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The New Era in Music
The music industry has seen better days. What began with the infamous Napster downloads of the late 90s has turned into a disaster for an industry heavily reliant on driving CD sales to maintain profit. Overall sales of CDs have been in rapid decline since 2004, keeping in line with an overall sales decline in the music industry of 30 percent from 2004 to 2009, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic industry.
Musician and producer Jean Michel, owner of My Own Music Label, does not see a bright future for the traditional business model.
"The record business is dying," he commented. "The industry has not been able to keep up with or handle the way business is being done on the Internet. Everyone is now downloading songs, and in the next two years I believe everyone will be downloading music for free."
The focus, according to Jean Michel, needs to shift from the record label to the fans. In previous decades record companies would contact the artist. If they liked their music, they were signed to the label. Most of the promotional aspects were then handled exclusively by the label and their managers. For Jean Michel, this put the artist and fans at a distance.
"There was a wall between artist and fan; but that wall is now gone. What I would like to do is connect the fan directly with the artist. That is the inspiration for My Own Music Label."
My Own Music Label, or MOML, is the brainchild of Jean Michel and a few collaborators. The concept behind MOML is simple: if fans like a band, they buy a share in the artist ranging anywhere from $10 up to $1000. Each band has to meet the $100,000 mark in order for MOML to begin promoting the band. Once the goal is reached, MOML will use the money to promote the band, create music videos, or begin work on recording songs and producing albums.
"If after one year the band does not meet its target goal, they can either stay onboard or quit the program," Jean Michel explained. "During the entire process the artist will be in direct contact with their shareholders. The shareholders (fans) will have direct control of that money until the target goal of $100,000 is reached."
The concept is innovative and combines the best aspects of art and capitalism. The shareholders in the artists, like shareholders in stocks, can see dividends from their investment. In turn, the artist is able to operate without having to borrow large sums or go into crippling debt to finance their art. MOML's revenue division is unique and allows for 30% of the profits to go directly to the shareholders. The artist in turn makes 40% and MOML receives 30%.
As a musician in his own right, Jean Michel still believes that the artist should have control of their own art and focus on the fundamentals.
"Today, it's next to impossible to land a major label. Our label offers new life to artists and allows musicians the time and money to focus on touring. The investor model will allow the artist to make a living - because the money is not going to be in CDs. The concept of buying an LP is gone, along with the major labels. The money is in touring and merchandise."
MOML still believes that traditional exposure is critical and plans to utilize current media structures to promote their concept as well as the artists featured by their label. This includes Myspace, Facebook, YouTube, radio and publications. If the artist is a breakout success, MOML will consider pushing the limit to $250,000. But Jean Michael stresses that the focus is on the artist and the production of art.
"Today's labels create sounds," he concludes. "If an artist wants to explore a different sound, labels jump ship. Our label allows artists to experiment. If the fans and shareholders believe in the artist, the artist can explore new avenues of artistic expression."
- David Lorango
For more information visit: www.momlabel.com
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