A True Story - Presented as a Fairy Tale: The State of the Music Industry

Once upon a time, there was a dense forest that opened up into a huge maze called The Music Industry. This industry created a machine so vast and finely tuned, that when leveraged, it controlled well over 70% of the music market. It created huge profits for the major record labels and their stakeholders. They ruled the land and airwaves for decades.

Then one day, a new type of machine appeared. It was comprised of a network of computers across the globe that connected people to each other and to a world full of information. It was called the internet, and it had grown up in the shadows of the once vibrant music industry. This internet incidentally, had itself given birth to a number of babies called new technologies. These new technologies when partnered with the internet allowed the masses to interact with each other. These new tools allowed users to share their joy, their goodwill, their aspirations and their talents with each other.

The first set of birth children inspired by that union was Napster, and a successive host of similar other siblings. Then a generation later, even newer technologies were born that threatened to unseat the behemoth machines that the labels had now become. It was a new world order - filled with MP3 players, virtual interfaces and social networking pimp-stations. Then one day, came the newest baby of the family and its brightest star. The baby was called the iPod and its interface was known as iTunes. And together they changed the way things were done in the music business industry forever… and ever.

~The End~

(...but, as you all know, this is real life and the story doesn't end...

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Hello friends,

My name is Mimi Jones (all my friends call me BB) and I am one of the principals of Blaqberri Entertainment (d/b/a/ Blaqberri Management & Consulting). The above "fairy tale" is very obviously my own oversimplification of the state of the music industry at the moment. I do believe, however, that the story clearly underscores the power of new technologies and their symbiotic relationship with the vast digital landscape that is the internet. The possibilities are limitless for those who tap into these new resources and learn how to leverage them to grow their music careers and their music related businesses.

Artists who’ve never had a deal with a major record label are appearing in relatively significant numbers these days in coveted spots on a number of music industry charts. New music (indie/independent music) is popping up on terrestrial, internet, and satellite radio - again, in significant numbers while others cruise the digital underground through podcasts and You Tube appearances. But at the end of the day artists are getting their aural and visual fare "fed" directly to the consumer by doing it themselves. These days, this is referred to as D-I-Y – "Do It Yourself".

Today, there are many resources available to the bourgeoning artists that were previously only available to the major players in the music industry. With these new resources, come a growing number of entrepreneurs who are creating new businesses to help artists navigate a terrain that was once the stronghold of the mighty record label machine.

I am one of those entrepreneurs and I know there are many others like me out here who are at varied stages of achievement. Many of them armed with the know-how to assist new artists in charting their own course for a successful career in the industry, or just simply pointing them in the right direction.

Since I am a sucker for a good ending, I will be keeping you posted about continuing changes in the industry, while turning you on to hot new music from artists you probably never heard of in your life.

Stay Chill!
Mimi Jones