What do label bosses worry about? · Sep 29, 10:17 AM

When we were building Bamboo (the third version of FATdrop), we did some client research – on our service, but also about digital promotion and the music industry in general. Thanks very much to all those who took part, we got some really interesting results. We wanted to share some of the more general stuff with everyone.

Firstly, the background info: we interviewed 36 FATdrop clients. Almost half were label owners, just over a quarter were label managers and the rest were directly involved with press/promotions. The labels involved ranged in size from putting out 1 to 30 releases in a three month period, with the average being 6 releases per quarter.

What are the three biggest concerns you have for your label at the moment?

(We built this lovely-looking word cloud by inputting all of the answers to this question into wordle)

The most common label concerns were: falling sales (42%), cash flow (22%) and file-sharing (17%). In relation to file-sharing, some of the specific worries were: “piracy on blogs during promo periods,” the fact that “it isn’t a nerd thing any more” and “desensitisation” to copyright.

Because digital has made it easier to put music out there, many labels feel that it’s harder to get noticed. People were concerned about promotion, building a strong brand and getting exposure for their artists. Specifically people were worried about “getting lost in the mass of average/poor labels that swamp download sites” or an “over supply of low quality music.” They were also concerned about getting good “placement of products at online sites, [where] competition is fierce.”

Do you think file-sharing has increased or decreased your sales?

• 67% – it has decreased my sales,
• 16.7% – it has increased my sales,
• 16.7% – it hasn’t made any difference.

It’s no surprise that the majority of labels think file-sharing has decreased their sales. (It’s one reason why people use FATdrop for digital promotion instead of sendabigfile links or an ftp site, so they can track and monitor who’s downloading their promos.) So it’s interesting that a third of labels think file-sharing has actually increased sales or not made any difference.

Whilst file-sharing is a concern for most of the music industry, some people are starting to take an alternative view, and we’ve noticed a couple of things that might back them up. Recent research seems to show that file-sharers are still buying music. An Ipsos Mori poll found that file-sharers spend just 1% less on recorded music than those who pay for downloads. File-sharers’ total music spend included 44% on recorded music, compared to 45% of music spend for those who paid for downloads. So although they must have a lot of unpaid-for music on their laptops, they’ve also got a healthy amount of paid-for music on there too.

Some high profile artists have also been putting a positive spin on music that gets shared before it’s been released. Reuters reported a growing belief among some music industry vets that unauthorized leaks of an album before its release can boost sales. The article goes on to say that “leaks provide a way of generating buzz for an upcoming album. If fans get excited by what they hear, this line of thinking goes, they’ll go out and buy the album when it’s released.”

How positively an album leak effects a non-platinum selling artist is debatable. But it does suggest that there’s a healthy market for paid-for downloads out there, even where people could easily choose free.

Thanks again to everyone who took part. We’re still looking for feedback – if you’re involved in digital promotion and you would like to take the survey, please drop us a line.

— Kate

Comments

1. It’s not about selling a song anymore as it is about selling an artist. A great song can be downloaded, but if you really support your artist, you want to buy everything because thats what true fans do.

   We blame so much on sharing, yet at one time it was a cassette recording a radio mix show. If anything people now have the ‘freedom’ to explore a variety of artists without anyone programming the station playlist.

   Before i became a dj, I had lots of recorded cassettes of music that i made for the cost of a blank cassette.

   so the only thing thats changed is who has a chance to make the money, the artist himself. The question is who gets to pay for the marketing, even with file sharing, you are buried under thousands of great songs, some songs are so bad you cant give them away if you paid people to listen to it lol.

   — Ricky · Oct 17, 07:09 PM · #

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