Something must be swirling pretty heavy in the zeitgeist at the moment. In the last week we had the honor of being invited to a roundtable discussion on music distribution at Adam Art gallery, Apple announced Ping, and I read two fantastic posts by Bob Lefsetz over the weekend, on the death of monoculture and the rise of fan recognition.

The roundtable was a great discussion, although I haven't been unchained from my desk for a while, so I think I may have tipped past 'passionate' and into 'raving' a couple of times. We talked about what MusicHy.pe is up to, and people often expect MusicHy.pe to be explained in terms of the current music models, but when you are trying new models that makes it difficult.

The conversation at the roundtable circled around the fact that the music industry is in decline (or is it?), the war is over. Now what? 

Smash the Mirror

Well, the field is razed and it is time for reconstruction. If we want to move forward, in a way that supports art, we need to agree on what's fair. Right now we're getting too close to allowing an ISP to benefit more from music, than those that create it.  

At the Adam Art gallery discussion a lot of folks expressed opinions, and anxiety, that "paying for music" was at an end. Many people believed the upcoming generation was even less likely to pay for music. While this is true in some ways, I don't think it's as cut and dry as that.

Digital distribution still has a way to go, and recognition is a big part of that. Right now recognition is something that's missing in the transaction process. This is at the core of what we are doing on MusicHy.pe. Create an end to end process that is easy to use and recognizes both people in the transaction, artists and fans. So I was pretty happy to read Bob Lefsetz' posts this weekend. Hey, we're onto something! 

Does success for us mean a fan purchased a digital download? Nope. We're just as happy if the interaction leads to ticket sale, a t-shirt purchase, heck, even a CD. Just because we live on the internet doesn't mean we are only focused on digital downloads.

The MusicHy.pe team believes in physical products as well, but we want to tie this into the web in a way that makes it more effective for artists. The key is not focusing on perceived 'lost sales'. It wasn't lost if it was never going to be made in the first place. Instead, the focus should be on what the fan did pay for. And if they aren't ever going to pay, stop wasting your time and money on them. Go and focus on those that are worth your time.

Ultimately we want to earn a living and we want bands to earn a living. The Internet is supposed to support this idea of empowerment. The old model was out of whack, there was too much power on one side of the relationship. But now the field has been leveled.

Does this mean that no one's going to pay for music? I don't believe so. It's built into human beings to thank others for art, to compensate them for something, to show appreciation. Music has been doing this for a long time, from coins for a busker to clapping at the end of a gig; we want to show our thanks.

Unfortunately the model that built up around music appreciation went askew. It became less about appreciation and more about taking what we were given. We were supposed to shut up and be thankful for what we got. So everyone knows the model got screwed up, luckily we had that glorious online revolution thing and I think it is safe to say the old models are done. There are a few old generals sitting in their underground bunkers, but all in all it's over.

See Me, Feel Me

The new model that's evolving can't just be focused on how many followers, or fans, an artist has, but it should also focus on the fan and those things they believe are worth paying for. Which track moved me enough to pick up my hand, move my mouse over the computer screen (like ouija board) and click that Last.fm 'love' button on my scrobbler? How many gigs did I go to? How much merch did I buy? What videos did I like?

This includes a nice mix of 'free' and paid activity that I can be proud of. A virtual shelf of my music collection for folks to gaze over, nod approvingly, or snicker, depending on your taste. Hey, we all have our guilty pleasures.

I buy tickets, I download a song, etc and we want MusicHy.pe to recognize that and then show me others who did the same thing. We can all sit back and bask in the general atmoshpere of good will.

This is possible online, and our goal. This is where online social communities can really pay off, I may not care if you are the mayor of Starbucks, but to see that you've supported an artist I like is important. I like an open society where artists are recognized and thanked (including financially) for their art, especially if I'm recognized as well.

Pinball Wizard

What's happening to the music industry isn't new.

The gaming industry already fought this battle. It happened way before farmville. Concepts like shareware, open source, and more... were applied from day one. The digital genie could easily escape from the bottle at any time. So pacts were made, and a societal agreement was signed between the creator and the consumer, between artist and patron.

These agreements include free and cheaper upgrades to the software you already paid for, it's about ongoing and evolving value. Another agreement was made about recognition in online communities, starting with game ladders and exploding into player achievements. In fact music and gaming achievements have already come together quite successfully in franchises such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

I'm free

The software and gaming industry has businesses sitting across the full spectrum, ranging from 'free as in beer' to paid for software. Horses for courses. The path chosen is dependent on the people on both sides.

A good point at Adam Art was that it would be a shame if we lost the professional musician. I agree. So we need to create systems that support those that want to pursue that dream. What else do we have to strive for on this planet if not to do what we love, but also make a living off it? That's about as good as it gets, no?  I think there is more opportunity in music for that now more than ever. Less super-ultra-mega stars, more artists. Is that a bad thing? Maybe not, but trust me there will still be super-ultra-mega stars, that's built into us as well.

New models emerge all the time. People still pay for bottled water, so guess what? Music will be paid for too. We just need to agree on how. 

Join in the roundtable below and let us know what you think