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Each week, industry veteran Celia Hirschman considers the changes and trends happening in the music business. An independent consultant for the music business, she founded the marketing consulting company Downtown Marketing and also runs the UK-based record label One Little Indian in North America. She works with artists such as Bjork, The Twilight Singers, Lloyd Cole, Daniel Agust, Polly Paulusma, and many others, and has served in senior management at Palm Pictures, Mercury Records and A&M Records.
RECENT SHOWS
Unintended Consequences
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Gnarls Barkley had to rush-release their new album, to avoid having it leaked on the web. In fact, so did The Racounteurs. And EMI invited some of their biggest retail customers to a Coldplay listening-party, but confiscated all the Blackberrys and cellphones before the guests were allowed in the room...
State of the Marketplace '08
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This week, music retailers joined together in San Francisco for the 50th annual trade conference, to discuss the state of their record business...
Games People Play
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Here we are, one day after the release of Grand Theft Auto IV. One more day where millions will rationalize killing, humiliating and degrading people, as a legitimate form of entertainment...
Time to Organize Recording Artists
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This week, an independent study of Internet users published in the New York Times, found that only 42% paid for their music – either by buying a CD, or buying a download. The other 58% of the American population engaged in peer-to-peer downloading, or burning tracks from others CD’s, or ripping tracks from their friends computers. Those options offer no financial compensation for the musicians’ work...
Makin' Bacon
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The big news this week was that iTunes beat Wal-Mart as the #1 music retailer. It's pretty amazing, considering Wal-Mart is the largest employer in America and iTunes probably only has a few hundred people working in Cupertino. Welcome to the digital economy. Selling music direct to consumer with minimal labor costs is rapidly becoming the new face of retail. The number three retailer in music is Best Buy and number four is Amazon. Watch that number go up in the next few months...
The Major Labels SHOULD Be Worried!
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One of the great things about the music business right now is that the door is wide open for talent with vision, particularly if they already have a fan base...
All You Can Eat
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Industries hit by sea changes in the marketplace take years to recover ground, and if the titans of that industry ignore the changing market, the result can be downright devastating...
The Messenger: Eliot Spitzer
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In October 2004, Elliot Spitzer, as the Attorney General for the State of New York, showed remarkable courage when issuing subpoenas to major record labels and broadcasters for engaging in payola...
Financing Your Future Career
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The record label business continues to evolve or devolve, depending on how you view it. Thousands gather in Austin, Texas this week, for the annual South by Southwest music festival, to celebrate or bemoan their future fate. Meanwhile, new companies are hard at work, trying to reinvent the business we've known...
Greener Pastures Ahead?
Legacy Player:
Last week, I explored the damaging impact that CD's have on our environment. CD's must be recycled separately. Tossing them into the garbage creates toxic landfills.
The Greening of the Record Industry
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Companies around the globe are increasing becoming accountable for the ecological impact of the products they produce. If you really want to live green, I'd suggest you buy digital downloads, not compact discs as a rule...
The Music Business, Gaming-Style
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It may be a bitter pill to swallow, but record labels are finally waking up to the fact that lots of consumers are passing up the record-store experience for alternative ways to spend their money...
Grammys '08
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The Grammy Awards telecast on Sunday night was billed as music's biggest night. It certainly wasn't. The show lacked much of the craftsmanship and brilliance of contemporary music and underscored just how out of touch the record industry remains. For its fiftieth-year celebration, the award show unapologetically focused on music from the distant past. Most of the presenters and performers were seniors, giving the show an almost geriatric feel...
I Wouldn't Steal
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I'm glad I live in a country where free speech and debate are encouraged. Sometimes, these are the best ways to give perspective to issues that need addressing...
Taking Stock of Hubris
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The economic problems surrounding the record industry have been devolving for the past eight years. In spite of this, none of the four major record-label conglomerates seemed willing to make significant changes in the way they ran their business. That is, until this week, when Terra Firma took the lead in a bold move that will separate EMI labels from the rest...
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Host
Celia Hirschman
Celia Hirschman covers the music industry with an experienced eye and a provocative perspective.
Schedule
Live
Tapes & Transcripts
Click the Full Details link to view the complete transcript. Tapes are not available.
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