We all know the music industry and its actors (artists, labels, publishers, promoters, composers, performers, producers) need to take a fresh look at what the situation is, and come up with real solutions or the drought of revenues due to the descent of sales will continue and jeopardize the future of music as an industry. Cos it's not all down to pyracy, cos it's not all down to the incredible amount of releases, cos it's not all down to the rise of new ways of spending one's money (videogames, mobile phones, computers,...), cos it's not all down to the impossibility for smaller bands to rise above the noise level.

The often interesting magazine The Quietus had a well done and thought about piece about this a few weeks ago. It's a long read, but straight to the point(s).

http://thequietus.com/articles/06318-how-the-music-industry-is-killing-m...

Here, at Kollector, we do believe radios and tv sync revenues, which were hard to follow until recently due to the lack of a tool like Kollector, will now take a growing part in the revenues available...

We all love Heavy Metal. Yes, yes, i saw you oscillating your head, i saw your arms wanting to reach out an invisible guitar last time you've heard Metallica !
Dare I say that, if given a an audio tour long enough, all music fans, even the ones saying they don't like that genre, could come up with some tracks they appreciate, and they would be surprised to know it's actually metal, or some derivative sub-genres.
Who invented Metal ? Some say it's the MC5, some say it's Hawkwind, some go for the early Stooges,..And who is the main metal band these days ?
Pop Chart Labs have come up with that incredibly cool poster you can actually buy and put on a wall, just besides the Flying-V and that Slayer poster ;)
http://popchartlab.com/collections/prints/products/periodic-table-of-hea...

Nothing Trent Reznor is doing can leave the independant musician without interest. Ok, he might not be very well known outside of the alternative music scene, but if you have seen "The social network" movie, you surely have been sucked in its improbable yet effective music soundtrack: that was Trent Reznor slowly making its way up to your brains. And he did get an Oscar for that soundtrack which made more than a few "normal" composers slighlty unamused. As Nine Inch Nails (NIN) Trent did commit some of the best songs of the Nineties (Head Like A Hole: http://youtu.be/ao-Sahfy7Hg) and his Pretty Hate Machine album is still a gem of dark pop meets rock meets electronic.

Now, on to David Fincher, one of the best movie director there is. His track record is impressive: Seven, Fight Club, Benjamin Button, and the recent Social Network we were speaking about. David likes it when it's dark, he is right into his element when things aren't the way Hollywood likes us to believe: all white or all dark...

So, when two artists like Trent Reznor...

There's no doubt about how big is the crisis in the music industry. And that goes well beyond the simple "hey, it's all down to piracy" because, frankly, that excuse is getting old but we all know that.
Too many artists ? Blame it on the usability and affordable prices of cool hardware and softwares but it's a great time for audio (and visuals) creators.
Not enough labels willing to invest money in developing artists ? Sure, there are cold feets but numbers don't lie (if you can get them)
Not enough creativity coming from the composers and re-spicing of old formulas for bands ?
Not enought ways to get the money you've earned in this business ? (altho Kollector has a clear idea about that precise point)
Too many other areas people can get entertained with ?(mobile phones, Ipads, videogames, movies,...)

The list is endless, and it's a topic one cannot hope to close in a simple blog post, but here's an interesting angle from Frank Woodworth on how to set up a record company that will
take full advantage of this time and age.

...

There's no formula for hit songs. Really.
Ok, ok, there are the basic rules of thumb one need to know in order to entertain its listeners, but sometimes weird, strange songs coming out of nowhere hit the crowd right between the ears and makes it to the top, with little promotion for some, with a truckload of marketing tricks for others....

Does anyone remember "O Superman' by Laurie Anderson, the by-then-not-Ms-Lou-Reed-yet ?
Or Wichita Lineman, by Gary Campbell, with the strangest set of lyrics ever ?

This said, "The Guardian" tries to put a few ideas together on how to pen such a monument that may bring its originators money and fame, and I reckon they've got a few tips right.
But remember: originality pays too !

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/jul/14/how-to-write-a-hit...

Laurie Anderson and her vocoder made it big with "O Superman" showing what a novelty song can do to the charts
http://youtu.be/-VIqA3i2zQw