Re:Release day economics
by rasmusrygaard on Thursday September 01, 2011 @04:50PM
(#2951701)
I think the main difference between the two is that entrepreneurs have a viable alternative in working for an established company (if we can forget about the lack of jobs for a minute). Yes, musicians can work day jobs too, but there are hardly as many openings for professional musicians as there are for professional programmers. The startup analogy is valid, but for recording artists, taking the leap is often in direct conflict with whatever pays the bills.
Re:Release day economics
by waterside81 on Thursday September 01, 2011 @04:21PM
(#2951592)
I was having this exact conversation the other day with a friend. The similarities between the two are striking. I've been working on a blog post about how my entrepreneurial idol is not Steve Jobs or Zuckerberg, but Anthony Keidis. If you've read his bio, Scar Tissue, you'll know this guy has had more ups & downs and "pivots" than most people could stomach.
Definitely agree - it seems like the music business in the early days (Elvis / Sun Studios) where lots of smaller players are trying for the big hit and the market is still fairly fragmented.
Also, the success ratio sounds similar to the early days of the music business - a lot of people plugging away, only a few will make it.
It'll be interesting to see how it turns out!
Competition is fierce. Most start out working on their (startup or music) product part-time until the product becomes popular enough that it is a "hit". At that point the entrepreneur may be lucky to end up funded ("signed") which will help their ability to pursue their product full time and spend the marketing dollars to reach a larger audience.
Thankfully it's unlikely the VC/entrepreneur relationship will become as twisted and exploitative as the major music industry's relationship with artists as being funded does not suddenly unlock access to an entire set of verticals inaccessible to unsigned artists. Or does it?