The vast tentacles of the Internet (300 million websites and counting) vie for Googlers’ attention every second of every day. Competing for ones attention are a billion text messages per nano second, a plethora of social networking sites, micro blogging services and, yes, even Twitter.

However, there’s also another very important market dynamic that’s evolving … the social awakening of America. Our aging society has grown weary of the excesses of the past decade, which has been punctuated by the serious downturn in the US economy. Combine that with the re-emergence of “Camelot” (i.e. Obama) and we have the ingredients for a public looking for a more meaningful “being.”

Witness the new Hannah Montana movie that opened on April 10th. OUT is the brash talking, skimpily clad Miley Cyrus. IN is the fresh, modestly-dressed and, yes, humble Hannah Montana. One recent Tweeter remarked, “Hannah montana is the best movie evaa. Boom boom clapty clap. .” Is this the start of a new trend?

The Music Industry Evolves into The Industry of Music
The music industry (especially certain genres) has a unique opportunity to re-invent itself and capitalize on these market dynamics. The rallying cry for this re-invention incorporates aspects of:

·    Caused-based social entrepreneurship
·    Teamwork and collaboration
·    Wellness and Fitness
·    Education
·    Ecosystem

By incorporating these aspects into the music ecosystem, there is a higher likelihood that music can transcend “the song” or “the album.” In other words, more people will likely “opt-in” to the message, which becomes part of the brand.

Many analogies exist in today’s market. Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, Suzy Orman and Tony Robbins come to mind. Each one of these celebrities has transcended their categories of talk show host or financial wizard to become a brand trusted by their fans. When a product is introduced, there is a high probability (30% or more) of a purchase by their following.

The music industry has a unique opportunity to re-invent itself by looking beyond the traditional licensing models. It has served the industry well for many years, but today the model is broken and a new model must emerge. Rob Caraeff, EVP of Universal Music Group was quoted as saying “don’t focus on total album sales .. look at consolidated revenue from dozens of revenue lines behind a given artist …”.

The new profit models for the music industry will be created by those visionaries with the leadership and commitment to turn the tugboat into a speed ship. Technology in this context is both a blessing and a curse. The convergence of technology into our lives has hastened the “perceived” value of digital content down to close to zero. But the technology blessing is that now the world is literally at your fingertips. Online advertising and marketing take on new meaning. You now have near instant ability to test and respond to changes in consumer demand. You can create loal, national, or global campaigns at the flip of a switch. And, quantitative data makes your decisions much more precise.

Now, the $64,000 question is which music industry icon will lead the charge.

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