route is the way to go are kidding themselves. For several years, musicians have diversified their portfolios with other sources of income, mainly within the fashion or lifestyle arena; their own clothing line, fragrances and the like.
But with the rise of tech and streaming services, these “additional” sources of income may very well be a necessity. Take for example the latest album by Dr. Dre, Compton. Despite “universal acclaim” and a four-out-of-five-stars rating from Rolling Stones, sales have dropped a whopping 85% since reports of his abusive past surfaced like a bad smell.
Bet he’s extra glad that Apple bought over Beats for $3 billion.
So what’s a “poor” music artiste to do? Well, if you’re O.G. like Jay-Z, you could try taking on big players like Spotify and Pandora head on by offering “boutique” (read: expensive) streaming services like Tidal. Because it makes perfect business sense to offer a service that has a universally accepted baseline of “free” and premium at USD9.90, for USD19.90 / month.
Why would you pay that price? Because you’re worldly, ballin’ and appreciate high-def, “unique” content, as opposed to just content like the rest of us.
In short, Jay-Z thinks you equate your music to a product – if you’re willing to pay 3-figures and above say, for designer shoes, why not apply the same rule of thumb to your music? Completely disregarding the fact that no one cares what streaming service you use – everyone automatically assumes you’re either with Spotify or Pandora.
No one’s going to have that same awe over your music streaming service quite the same way they do over your Air Jordans. “Dude, you’re on Tidal? Whoa… Awesome.” Um, no. A recent Forbes article discusses the problem that people have about the perceived value of music – read it here.
There’s no denying it. Streaming is the future of music even if Apple appear to be screwing it up for themselves (http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2015/07/06/apple-music-has-99-problems-and-they-are/).
Musicians like Taylor Swift who equate their music to “art” need to:
- Come up with better lyrics than “Weeee… are never, ever, ever, getting back together” and....
- Realise that several artists and their works received posthumous fame and basically died almost penniless – there’s a reason why they call it “starving artist.”
But rather than fight tech, and hold on to the traditional notion of music and record labels, here’s a crazy idea – how about embracing it? Not streaming services per se, but getting in tune with the times and riding the tech waves.
A brilliant example of this is Linkin Park, whom I wrote about previously in 2014 (you can read it here) and whom I have traveled the world to see perform their extraordinary live show. But my respect goes beyond them as musicians and into them being entrepreneurs and innovators and way ahead of their time.
Behold their latest brainchild, Machine Shop. Originally named The Shinoda Imprint (after co-founder and band leader Mike Shinoda), the brand positions itself as a “think tank and a creative studio.” With this in mind, they are well on their way of being known as start-up tech investors, with stakes in Plug-Air, Open Labs and Turnstile.
However, perhaps as an ode to their aptly named album Hybrid Theory, these truly creative forward thinkers show their business savvy beyond just the tech industry, with stakes in Lyft, Shyp and even a coffee chain – Blue Bottle Coffee.
Bear in mind that this is Linkin Park we are talking about – they aren’t doing this because they’re not good at what they do, or are threatened by tech and streaming. The fact that Fort Minor (another Shinoda pet project) is thriving and released a music video on Mashable is proof enough.
These are guys who easily command attention on stage, and have made millions with their unique sound and constant reinvention. And the brands they invest in reflect this essence of their music and their own innovative brand values.
Besides just backing the music industry with acts such as Styles of Beyond and Fort Minor, Machine Shop aligns itself with companies and businesses that reflect the Linkin Park brand of “connecting people and innovation through technology + design.” So sorry, you’re never going to find out what Eau De Linkin Park smells like, or see H&M x Shinoda.
Here what 2 members of Linkin Park/Machine Shop think about disruption in a fascinating talk at the Milken Global Conference with Yahoo, FastPass, Warby Parker and others.
They produce a fascinating newsletter each week talking about design, music, tech and innovation https://madmimi.com/p/920d26?fe=1&pact=30023111257#
They are a bunch of guys who are as creative today with their business, as they are with their music. They are different from the rest who choose to just sue their record labels and fight or rely on streaming services, because they realise it’s pointless.
Instead, they choose to diversify their music portfolio through non-traditional channels – by turning it into an actual marketable brand with other tangible services and tech, going beyond just Linkin Park merchandise, or lifestyle fluff.
From successful entrepreneurs who know diversification is key (look at Virgin), to the average Joe who knows having multiple skills and qualifications gets you ahead in the office – why should music artistes be exceptions to the rule? Musicians who refuse to see this truth, will most likely be yesterday’s news and forced into early retirement.
Taylor was an anomaly – she managed to walk away from Spotify relatively unscathed. But even she has her own fragrance line and several product endorsements. Her most recent move though, hints that she is slowly coming to the realisation that she’s not all that, and she needs to appeal to a wider audience beyond just her teenage following. At least that’s how I view her recent act with Alanis Morissette – an artist with a completely different style, genre and market appeal.....a lesson in how to murder a classic song coming up.....
Whatever the reason, the fact remains – the future is tech savvy and there’s no running away from it. It’s time to go beyond the studio, the product endorsements and fashion lines.
As Casey Rae, CEO of the non-profit Future of Music Coalition said “Music always was a hustle.” Having the security of a “diverse set of revenue streams across multiple venues and platforms” should be music to anyone’s ears, music artistes included.
It's not just Linkin Park who are becoming music stars-cum-venture capitalists, take a look at this list of fellow celebrity investors: https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/ashton-kutcher-nas-carmelo-anthony-celebrities-investing-startups/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_term=augev&utm_campaign=fb_post
How involved are these celebs in their investments? Probably not as much as Machine Shop/Linking Park - they're not on CNN looking for innovative ideas to invest they're probably looking more at sure things and tax write-offs but it's a start.
Jessie J was lying when she said “It’s not about the money, money, money.” Because regardless what your music idols would lead you to believe, it is most definitely about the bottom line and how you turn millions in to more millions and that means engaging beyond music and into lifestyle.
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