FOCUS ON STATE OF THE INDUSTRY AT MUSEXPO KEYNOTE PANEL Brida Connolly – Radio and Records Musexpo opened yesterday morning in West Hollywood, CA with a keynote panel moderated by noted talk host Larry King and including Napster Chairman/CEO Chris Gorog, Universal Music Publishing Chairman/CEO David Renzer, Virgin Records U.S. Chairman/CEO Jason Flom, Starbucks Entertainment President Ken Lombard, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and producer and American Idol judge Randy Jackson. King began by asking Lombard about the state of the music industry from Starbucks' perspective. He replied, "It's in a tremendous state of chaos, which has, frankly, presented an opportunity for Starbucks" as it expands its program to expose new music.
To the same question, Flom jokingly responded, "It's a great business. I sell little round things to people who don't want them, or they have to drive to a record store that's closed, or they stay home and download them for free." But, he said, he believes that within 24 months, "the growth in digital [music sales] will overstep the erosion in physical [sales]."
Asked about the effect of American Idol on the record industry, Jackson said, "We removed the record company" from the equation and said to fans, "Tell us what you like." AI, he said, began the breakout of a new business model.
King then asked Renzer about the publishing side of the industry, which, Renzer pointed out, is "the part of the industry we hear least about." Licensing is the biggest concern for publishers right now, he said, noting, "Technology is moving faster than we're able to figure out the licensing models." Still, he said, he thinks publishers and songwriters will do fine over the long term.
Asked about his picture of the industry overall, Gorog said he thinks there's an "explosion of new, innovative ideas," adding, "I think it's important to see, from the consumer perspective, how wildly exciting music is."
King then asked Lombard about the Starbucks consumer who buys both music and coffee, and Lombard pointed out the broad appeal of Starbucks' music, citing such artists as Tony Bennett, Diana Ross, Antigone Rising and Sonya Kitchell. "The music consumer wants to come in and feel like there's an experience for them," he said.
Asked about breaking new artists, Gorog said Napster is still relying on Flom and other label execs to bring talent, although Napster views helping to break new artists as a "hugely important part" of what it's doing.
King then asked the panel if there's any such thing as an "automatic" these days — that is, an artist who has only to release a record for it to be a hit. Jackson said, "No. I don't think there are really automatics anymore." He pointed to the success of Mariah Carey's latest album but said that even in a case like Carey's, there's "no guarantee" that any given record will be a success.
Lombard responded that, at Starbucks, "We're taking the approach that nothing's automatic." Flom agreed, noting that Carey had two unsuccessful records before her most recent, multiplatinum effort.
Asked by King if he learns a lot from a record's success or failure, Flom responded, "It's all individual. It keeps you humble." He noted that in the A&R side of the business, "No one bats more than .350."
"We need to develop new stars," he said, saying that the "people selling on the rock side have been [part of] nondescript bands that look and sound like each other; the stars are on the rap side." As the discussion turned to hip-hop, King asked how big rap is on Napster, to which Gorog replied, "Hip-hop is very big. We sell more hip-hop than any of our competitors." About the appeal of hip-hop, Jackson said, "It's so real. It's not jive. It's not perception."
Responding to a question from the audience about whether labels are creating long-term careers, Flom noted, "More acts signed in the '80s are meaningful today than acts signed in the '90s." Artists can run out of steam, he said: "They get to the point where they stop being inspired to make great records, and then we're all screwed." |