Good afternoon! As promised here is part 2 of our interview with Andi Durrant where he gives his thoughts on the music industry in 2011.
How easy/difficult was it to be a music artist in 2010. Do you think it will get easier/harder in 2011? Why?
I’d say it was very difficult – especially if you’re just starting out and trying to get recognized for your work. It used to be the case that only a very small amount of people could use a recording studio, or even afford to hire one. Now for around £200 and a laptop you can do virtually everything, which is why I’m now receiving an average of 400 new tracks a week to listen to. Trying to stand out from that huge crowd is no mean feat.
Social Media has exploded over the last few years. Do you find tools such as Twitter and Facebook useful as an artist or just something you have to be on these days?
I absolutely love Twitter. I was scathing at first (“Who wants to know what salad Ashton Kutcher had for his lunch?”) but then I got the point of it – you only follow the people you’re genuinely interested in and its opened up a new world to me. I’m on there all day every day catching up and chatting with the rest of the electronic music community. I actually think it’s brought us together a bit more and strengthened the scene. DJs and dance music artists have really embraced Twitter and come off all the better for it. As for Facebook, I see that more of a promotional tool. It often seems a bit too personal sharing all your pictures with the world, and is ruined by people spamming your wall and trying to make you play imaginary farm games.
2010 has seen a rise in the popularity of cloud music services such as Spotify. Do you see them breaking in to the mainstream in 2011 and becoming the new way we consume music?
I’m sitting on the fence on this one – I really wouldn’t like to guess. The Spotify business model isn’t working for artists at the moment, and I don’t see that changing very soon… but then a new service might pop up next week and change the whole thing again!
How important do you think mobile technology and apps will be for the music industry in 2011?
VERY important. We’re nearly all living our lives through iPhones, iPods and Blackberrys these days, so those artists who have the best online presence, the most up to date and interesting Apps and websites, and make their music the easiest to access will come out on top.
Finally, do you think 2011 will be the year that the music industry will ‘get fixed’?
The music industry was probably broken the day it began. It’ll never be fixed and I’m not sure any of us want it that way even if it could be.
Some great insights from Andi. Share your thoughts with us about the state of the music industry in 2011 on Twitter @pokerpr
We recently blogged on the launch of the new We7 iPhone app and since, there is now a new addition to the streaming music apps family – the Muziic app, which was launched on Friday and is a little different from the others.
For those of you not familiar with Muziic, it is the brainchild of a 16 year old called David Nelson. The streaming service was originally launched as a desktop program this time last year, and there is now a web based version, a Facebook app, as well as the newly launched iPhone app. Muziic works in a bit of a controversial manner as it uses YouTube API to stream videos and music. You can also listen to albums, create playlists, listen to a massive selection of internet radio stations, and share your choices across social media.
Unlike other streaming services such as Spotify, We7 etc., the Muziic service is free across all platforms and does not require a premium subscription for advert free music. One of the selling points of the Spotify and We7 apps is the ability to cache your music allowing you to play it when you have no internet connection. This function is missing from the Muziic app and would probably be a step too far for YouTube who are a little upset at this use of their API already.
Poker PR have been a fan of streaming services for some time but think this could be a step to far as it does not create a revenue to be reinvested into the music industry. What do you think of this free service? Let us know here.
The UK based Spotify rival, We7 has launched a new music streaming mobile app, available as a free download from the iTunes store. The app appears to be working on the We7’s Premium account, although from the 1st March it will only work for those who sign up for the £9.99 a month Premium+ account.
We7’s product allows users to take advantage of an offline mode where in areas of little or no reception, they will still be able to listen to music that has been cached to the handset – a feature similar to that of the Spotify app.
There is a special offer on We7’s current Premium PC based service that is advert free and is available until the 1st May for £3.99 a month (normal price £4.99). The Premium+ service will feature ad free listening on both PC and mobile and will be available on both the iPhone and Android devices. We7 say they will be making the app available to Blackberry devices at some point.
Following Warner Music’s comment that steaming services were “clearly not positive for the industry”, Poker PR believes it will be the premium services that will be used to keep the record companies happy and provide the money to keep the music industry alive.
There’s huge news in the world of digital music as Spotify and iPhone – two of the biggest names in music from the last decade – have joined forces. Music download store Spotify has produced the long awaited iPhone app that’s soon to appear on iTunes – meaning the future of music distribution has dramatically changed once again.
Times are changing… will music eventually become free altogether? And where does the record label sit within this new model? Noone knows the answer just yet, but only time will tell.
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