In front of the internet, the music industry is too passive.

Source: Internet
Author: User

Forrester, an international reporting market research firm, released the latest report on the music industry early this year: for the music industry, the past decade was the worst decade, and 2009 was the worst year of the past decade. This trend will not change until at least 2013. In fact, 2009 was the worst year in the history of the music industry, with global revenues of $6.3 billion trillion, a 13% decline from last year's (2008), and less than half of 1999. People's music consumption decreased by 32% in 2009 compared with the previous year.


In China, music is thought to be almost impossible to form an industry, the traditional record only 200 million yuan a year market share. The history of the recording industry in the 1990 's encounter piracy attack, has not turned around, and ushered in the great impact of the Internet. 2009 is another winter for China's record companies, and the relationship with Internet companies continues to be cold. The production of traditional recordings has been embezzled by free downloads, and more and more record companies and artists are hoping to kill a day in live performances, especially in the Mushrooming music festival.


February 7, Southern Weekend invited musicians Xiaosong , founder of New Bee music, MySpace China Strategy and product advisor Love Fire (ifire), Internet watcher Hong Hongbo (Keso) A dialogue on music and the Internet was held in Beijing.


Music encounters the Internet, but it achieves live music. 2009, the music festival together, form different, young people in the music festival Wanton Madness, release self


The future of music is free
Xiaosong (musical person) dictate
Music is invincible, and all enemies come from greed. As early as 10 years ago, when I was hired as director of Sohu, people asked me, you think the Internet is a thing? At that time, everyone said that the Internet is a place to write posts, to receive mail, I said that the Internet is electricity, it brought about the revolution as the same time with electricity.


So the internet is not just the media, just like the electricity was discovered, the beginning people only think of using it to light the lights, and later found that electricity can also wash clothes, what can be. The same is true of the Internet.


After the electricity came, what effect did it have on music? The opera house is gone, and the Opera House has changed from one city to another. Electricity to provide a large number of copies of the record, resulting in such a change, the internet is to bring a greater number of copies of the order, than the number of orders to provide a much larger, high above the record was the internet digestion, and the electricity that dispelled the high House of the opera. Basically the internet can provide something similar to electricity, is a huge amount of duplication.


What's the harm to music? From the point of view of music itself, the expansion of each copy is a dilution of musical talent. The original Opera House so many, can only give musicians to send three number, such as Bach, Mozart and so on, behind you do not take you to play. After the huge reproduction of the record, it needs to issue 300 numbers to meet the demand of large amount of reproduction, so Bach, Mozart received the number, and then there are 297 different weeding, impostors people can receive a number, the Internet's replication and transmission of the need to issue 30,000 numbers.


On the other hand, the opera age, a person may listen to 100 songs in his life, but 50 will sing; one person in the record age may have listened to 1000 songs or will sing 50; in the internet age, a person may have listened to 10,000 songs in his life, and still can only sing 50 song. So, in addition to the first few, in fact, no change, whether it is the opera era, the record age, or the internet era, the vanguard are the same, but the back out of some messy silt, you say this is good or bad music? You can't say it clearly. There are so many people to do music is not bad, but the music itself has a property, that is, people all over the world to play music, there is only one or several vanguard, all hard to write, push backwards also only so much, because it does not have the capacity of mass production.


That is to say, the music itself does not have the attribute of being a commodity, the property of the commodity is to be able to enlarge the production rapidly, the tools need to be continuously improved and innovated, but the tools of the music have not been reformed for 500 years, 500 years ago piano, 500 years later, piano, and the level of the piano is not higher than 500 years ago, Those rhythms were made by the Masters 500 years ago. You do not have the ability to use more advanced tools of production, you do not have the ability to improve productivity, this is Marx said, you do not have the ability to improve productivity, you do not have the property of becoming a commodity.


So, music itself is not a commodity. After the commercialization of Michael Jackson, you did not make a second Jackson, like merchandise, you should do 10 Jackson, or more than 50 Cui Jian, 100 or so Jay, this is very good, but can not do it. Moreover, there is no sound on earth is music, not a bird called, or logging, no one sound is music, music is the limited resources of the day to give a little, you want to sell it as a commodity? This is not something on Earth, music is the equivalent of meteorites or meteor-like things, meteors come to this point, you when the meteorite sold, not to sell the sky or the internet to sell, in short, the results of bricks or something to sell. Because it is not something that can be produced on earth, I have never felt a song that I wrote, I think every song is a fake hand, just put it in my head, if you write a song you know, you do not have a way to write songs, there is no way to say that you are squatting, or lying down, or how to do a strange posture, Just sit here and wait until one day God gives you a divine power in your head.


