Innovation in the Music Industry

In this blogpost we will discuss some examples of how the music industry is innovating, and an important lesson that companies can learn from this.

Recently, Dutch Brazilectro band Zuco 103 launched a crowdsourcing initiative. Through their Myspace they challenged their fans to create a videoclip for the new single Longing (Saudade). Fans can download short clips that were shot in front of a green screen, load them in their video editing software, and “get creative”. The winner will be invited to a concert, and have a meet and greet. But the real winner is of course Zuco 103; they access the creativity of ‘the crowds’, get many free video clips, and above all lots of free publicity for their new album.

So is the music industry becoming more innovative? And are artists expanding their creativity and finding new ways to interact with their fans? I think they are… and I hope to convince you with some more examples after the fold.

Another fine example of an innovative musician is Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails). Without going into too much detail, the promotional campaign he devised for the album Year Zero is ingenious to say the least. But he also involves his fans in his creative process: The songs on the 2008 albums Ghosts and The Slip were released as multitracks, which anybody can import in their audio editing software to remix their own album. At remix.nin.com, remixers can share their creations with other Nine Inch Nails fans.

Musicians are also becoming more innovative in distribution their music. When Marillion was considered over the hill by their record company, they turned to the internet. By connecting directly with their fans through their website, they were able to raise money for a new tour, to produce new CDs, and to sell merchandise. They even strengthen the bond with their fans by printing the names of people that pre-order their albums in the album sleeve. Nowadays Marillion even spread their music via P2P networks. When British alternative rock band Radiohead released their album In Rainbows, they decided to make it available through their website. But they really made a mark by letting each individual downloader determine the price he would like to pay for it. Allegedly, this strategy made them more money then offering the album through iTunes would have.

And what do you do when you haven’t yet made a name for yourself and can’t rely on a large fan base yet? Then Sellaband is the initiative for you. Sellaband promises to revolutionise the business models of the traditional music industry by letting people invest a small amount of money in beginning artists. When 5000 ‘believers’ donate 10 euro each, Sellaband will provide the artist with studio time and will produce and publish the album. The ‘believers’ receive a copy of the album. Crowdfunding at it’s finest!

Now what can a company that wants to be more innovative learn from this? The most important lesson is; be creative in the ways that you engage your consumers, partners, and employees. There is a large potential for harvesting good ideas, and you will also create a lot of publicity and goodwill. And after all, doesn’t any company aspire a large fanbase?

There are many more good examples of musicians being innovative. Do you have any examples that companies could learn from?