DMB: The Music Business Paradigm

Dave Matthews Band has decided that after 20 years of touring, they would take a break in 2011.  An article in Slate breaks down the touring success of the band.  The article makes the obvious reference to the Grateful Dead.  DMB knows and appreciates their fan base the same way the Dead did.  DMB differs in that 6 of their 7 studio albums have hit the number one spot on Billboard's charts and they have sold 30 millions records.  Here is the most telling sign of the success of this band:  In 2010 they grossed $72.9 million by performing 62 shows in 50 cities with an average ticket price of $58.69 the article points out.  (The band's website says they performed 89 shows this past year.  The article might be referring solely to summer touring.)  While other acts are charging upward of $100 a seat, DMB is charging about 50% less. This allows fans to attend more than one show a tour and encourages ticket purchases.  The fans more than feel like they got their money's worth and are encouraged to be part of a community. 

Nanomedia: Can It Create Viable Stars

In Fred Wilson's blog, avc.com, he talks about his Internet radio station, fredwilson.fm. Each day he adds one song that means something to him at that moment. Today it's What Is The Life by George Harrison, which reminds me that I still need to get All Things Must Pass. He figures he has about 60 listeners per day, which amounts to 1300 visitors per month. This is nanomedia. He points out that HypeMachine put all these nano sites, including music blogs, together and what you have is one big, huge hunk of media and lots of listeners/readers.

The numbers don't lie, but what we don't have is a filter for finding the site that works best for you. This is something that I've argued the record labels were good for. Finding new music now isn't hard. There is just so much of it available that you want to find the good stuff. If you find a blogger who has the same taste as you, you're in luck. All of this media is a great thing for diversity, but it's probably not going to let us discover the next U2, Dave Matthews Band or even the next Weezer. How can you capitalize on all this media for one act? Whoever answers that will have written the next chapter in the music business.