Electricity is good, or the internet has come or not, no matter what form it becomes, since the album, there has never been Mozart, God only give you such a little thing every year, you dilute it or cohesion up to get it?


And the music is actually free now. What am I living on? When the judges. Every piece of land is fair, assuming you have a big chunk of copyright in America, you will only write "I Love You", "I Want to forget my Girl", there is nothing on this land for you, but you may have a lot of good ideas, and you can be a judge, anyway it will not let you starve to death.


If the Internet is so powerful, would you buy all of our record companies? We all sell to Baidu, that is not a knot? It is not so simple, because the traditional industrialization is also very strong, they may not have money, but all the money is from those things, so do not appear the Internet is the same, both sides are the same greed. Whether it's the record age or the internet age, there's no banner that says, "as long as you make a record, you make money, and there's no such thing as good." But today's copyright system is like this, spending money, I will earn back, it really does not have any pirated circumstances, you have spent money is not necessarily done. And the Internet feels that you have not proven your worth, why do you ask me for money.


The main contradiction is here, I always think if karaoke can make the record production side as the film producers to take the proportion of the share, you can eliminate a lot of bad music, rotten author, you are a song karaoke OK on the fire, it can be. Karaoke rooms do not play music and movie theaters do not play, are empty houses, can be karaoke to take out 1 per thousand of the room fee to you, the cinema has taken out more than 60% of the box office.


The future of the Internet should be free for everyone to listen to music, because you can make money from other consumer behavior, especially the right to perform, including artists at the scene of the show should have a greater proportion to the author. Live performance in music already has a very big market, far bigger than the Internet, karaoke OK so-called mechanical performance will have more than 10 billion of the market, as well as live performances. The right to perform can be controlled, you do not give Kotoka is not play.


Therefore, I do not think that there is a particularly serious demand between the internet and the music industry, as with piracy and piracy competition, you see we were the same as piracy, but also did not appear all over China are pirates, not to mention the piracy between the competition, piracy also provides a good music services, they also have a brand, I just didn't pay you. The internet will do this in the future, and then we'll go back to dividing our income.


Of course, in the performance of the expansion of income, music must be free publicity materials, in you do not know good situation, you let others pay, a bit unreliable. Not I let everyone listen for free, such as mobile or Baidu want to do this, I would like to give away, I do not want to, you put the money to me, you for your advertising, or for market share.


The Internet charge music mode is not go through, will certainly go to free up, watch TV is not free?


The internet is no harm to me, I have never left a song and lyrics agreement, because no one has ever done, even in the record age, and never a company, has given me any copyright report, I can not rely on music to support the family. When the judges are actually not good, or do other good, such as consultants.
Baidu is particularly funny, one to music this matter, Baidu took Google's point of view to speak, you see I am a search company, I want to ensure that everyone is free to search the right to ensure that we have found a lot of results, rather than buy the only result of copyright. This is extremely laughable, is also the present situation of China.


Music must be integrated full copyright, we can in the full copyright situation, Google is the only one with full copyright internet companies, and Baidu is 0 copyright, others are between Baidu and Google. A full copyright responsible good company and a 0 copyright company on a platform, I think all very funny.


In fact, the enemy of music or the enemy of books, the internet is just "electricity", many situations are the embodiment of the overall state of our country today. But I think we can not completely rely on the system, we today's state is sometimes very shameless-today to ask parents for money, said I was an oriental, you have to raise me, tomorrow to take my girlfriend home to sleep, said I was Westerners, this is my freedom.


The whole society is such a standard and the state, the biggest enemy is this.

In front of the internet, the music industry is too passive.
Love Fire (founder of New Bee music) dictate

The relationship between music and the internet depends on people. If you want to be friends, even if there may be harm, but still will forgive. Over the past two years, I have repeatedly said that the two industries of the internet and music need to understand each other, but the key is to understand each other's words first. For example, when most people talk about music copyright, the concept is vague, but in fact it includes the lyrics copyright, recording copyright, performing copyright, and even the issue of copyright, very complex, but these semantics are rarely really understood, and then everyone began to argue together.


What I really want to do is to let more people in the Internet industry know what people in the music industry think, and I hope the music industry will learn more about what the Internet can do for you. This is really not an easy thing, very difficult. Sometimes I can understand it-your interests are violated, even beaten black and blue, you will be very difficult to calm down to listen to me. However, it is a point that I firmly believe that the person who can treat the problem calmly and find a solution in his own interests will be the winner in the end.


