Music industry needs clear strategy and control over illegal downloads

　　It’s 4am in a hotel room far from home and you’ve just broken up with your lover. Aside from the minibar, there’s no empathy on offer: not a soul to talk to, no shoulder to cry on.

　　You update your Facebook status with news of the split. Seconds later someone on the other side of the world sends your smart phone a digital version of What Difference Does It Make?, allowing you and Morrissey to wallow together in self-pity. Someone else sends you Paul Simon’s Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover, which cheers you up a bit. This may sound far-fetched, but the hope of the music industry rests upon such connections. A future where songs are not bought, but accessed via telephones, sent across cyberspace, and passed around friends through platforms such as Twitter, is what is hoped will save music from the twin ravages of illegal downloading and a lack of strategic direction.

　　The full extent of the crisis was illustrated with the news that EMI, the label that gave the world the Beatles and Pink Floyd, faces the possibility of break-up if it fails to find £120 million by June. The smallest of the “big four” record labels, it has suffered from the battle between its parent company and bankers over a £2.6 billion debt — despite a jump in profits and the signing of 200 artists in 18 months.

　　“EMI are perceived to be in a terrible situation, worse than they actually are, and that’s putting off some artists,” said James Sandom, manager of the Kaiser Chiefs. “It’s a shame because they’ve got some great creative people and are out to prove a point.”

　　The internet is the big battleground. Piracy remains rampant, with more than seven million illegal file-sharers in Britain alone. Shops such as Woolworths and Zaavi have collapsed, further depressing CD sales. Albums, which bring in the most amount of revenue to record labels, have been hit by digital websites such as Apple’s iTunes that allow users to “cherry-pick” their favourite singles. Falling revenue has had an inevitable effect on talent.

　　“The number of artists getting signed is down 50 per cent from 2006,” Mr Sandom said. “The class of 2003 and 2007, including Franz Ferdinand and the Kaiser Chiefs, were able to build massive careers. There’s not been one artist in the past three years, apart from Kings of Leon, given the backing to achieve that success.

　　“There are a couple of the major labels that have made it very clear internally that they don’t believe signing bands is a viable prospect. Solo artists need less investment, they either work on the radio or they don’t.”

　　The desperate situation has pre-empted two radical approaches: labels have invested in new subscription services such as Spotify, and artists have increasingly moved towards corporate sponsorship.

　　“As an industry we’ve fought back from near collapse,” said Paul McGuinness, the U2 manager who masterminded the Irish band’s current multimillion-pound sponsorship deal with RIM’s Blackberry.

　　For the right band, Mr McGuinness said, “Record label funding can be replaced by the right corporate sponsor. And falling CD sales can — hopefully — be made up for by subscription packages.”

　　Feargal Sharkey, the former lead singer of the Undertones and chief executive of UK Music, agreed. “Research shows that 80 per cent of 14 to 24-year-old UK filesharers would pay for a legal service. Quite clearly, this is the direction in which we need to be heading.”

　　“By 2012 half of all telephones will be smart phones and we’ll see impressive growth in ‘access’ music services such as Spotify,” Mr Ek said. “The overall industry will be worth $40 to $50 billion dollars and, if you look at how internet companies develop, there will be only a couple of really dominant players. We hope to be one of them.”

　　If Mr Ek’s valuation is correct he will become a very rich man. The entrepreneur reportedly co-owns 47 per cent of Spotify along with its co-founder, Martin Lorentzon. But Spotify’s growth particularly its delayed American launch, has been hampered by concerns that not enough users would upgrade to its “premium” service.

　　词句笔记：

　　empathy:心意相通，共鸣

　　wallow in sth.：沉溺于

　　the twin ravages：双重打击

　　rampant：猖獗的，猖狂的

　　pre-empt：先取得，先占领，先发制人

　　mastermind：n.智多星;vt.巧妙策划

　　premium：n. 额外费用，奖金

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