Music 2.0

Through social networking I was lucky enough to connect with the very talented Albert Cohen. Check him out at roughmagicstudios.com. Anyway, we began to compare ideas in regard to creative issues but it lead us into the business issues associated with producing your own projects. Albert wrote:

Being that I am funding everything and could not possibly afford to bring back all my guys this is surely the best I could do for now. But my goal is to put together the best production I can and if it sells and if they want me to rerecord I will….on their dime ;-). I have spent every free cent I have working on this album.

This got me thinking:

The most important questions to ask yourself about any project BEFORE you start is:

What is the definition of success for me?
What is the definition of failure?

You said your goal is, “to put together the best production I can and if it sells it does and if they want me to rerecord I will….on their dime.”

Your goal is needs to be something measurable such as X number of units, Y dollars, Q amount of radio play, Z amount of touring and merch business. Also, you need to cap the possible losses. Such as if I spend X dollars in Y amount of time, I need to cut off the funds and move on. You also need a success plan, of course, where you outline what course of action you will take if sales exceed expectations (that’s the fun part).

The idea that folks who just met can share ideas with good intentions is something I believe is inherent in internet culture. In the next 18- 24 months I predict we will see the dramatic influence social media has just begun to have on mainstream culture. These days people meet there spouses everyday online. A few years ago that was a joke. I remember laughing at a couple that met online. Now they laugh at me, and I happily wear the fool’s hat on that one.

Maybe we’ll start to see virtual communities with more personality, like areas of a utopian city. This impulse to spent time online is fueled by escapism, where you can get so immersed in alternate reality games that you feel more alive there than in your “real life.” However, the final joke of the ARG game within the ARG is that, War Games-like, it’s not a game. Alternate realities are valid realities, in fact.

I predict neighborhoods will pop up online. People will communicate, collaborate, and culture will thrive. Wouldn’t it be cool if music 2.0 meant there were “mom and pop” websites you could visit to hear the best new talent? Then you could watch slideshows of underground fine artists while the banner ads were for local theater and music events in your area for that night.

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