Sometimes it's not that each other wants to hit you, but you find a fight. This is a very essential thing, and I have been calling the question, is that the music industry is too passive. The music industry has made so much money, but it has not developed its own technology, especially the media to develop music.


I remember the first CD format developed by Philips, the music passively into a "plastic film", a German company turned the plastic film into a MP3, the music industry again unprepared. This shows that it is very backward in science and technology research and development, especially in the media, MP3 led to the music industry in the mood, Sony had done a very stupid thing in the CD to do encryption processing, the result was a marker to kill.


I don't want to start a record company anymore, I don't love music, music can always be done, because it always brings hope to people. But if we can not use the corresponding technology to solve the media or channels of communication, in this era will become a victim, this is not only the changes in consumer habits, now everyone's consumption habits have changed, and did not adapt to this change and make corresponding strategic adjustments.


It is a transitional period, and almost all music sites fail to come up with a final solution, which is why it cannot really talk to the old record industry. I beat you black and blue, but if I can cure you right away, it's OK, but now it's just a little tonic for you to keep, it won't work. It is the so-called digital music sales (such as Apple's itunes online music store), or some push, use the Internet as much as possible media characteristics, to the music industry to supplement its deficiencies. Advertising in traditional media can be very expensive, and the Internet can significantly reduce the cost of advertising and achieve broader results. itunes may not work in China, a model that works in America, but doesn't solve big problems. The traditional record industry habit is that I do 10 songs, are poured into a plastic film (CD) inside, but now back to the single era, did a half-day, 10 songs, but may only sell a song, the old feel that their recycling is not enough. The record company is now weak, but the mouth is hard, with the Internet sales platform there is a lot of enmity, these grievances will cause the Internet sales platform in the ascendant after talking to you about the conditions, the original price I think you sell too expensive, I now want to sell cheaper, record companies have no way.


In this big background, in fact, Chinese musicians are not harmed by anything. Because the traditional record industry in China did not mature development, not to become a real industrialized industry, it has been a very amateur state, not to mention Midway has encountered piracy.


But they still have to blame themselves, although the foreign record industry has been hit, but fans are not just to buy CDs, download ringtones, but to see the scene. And Chinese fans are gradually beginning to accept the concept of the scene that is, these years.


In the past few years, China's music festival is very lively, but should be all live performances can be more active. How many minutes a year does the music festival come? That is a big meal, but at ordinary times we can not be hungry, eat these one or two meals a year-round, this is not good. And there are a lot of new bands that you don't go to live house to see and they don't have a chance to show up at a big music festival.


Last year I went to see the Zhangbei Grassland Music festival, the Modern music festival, the impression is very deep. Zhang's impression may be deeper, because he is different from the previous music festival. You look around, two miles away, there are people standing on the toilet you can see clearly, in such an environment, the heart is particularly open, where the wind is never stop, people there is not the same state, and more enjoyable, rock and roll of the movement or to be larger, the past to see the music festival than up with no sound son. Zhangbei in the suburbs, stereo open how big will not be disturbing.


But music festival in China, but also just fried into such a concept. In terms of earnings, it is no different from what is called a business act. Of course, the form is not the same. Through the speculation of music festival this concept, so that artists have more performances, a little more revenue, in fact, is still our previous model, ideas. Now the music festival has a great feature, it's fire up, can gather a lot of people, and this concept is relatively easy to be concerned about, so the music festival to the artist's money is less, a little shop bullying meaning, of course, have to admit that it does give artists to bring a lot of viewers, than go to a small theater show more attention.
However, the music festival in the current mode of operation, its effect will soon be reduced. The music festival is more and more, the attention will be diluted, one can watch a few music festivals, and the band shows up at several festivals, and he doesn't remember which music festival you played, it depends on how our music festival arranges the artist lineup and lets the fans feel the richness of it. The most important thing is to find a solution, in China, watercress musician myspace.cn and other Internet services to some extent, is trying to help the record industry, but ultimately need to find a better way. The most embarrassing problem now is that if all the labels are dead, it is possible that some Internet companies will become the original record labels, you become the payment for the cost of music products, once the production becomes bigger, you become a record company.

