Happiness = Music
Posted by anastasia on 08-21-2007
It's funny, I've been reading the coverage of the AP/MTV poll (Washington Post, reg. required) on what makes young people ages 13-24 happy and the main angle is that it's family. Indeed, forty-nine percent said that their relationship with mom and dad makes them very happy, while 27 percent said it makes them somewhat happy. This jives with the notion that this generation tends to be closer with mom and dad (especially mom).
What I found to be more interesting is that 61 percent of young people said music makes them very happy (27 percent somewhat happy). That means 88 percent of young people cite music as their source of happiness. Yet the music industry has not yet figured out how to harness this love and continues to sue its biggest fans and generate bad PR. Most industries would kill for that much fan love (think about how many people say they don't trust the media…yet they continue to consume it).
It's not just file sharing that's plaguing the industry — it's the rise of the individual song and the death of "the album," or physical CDs, outrageously priced concert tickets, the decline of terrestrial radio, and the internet, which is undermining the traditional role of major labels by connecting artists and fans directly. There are tons of people within the industry who seem to get it and who are attempting to adapt and even create new models (we'll be posting the case study we did with Secondhand Serenade from the Music Mashup soon). For these folks, this survey is great news. You have the love — now figure out the new business models.
August 21st, 2007 at 10:51 am
Regarding the idea that "outrageously priced concert tickets" are hurting profits:
Is concert revenue up or down from ten years ago (or some other comparison time)?
August 21st, 2007 at 11:14 am
Hi Eric. I don't have the numbers but I think the trend of high ticket prices has alienated the demographic in this happiness survey when it comes to going to concerts even if Boomers will continue to shell out big money to see The Police and The Stones. Which is why we've seen experiments like the free/sponsored Ozzfest. From Sharon Osbourne:
"This isn't a Barbra Streisand audience. These kids cannot afford to keep shelling out all this money, every year charging more and more. The brakes have to come on somewhere because it'll end up like the recording industry … who've bankrupted themselves. It's a joke."
August 26th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Interesting, indeed. Music definitely makes me happy. I think if the music industry were able to harness the power of how we share music between friends, that would be a great business model. I would say 75% of new music I listen to is recommendations from friends. Can music companies provide kickbacks to those of us who recommend and engage in a little profit-sharing? I'd sign up.