Industrial

Last week we learned that worldwide music sales in Apple’s iTunes Store fell almost 14% in the past year, adding to a 2.1% decline the previous year. The culprits are streaming music services like Spotify and Pandora which enable listeners to consume as much music as they want, supported by ads or by a nominal monthly subscription. On the heels of Apple’s report, Taylor Swift announced that she would not allow Spotify to stream her newly released album (1989) and removed her entire catalog from the service. (We bet she’ll think twice about that when she realizes how much money she’s left on the table.) In the current vacuum, power will go to platforms like Spotify that ease distribution, accumulate network effects, and enable music curation and discovery. But we believe that music is too valuable to offer on the cheap. Maybe another wave of change will create a better alternative. That idea’s not so far-fetched. Digital transformation can connect business components in unprecedented and extraordinary ways, creating new combinations and new value that can, in turn, be captured by measuring the unique outcome created. Can peer-to-peer extend to peer-to-artist? If Nest can link me to my energy company, why can’t a music service link me to my favorite artist in a (semi-) intimate performance? How much would I pay for that? If I don’t have enough money, can I crowdsource the rest? A music service should be able to price quality and uniqueness. A musician should price for the experience he or she can achieve. This chapter is waiting to be written. (Taken from the source).