Current and Future Music Industry Trends 2014

The entertainment industry is always changing. It’s almost hard to keep up with how fast things come and go in the music industry. Everyday, something new is being invented, engineered or distributed. This new technology keeps the music industry on its toes. Because of the new technology, the music industry is always moving forward with new marketing and production methods.

The biggest trend that’s been noticed is the increase in mobile web use. “Across all of the music website we have access to, approximately 20% of website visits come from a mobile device” (Taylor, 2014). It is estimated to reach as much as 35% in a year. This increases the importance of mobile marketing and applications. All studios and music sites will have to establish an easy mobile website or application to gain/keep customers. Also, it would be smart to handle everything through mobile music sites, such as payment, profiles, possible portfolios and more.

Another big trend that follows in with increased mobile use is visual content. Any avid Internet and mobile user will tell you that videos and pictures are taking over the web. “In general, shorter attention spans are making ‘quick content’, such as infographics, Vine videos, and tweets more appealing” (Taylor, 2014). This also follows in with media marketing. Many artists and bands can and do utilize these quick content sources to display their talents in short videos. When vines are shared on Facebook, they spread like wild fire because they are quick attention getters that get the message across to the viewer fast. This is a good way to market or display talents at no cost. In the future, I expect that vines and other sources will be used for quick advertisement for concerts and events.

Out of all the trends discussed recently, these two trends seem to have the biggest effect to the future music industry. More people are falling into the trends of smart phones and tablets, which is starting to make computers obsolete. If music companies don’t jump on the mobile bandwagon, they will be left behind and probably won’t last long in the industry.



References:

Digital Music Trends. (2014).
Retrieved from http://digitalmusictrends.com/

Taylor, M. (2014, January 3). 6 key digital marketing and music industry trends for 2014.
Retrieved from http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2014/01/6-key-digital-marketing-and-music-industry-trends-for-2014.html

Recording Studio or Home Studio?

Since the recent burst in technology, people have starting recording their own music from home. It is easy to understand why a person would do this. Why should anyone have to go pay a lot of money for studio time when it’s possible to do it from home? Recording and mixing music is easily accessible from home for just about anyone, but the benefits of getting profession service could be greater than going solo.

There are many reasons why one would want to record his or her music at home. Its cost efficient to record everything at home, but only if it is a long-term commitment.  A person would have to purchase the software to record and mix the music, alone with the equipment that is needed. There are less people to work with because it is a solo project. All the rights to the music would remain solely to the songwriter.

There are also many downsides to recording from home. For starters, most people are not professional recording and mixing engineers, and equipment/software has to be purchased to even record and mix. That bill can get pretty high and quick. Comments and feedback are very important in producing music. When recording alone at home, there are not many people around to give feedback and criticism. In order to ensure positive reactions from fans, one has to correct issues.

Recording in a studio can have its perks. Of course if a person uses a studio’s services, they will have to pay quite a bit of money. The good part about the studio is working with people who are professionally trained for these jobs. Recording studios have people that have studied music and have years of experience. They can help a person achieve their musical dream much quicker. The studios also have all the equipment and software that is needed. There are downsides too. The studio expenses can get pretty high for a big production. Also, the studio will most likely claim a percentage of the sales revenue and royalties.

Which is better to choose; studio recording or home recording? When it comes down to it, they both have advantages and disadvantages. If a person knows how to record and mix music professionally and can obtain the equipment necessary, then that person would be better off to record at home. If a person is not sure what he or she is doing, then it is best to go to the professionals. It all depends on the artist/songwriter.

Business Plan

Based on my recent research of business model experts, I have found some questions and information to inquire while developing my own business plan. From researching Steve Blank, I found four questions to ask myself when designing and revising my business plan. 

“What did you think was your initial business model or hypotheses?” This is always the best place to start. You have to know what you plan to do with your business to be able to start that business. It is always a good question to look back on as well because things change as time goes by. “What did you do or build?” Everything that you have completely for the business should be acknowledged. Accomplishments show success and movement of your business and are good for potential investors. “What did you learn or what parts of the business model were wrong?” When running a business, everyone does at least one thing wrong or has to change a few things.  “How did the business change?” This is probably the most important step when revising your business. It is positive to look back on how the business is changed and either accepts the changes as a good thing, or sees them as a bad thing and fixes it. Businesses should always have reflection and change.

Carlos Slim gives the advice of simplicity. He believes that the business plan should be simple, as well as the business organization structure. Everything should start small and nothing more than the necessities should be included in the beginning. He also believes that every business should take the profits earned and reinvest them back into the business. Starting small is the smartest way to go when starting a business. Many people try to get everything they need for the future and end up losing money in the long run. Keeping everything small and necessary also keeps the business plan small and open for expansion in the future.

Out of the whole business plan, I believe that the financial spreadsheet is the most important to the investor reading my plan. This lists all the numbers and the projected future outcome for the business. No one wants to invest in a company that has no financial future. Other than this, the other section I believe investors are most interested in is the written description a processes of how the business will work. No matter what the spreadsheet says, if the written description and processes seem like they are lacking, then it is possible the business will have no future. Investors need to see a promising future for any business they are funding.

Business Model Experts

In the world of business planning, there are many different ways to model a business plan. There are a couple people I found interesting. Their business models were easy for me to understand and they are both great business owners.

Steve Blank is successful business owner and teacher of 35 years, from New York. He is the founded of E.phipany, the marketing software company. He has taught at many schools including U.C. Berkley, Stanford University and Columbia University. After retirement, he wrote a book called Four Steps to the Epiphany.  The book basically highlights his five steps to a business model proposal. Each step is a question one asks about his or her business. What did you think was your initial business model or hypotheses? What did you do or build? What did you learn or what parts of the business model were wrong? How did the business change? The fifth step is simply to repeat the steps again. These four questions can help anyone succeed with his or her business. It helps people stay focused on all aspects of the business and to learn as the business progresses. It also shows that no business will ever stay the same from when it was first started, and neither will a business plan.

Carlos Slim is a successful business owner and billionaire from Mexico City, Mexico. As of March 2013, Carlos Slim is worth $73 billion. He is the richest man in Mexico and has six children. Slim has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Carlos Slim has many different business perspectives. He believes that companies should have a simple organization structure and should start small with only necessary assets. A business owner should reinvest the profits back into the company and be positive, creative and hard working.

These things Steve Blank and Carlos Slim inquire in their business plans are key to a business plan for many reasons. Most of these reasons are obvious, such as being positive, creative, working hard and to reinvest. A business will never grow or even last if these elements are not included. A simple business structure should be inquired in every small business plan. The questions that Steve speaks of are good to ask regularly because it keeps the owner aware of the business progress and allows for him or her to make note and change the issues. Also, starting off with necessary assets is smarter than buying everything at once, because not all the startup capitol should be used at the beginning. These are great tips to keep in mind when starting or owning a business. 

Resources:

Blank, S. (n.d.). About steve. Retrieved from

http://steveblank.com/about/

Burhoe, S. (2012, August 9). Steve blank and carlos slim business models. Retrieved

from http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/2012/08/steve-blank-business-models.html

Clark. (2010, November 22). World’s wealthiest man carlos slim interview: no scarcity

for slim. Retrieved from http://therisetowealth.com/?p=607

Crunch Base. (2014). Steve blank. Retrieved from

http://www.crunchbase.com/person/steve-blank

Forbes. (2013, March). Carlos slim helu & family. Retrieved from

http://www.forbes.com/profile/carlos-slim-helu/