Define “Business Model”
By now, I’m sure that most of you have read this article in the New Yorker about the publishing industry. If you haven’t, I highly suggest that you do (and know that it will take awhile).
First off, the funniest thing to me was this line - “there is a running joke that the second book published on the Gutenberg press was about the death of the publishing business.” Just sayin’.
The business in this is quite fascinating (especially if you work in music), but even if you don’t, there are strong lessons to be learned.
This struck me as so important to remember.
In Grandinetti’s view, book publishers—like executives in other media—are making the same mistake the railroad companies made more than a century ago: thinking they were in the train business rather than the transportation business.
I’m not in the CD business. I’m not even in the music business. I’m in the entertainment business. The entertainment happens to be recorded music as its primary product. Ensembles aren’t in the concert business. They are in the entertainment and culture business.
Yes, the labels are very broad, no question, and we can’t address every need that “entertainment” brings to us. But we can’t find ourselves stuck in how to push more pieces of this product into people’s hands. We need to focus on creating good entertainment, solid performances, and in general, something that people want. Then deliver it in a way that people want to consume it. Perhaps I want to listen to a CD in my car. Maybe I’m taking a walk and want it on my iPod. Maybe I’m in my media room, playing cars with the Little Man and I want it streamed through my TV.
The realities of business can’t be ignored, for certain. Publishers are built on a model of selling to bookstores. It’s how everything in their world is based. But, honestly, do you really want to be in a business where the general m.o. is “shove things out the door as hard as you can and hope that not much comes back”? I’ve never understood that myself.
All of us deal with this every day. Where our media comes from is changing so fast. But, one thing that we all know for sure, we love to consume it! And we really, really want to see good things being recorded/performed/written.
We vote with our dollars. So, if you love good stuff, go get it! Teach the publishers and labels and presenters what you want by buying it and showing them that focusing on quality and marketing will be a solid business model in years to come. Then, how can we really lose?
