Disruptive Thoughts - Latest Comments in My Love of Markets

Re: My Love of Markets

Liv Pooleside — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 09:07:36 -0000

How do you determine the correct value of the song in the market? It's no simple thing, not supply and demand.

The real value for listener is pleasure. In this equation, the value of my favorite song as a listener is inestimably high. Like the best art, it's beyond value. At the same time, a song I don't like is totally without value. Doesn't matter how polished it is, it's worthless to me.

In practice, we assign a value to things which are beyond value relative to other things which are beyond value. Try sorting your top ten favorite songs and see how slippery their relative positions are! Unfortunately, the "pennies per song" model comes along, and a truly great recording by a big star is pegged at $.99. They can make a living at that price point, but my "half as good as that" song isn't selling twice as many copies, even at half the price!

My point is, value is not truly set by the marketplace- value (to me as a listener) is entirely subjective. I want a system which ties the listener's valuation to my reward as an artist.

Re: My Love of Markets

Liv Pooleside — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 08:07:36 -0000

How do you determine the correct value of the song in the market? It's no simple thing, not supply and demand. The real value for listener is pleasure. In this equation, the value of my favorite song as a listener is inestimably high. Like the best art, it's beyond value. At the same time, a song I don't like is totally without value. Doesn't matter how polished it is, it's worthless to me. In practice, we assign a value to things which are beyond value relative to other things which are beyond value. Try sorting your top ten favorite songs and see how slippery their relative positions are! Unfortunately, the "pennies per song" model comes along, and a truly great recording by a big star is pegged at $.99. They can make a living at that price point, but my "half as good as that" song isn't selling twice as many copies, even at half the price! My point is, value is not truly set by the marketplace- value (to me as a listener) is entirely subjective. I want a system which ties the listener's valuation to my reward as an artist.

Re: My Love of Markets

Fraser — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 16:48:55 -0000

The digitalization of music is doing more than simply changing the pricing structure of songs. It's destructing old value generating options and creating new ones. Beck said it very well in reference to his latest album: artists need to find the best way to give their music legs.

Sponsorship from fans is one option, but it leaves a lot of lost value for the artist on the table.

Re: My Love of Markets

Liv Pooleside — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 16:38:19 -0000

The internet cafe has the right idea- but then, there is limited space there. This model isn't the right model for music, which is not made more scarce when it is shared.

No one can earn a living at pennies per song. Unless they sell millions of songs. Who can sell millions of songs?

Better that the songs be free, and true fans pay to support the bands continued existance. Sponsorship.

It's a beautiful thing.

Re: My Love of Markets

Fraser — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 15:48:55 -0000

Putting music out there and relying on sponsorship doesn't capture the correct value of the song in the market. A market pricing strategy seems to be, in theory, an elegant solution to assigning the appropriate rate to an individual song. The digitalization of music is doing more than simply changing the pricing structure of songs. It's destructing old value generating options and creating new ones. Beck said it very well in reference to his latest album: artists need to find the best way to give their music legs. Sponsorship from fans is one option, but it leaves a lot of lost value for the artist on the table.

Re: My Love of Markets

Liv Pooleside — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 15:38:19 -0000

The internet cafe has the right idea- but then, there is limited space there. This model isn't the right model for music, which is not made more scarce when it is shared. No one can earn a living at pennies per song. Unless they sell millions of songs. Who can sell millions of songs? Better that the songs be free, and true fans pay to support the bands continued existance. Sponsorship. It's a beautiful thing.