posted on October 12th, 2007 in Music, News, Radiohead, The Machine 

hey, music industry, i can see your undies.

Radiohead started something.  Diverse folks are following.  Where do we go from here?

The music industry has its own unique characteristics and severe issues.  However, many lessons can be learned by following it.

Lefsetz Letter on Madonna/Live Nation
Bottom line, the majors have lost their clout. Their monopoly was always distribution, and they used this to get talent to sign. Eventually they owned EXHIBITION also. So, if you wanted to play, you had to sign with them. The fact that they weren’t hip enough to know this wasn’t going to last forever is astounding, especially since trends come and go so quickly in the music business.

Lefsetz Letter on Radiohead

You can’t make a TV show by yourself. Certainly not a movie. Not that anyone can see. But you can make a record all by your lonesome, it doesn’t cost that much. And you can say exactly what you want, you don’t need to clean it up for Wal-Mart. And, you can distribute it yourself online. That’s what Radiohead is doing.

Will they make a deal with a major for physical distribution? Will they do it themselves? Or will they leave ALL that money on the table?

Undies are already very familiar with saying what they want to say.  And they already distribute themselves online.

If you can attract a growing audience for what you create, you hold a massive amount of power in this emerging space.  Use it wisely.  Learn how to make the most of these new opportunities.