Brillante análisis de la situación actual de la industria musical

Vaya regalo de Navidad que me acabo de encontrar vía Enrique Dans. Un análisis completísimo donde David Byrne (músico, artista y productor) desmenuza la situación actual de la industria musical, cada uno de los costes de un cd, cada uno de los costes de una canción vendida vía iTunes, los 6 modelos que tienen los artistas para aliarse/atarse a una discográfica, en qué ayudan las discográficas a los artistas, en qué les perjudican, qué tipo de modelo conviene a cada artista, qué ha cambiado respecto a hace unos años.

What is called the music business today, however, is not the business of producing music. At some point it became the business of selling CDs in plastic cases, and that business will soon be over. But that’s not bad news for music, and it’s certainly not bad news for musicians. Indeed, with all the ways to reach an audience, there have never been more opportunities for artists.

But some labels will disappear, as the roles they used to play get chopped up and delivered by more thrifty services. In a recent conversation I had with Brian Eno (who is producing the next Coldplay album and writing with U2), he was enthusiastic about I Think Music — an online network of indie bands, fans, and stores — and pessimistic about the future of traditional labels. “Structurally, they’re much too large,” Eno said. “And they’re entirely on the defensive now. The only idea they have is that they can give you a big advance — which is still attractive to a lot of young bands just starting out. But that’s all they represent now: capital.