READ: The Digital Realm in Action

 

 

Several years ago as Apple’s iTunes was setting the baseline price for its music store at $0.99 per song, Edgar Bronfman, Jr., Chairman & CEO of Warner Music Group (WMG) was known for his staunch opposition to this structure. Publicly quoted as believing that Apple’s outside presence should not be the one fixing prices for digital music, Mr. Bronfman was notorious in his dissonance with the company.Thus it came as a surprise this month at the GMSA Mobile Asia Congress when label-head admitted that for the last few years music executives had been, “fooling themselves” in opposing Apple’s price structure. He went on to praise Apple’s iTunes’s music service, and even encouraged companies to look to Apple for innovation and guidance in garnering higher level of digital sales.

Warner Music Group houses many powerhouse labels such as Atlantic Records, Bad Boy Records, Asylum Records, and East West Records, and boasts such musical acts as rapper T.I. (in addition to T.I.P. depending on the situation at hand), Plies, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Lil’ Boosie, Bun B and Pimp C (U.G.K.), Scarface, and singer-songwriter Secondhand Serenade. Many of these artists have already achieved much success in the digital realm of music sales, distribution, promotion, marketing, sponsorship, and placement. But now that their bosses’ boss is behind utilizing the internet for all its worth in terms of music and its direct reach to the ears of the consumer, it will definitely be interesting watching how many their careers will expand even further. Once one of the most prominent figures against Apple’s pricing system and DRM-free .mp3’s does a 180-degree turn, the trickle-down effect will definitely be something to follow indeed.

Time will tell all eventually. In the meantime album sales will continue to decrease while digital sales will do nothing but continue to steadily increase. Thankfully somebody as influential as Mr. Bronfman himself has decided to embrace all that the online world can offer for consumers, labels, and everybody in between, while the days of resisting its enormous potential seem to be coming towards a digitally paced end. How will label heads decide to utilize the internet in terms of it working for their individual and collective agendas? What more can consumers expect to see in how they are presented their favorite musical acts and products? Of course I have my guesses as to what we can expect, but for now I am going to hold onto them and hopefully watch them play out — it’s always more fun to say “I told you so!” post-facto anyway, right?…

-CP

Tags: apple, edgar bronfman jr., itunes, read, warner music group, wmg