The other day I’ve found a very interesting blog post offering ideas to make blogs & labels working together in good terms. I can tell that it’s a VERY sensitiv subject, i don’t know much label managers who like blogs ;)

Here’s the article.

I find this subject really interesting: How can nowadays record labels can benefits of blogs, excepting the buzz they can create ?

Jon Ostrow shares with us different ideas:

Music Distribution

Benefit to Labels: Decrease unauthorized downloads of free music.

Benefit to Blogs: Increase site traffic and brand power. Potential opportunity to make money from music downloaded from site.

A big component in the ongoing feud between music labels and music blogs is the fact that blogs are acting as an unauthorized channel of distribution for music. Blogs offer music for download to their followers and they spread like wildfire – the only reason the labels are pissed about this is because they see nothing in return (except for the mega-buzz that builds around the artists and their work).

If record labels would only embrace music blogs by supplying them with a legitimate way to offer music downloads to their followers, music blogs could actually become one of, if not the strongest form of digital music distribution.

Record labels could create custom widgets that could be branded for each artist/ project and could be distributed to music blogs. This would create a simple, direct-to-fan outlet for record labels to reach music fans and would continue to allow record labels to retain control.

Public Relations

Benefit to Labels: Leverage the online buzz that blogs are already capable of creating. Increased sales.

Benefits to Blogs: New opportunities to establish on-going relationships with labels, PR firms and/ or artists. Increased traffic and brand power. Increased ability to offer even greater value to existing readers and followers.

Blogs are the new Magazine, Music Television and Radio all in one. With the high-level of influence that bloggers have been able to generate, it is only a natural fit for those who are already seen as taste makers to become a PR outlet in their own right. Music blogs could be the next major PR outlet that record labels turn to for interviews, reviews and other promotion that could generate buzz for an album or track release. Innovative PR agencies like Ariel Publicity already focus heavily on music blogs and their ability to generate interest in an artist or project.

In the end its all just a matter of both sides embracing the power of each other. As long as the stigma continues that music blogs are ‘destroying the music industry’, record labels will continue to battle against their power and influence as opposed to leverage it to their benefit. The same goes for music bloggers who are hating on record labels who are trying to shut them down – they should be leveraging the opportunity that labels can create to drive even more traffic and eventually more ad revenue or sponsorship dollars than ever before possible. »

Interesting isn’t it? but after reading, I felt a bit perplexed… if we can make this work, that’d be ideal but…

First, there are loads of blogs talking about tunes which are not downloadable. They just review the tracks. If a tune is available for download, then it’s a choice of the artist or the label. Of course, there are blogs which share pirate downloads. But i don’t even want to talk about them….It’s another subject :)

Labels are in fact complaining about the large amount of music given for free. There are more & more people making music. Blogs are a very strong and cost-less tool to spread the info, build an artist profile. But I don’t think people stopped buying music cos they can find music for free. Loads of people stopped buying music cos it got really hard to find the good tunes. When you do a research on Beatport, or other digital retailer, it’s a f***g nightmare. But when a track has good reviews on blogs and is not available for free, it is just a plus for both the artist & the label. A good track is a good track, available for free or not. The quality is artist’s best friend :)

But anyway, this is a large subject, so let’s go back to the first subject :)

In my opinion, the reason why blogs are so important and powerful is because people running them are passionated people doing this for love of music, not for love of money.

Of course, everybody needs money, and bloggers would love at least to cover the cost they invest in making their blogs running. But the reason why people stopped being interested in specialised music magazines is cos they know reviews are not totally objectives. When i’ve talked with Florent, the french PR guy i worked with to promote RAW, he was clear: in some magazines, i won’t have reviews if i don’t pay for adverts. I’ve heard the same story for magazine such as old french Keyboard Magazines, which gave good reviews of music equipment in exchange of « presents »(holidays, equipment, etc…). And even if there’s no money involved, the friendship between labels & magazines can change things ;)

This is not new of course. But this is one of the reason loads of people don’t trust magazines anymore. Blogs belong to people. Bloggers talk about the music they love, and the followers read these articles cos they got the same taste, it’s a true, honnest & positiv relationship.

I don’t want blogs to belong to the industry in these kind of forms.

If blogs got paid by reviewing music they’re affiliated with, then the same thing would happen i think: loads of them gonna talk about the same big artists, just to be sure they’ll get some $ at the end of the month.

I’m maybe wrong, but i don’t like this idea…. what about you ?

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