Ever hear of TuneCore? It's the service that Trent Reznor and other musical talents have started to use instead of traditional record labels. It's also a company that understands where it adds value and where it doesn't. The firm classifies itself as an "enabler" for digital distribution, the creation of promotional items, and the production of CDs.
TuneCore just scored a deal with Amazon (Thank you, WIRED, for the news!). It will charge $31 to create a 10-track CD. That's $31 to get your music available on Amazon, so folks can order a CD. And, with on-demand duplication of the CD, you won't have to sell many discs to turn a profit. TuneCore makes its money on the up-front transaction, passing along Amazon's payout directly to you.
One of the things I love about this deal is the long-tail model activation. So many artists will now have a means to distribute that the selection from which to choose will be staggering. Yes, yes, the paradox of choice comes to mind in this circumstance, but that's where the promotional and evangelical moxy of the musicians can make a difference. Promote yourself or your band aggressively at shows, via word of mouth, YouTube videos, etc. and you could drive some sales. Seriously, even bad bands can sell a few dozen discs to friends and relatives. That's a pretty small conversion percentage on the tens of millions of Amazon shoppers.
TuneCore also exemplifies a delightful distinction between competencies and customers. In this case, it's not trying to take credit for the creative capabilities of music makers. These folks are TuneCore's customers. With a business model that enables its own customers to profit more than under a more traditional record label distribution arrangement, it's creating evangelists. The barriers to entry for music distribution have dropped nearly to the floor. No wonder TuneCore cranks out so much new music so regularly (150 to 300 new releases a day)!
Bolt this burgeoning catalog of music to the merchandising and suggestion engines within Amazon and shazam! you've got lots of good stuff happening. Talk about an incentive for musicians to market themselves? This is it. Instead of relying on the record labels and the traditional model of pumping up consumption, bands will bootstrap their own awareness-building.
My mind starts racing a bit when I consider the evolution here. Think of the continuing disaggregation of the old music distribution model and where it could lead... More PR or ad agencies marketing their talents directly to artists, perhaps for commissions on the sale of music (pay for performance!).
Or, apply the TuneCore Amazon model to another disc-based industry: film. Could a similar commodization of production take place for DVDs and Blu-ray discs over time? TuneCore gets that popping CDs out isn't where the value-add is, per se, in the music value chain. But it's an area of competence outside the capability of most musicians. And therein lies the opportunity. Let the talent focus on optimizing its product and promoting it - writing, creating, and playing great music. TuneCore takes care of manufacturing.
Think some budding film students wouldn't like the chance to actually sell their creations this way, too? The financials behind filming a feature-length movie and recording an album are very different, but the cost of creation for both types of content are much altered from prior generations. Ah, the digital age!
As you can tell, I'm excited about this bit of news. It's fun to think of how an old, out-dated technology like CDs might get a bit of new life from an on-demand model, how more musicians may be able to find the means to earn money from their creative inclinations, and - most importantly - how I might finally fulfill my rockstar dreams!
The news also gets me wondering about the lifestage of other industries and the questions of "Who is my customer?" and "Where, specifically, does my firm add value?" Many, many of us are faced constantly with the choice of defending the established means of capturing value, but it's in the moments of change that the greatest opportunities and risks are to be found. Ignore the inevitability of change at your own peril!
OK, gotta go now... It's time to work on some new riffs for my next hit song.
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