Mat Zo Announces Free Music Releases “from now on”

[Darren]

Just saw this post from John 00 Flemming.

Didn't really think about it like this...

To me John has legitimate complaints but I think (if you'll pardon the pun) Zo is on the money with his move.

The music industry needs a cataclysmic shift in mentality, particuarly within EDM. Some established players can continue and maintain a relevant number of sales to sustain business but Zo and others are clearly struggling. He is jumping ahead with this move and realising if he gets in early he can broaden his coverage and raise his profile. He is giving up value in product from the move and its a gamble but it looks dire as it is. $2800 from an album is not going to have much impact when it comes to feeding a family and it'll only worsen with the technology shift the world is seeing.

Digital products (songs, media) are currently artificially inflated in value. When there is no extra cost to reproduce, copy and share something other than bandwidth it's value plummets towards zero. 'Appeal' stands out when sharing is easy and the cream rises to the top so I'd dismiss some of his complaints although there is the noise factor to be wary of.

In my eyes Business makers need to get it's head out of the sand and realise products no longer hold the value they once did. Service is what makes money now, just look at cloud 'services', sass etc. Supply and demand economics become largely irrelevant when supply can be made endless. People throughout business are fighting against this track and though there are moral obligations for feverent fans they're too few in most instances to adequately support.

It's time for artists to move with the times I'm afraid, I think Zo is doing this and he'll reap the rewards by making money in other areas. It damages conventional methods of income but they're quickly dying. They're not ways that new entrants to the scene should be looking at either I believe.

Yes the move damages the inherent structure of the music industry but is all that healthy or sustainable right now? I'm inclined to say no, but you can make a whole topic out of that debate.