Is the patient, must actively cooperate the treatment
Hongbo (Internet watcher) dictate
I have a set of numbers, Chinese physical record sales in 2008 years is about 200 million yuan, and music-related mobile value-added has 55.3 billion yuan, which record companies can be divided how much money? 280 million yuan. By the end of 2009, China had a sound collection association (audio and video production rights Collective Management Society), they charge a copyright is 170 million yuan, the allocation amount is about 120 million, the 120 million-dollar record company can only get 50%, about 60 million, The Sound Collection Association and its cooperative Company (Trina) took another 50%. From this set of figures, we can see that China's so-called music industry, especially to sell records as the core of the traditional music industry, if it is only 200 million yuan, I think the fried dough sticks industry, soy milk industry, these industries are much larger than the music industry output value. So, in fact, China has no record industry.


The sales of digital music abroad are rising year in, and the amplitude of the increase is still relatively large, at the same time, the volume of physical record sales is declining year by year. In fact, you want to see its overall music industry output value, will find that the trend is declining year by year, that is, the increase of digital music share did not bring the music industry as a whole to increase sales, it is still showing the trend of declining, but the proportion of digital music is increasing.


What does that mean? The industry that relies on the big music and its products has spent most of its glorious time. If you want to make music, let the record company sell it, this pattern is dying, like electricity has been found, but you are a candle, you must know that the candle industry is sure to die, of course, it will have a small market, because the church, temple also need candles, birthdays, weddings also need, But it's never been a candle in history. As a result, the death of the traditional record industry is only a matter of time.


But the music itself is not dead, the relationship between music and our lives has always existed, China to accept a so-called copyright system, nor how many years of history. I said China does not have the record industry, that is to say the best Chinese musicians do not rely on the record industry to feed, the record industry has never fed a real artist, the record industry to feed who? Feed a gang of thugs, a group of gangs, a group of collecting money, the artists created a half-day, but to make this people better days, this model is normal? It's definitely not normal.


The internet will not become a new fighter or gang, I can not prescribe a prescription, I only know that the Chinese music industry is a patient, I know it is sick, but I do not know how to cure, may be incurable disease, there may be other treatment methods. But most importantly, our so-called traditional music industry needs to have a combination of treatment mentality, in the face of this era you are this kind of, you must actively cooperate with treatment, do not resist, do not always put a hostile attitude towards the Internet.


China's traditional record industry is in fact no burden, the Western traditional record industry once every year has tens of billions of of dollars in market value, those Shishi is very valuable, if broken will hurt. But China's record industry is so poor that there is no Shishi, so you are not afraid to be broken. So, there should be a better mentality, is to embrace the Internet.


The internet is beginning to try to bring some help to the music industry, such as the watercress musicians who provide a platform for so-called grassroots artists, which is good. Musicians always have the urge to create, even without the music industry, there will be musicians, but the internet better help them find listeners.


The traditional record industry should be better to use the Internet, you know, the Internet has no stereotypes, it will not hate who, dislike who, anyone can use it, the record industry can certainly. For example, my friend in Hangzhou to do a small website, shrimp nets, it wants to explore a model, through an incentive mechanism for people to enjoy high-quality digital music, upload a lot of fans can get benefits. This is also a kind of exploration, for this kind of exploration, the record industry should not be too narrow, to actively cooperate with them, to have an open mind to face, so that the music industry out of the current predicament.


I think the current record industry is really hostile to its consumers, and no successful industry in history has been successful by intimidating and attacking its consumers, but the record industry is doing it now. For example, they sue Baidu this matter, in fact, Baidu MP3 search the reason many users like it, because this is what users want. There is also the digital rights management system, in fact, the Internet industry in order to cater to the traditional music industry developed, is to restrict consumers, that is, the rights of consumers are limited to a machine, a player or a person, and the original record is not such, you can lend to anyone to listen to. The record industry has slowly gone to the opposite side of the consumer in the matter of copyright, if you don't solve this problem, you'll always be in opposition to consumers-consumers want good things, want nice music, they like those things, but you come down illegally and the record company sues you.


The internet has brought something new that requires active exploration by all parties. If the digital music pricing power to the user, the user is willing to spend how much money to decide by himself, and the highest bid of the top 1000, sent him to sign souvenirs and things like that, it is not selling the product itself, selling is a higher consumption experience.


Musicians who really know music and music should be encouraged to make music rather than an "industrial man" to make music. Those good music, must be those who love music, he can support himself in this way, even if he does not want to use music to feed himself, and music is only his hobby, let the music return to love itself.
There is the scene, music in history is the scene art, now, the scene will slowly return to people's lives, there will be more and more on-site. And you can charge for the scene.



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