There is something intensely personal about music. A good song can have a visceral effect on its listeners. In some instances, our reactions to music can be so strong it is almost as though we have written the ditty ourselves.
It’s no secret that listeners develop unique relationships with the songs that they love. Music invokes in us complex, aesthetic experiences that involve and overwhelm our senses. Like scents, music can remind us of specific times, places and layered memories to which we attach complex layers of emotions. The music and the artists that stick with us become much more than a momentary stop-gap in our days.
There are a couple of ways to slice that. On the one hand, we could explore a more scientific approach to empirically understand–and in many cases attempts to validate– our emotional responses to music. [Controversial arguments have been made that music as an aesthetic experience is essential to human growth and development.] The other, less formal approach accepts that music is important and focuses more on delivering the favorable tunes to the right people. It’s the latter that is of greatest interest to me.
The artist is more than the sound of his or her music, just as record companies do more than publish songs. Music and the people who craft and produce it hold a mystique among audiences. Artists are idols bestowed with the power to conjure emotions with the gentlest touch of a chord. Artists have a little bit of god in them, and if only for one moment–or one three and a half minute song–mortal listeners can enjoy a taste of the immortal.
Perhaps in our idol-worship we hope to see a little bit of ourselves reflected in some way or another.
Music as an industry is changing. According to reports published by Business Insider, music revenue dropped 1.3% between 2013 and 2014 alone. Nearly half–48%–of music revenue comes from digital sources, up from a 45% share in 2013 and 39% share in 2012. But even in digital marketplaces artists and labels are having a hard time squeezing a dollar out of listeners. Last year, downloads fell by 12% while streaming–the use of services like Spotify, Rhapsody and Pandora–increased 14%.
Music must evolve back to basics. Streaming services have commoditized the music such that a listener could listen to a song and never know the artist. The trick for record labels will be to find a way to encourage investment beyond the point of purchase/sale–providing listeners the opportunity to experience the music through feeling and emotion and providing the listeners with an idol in whom they can see just a hint of themselves.
And all of that starts with knowing who you’re talking to.
Labels should focus on nurturing that sacred connection between artist and listener through personalization and unique experiences. People want to connect with their idols. It’s up to labels to figure out how to make that happen.
Sales will follow suit.
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