In my last post, I highlighted The Music Consumer’s Dilemma using a comment from The Family Records’ Wesley Verhoeve where he says: “The music consumer doesn’t have a problem right now, merely an imperfect product.”
It’s Not Their Problem
There are many reasons I love Verhoeve’s quote, but the one I want to stress here is that the current challenges in the Music Industry are not the consumer’s problem.
- They are getting what they want: music.
- They aren’t in any pain: not only are they getting what they want, they are getting it easily and in some cases, for free. Illegal downloads are “free,” Pandora feels free and the same can be said for YouTube.
- No amount of yelling will change this. It’s like inviting a friend over for dinner and then yelling at them for coming and enjoying the food. Music consumption is way, WAY up and consumers know this. What they don’t understand is why they’re being yelled at for enjoying the party.
The Solution
This isn’t to say there isn’t a problem. There is. Here’s how to fix it:
- Responsibility: If the current problem isn’t a music consumer problem, it means it’s a music maker’s problem. “Music maker” is a broad term, and I’m using it intentionally. This is an entire industry’s problem, or should I say opportunity?
- Consumer focus: Success will never come by asking consumers to change what they’re doing. Success will always come by giving consumers something so compelling that they change their behavior on their own.
- Innovation: “Something so compelling” will come through consumer focused innovation. The kind Henry Ford (and others) used by focusing on combining the old carriage and the new motor into something consumers didn’t even know they needed.
Henry Ford created a killer product. The music industry will too. Will you help?
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