Normative, LLC, part one
I want to pretend that the major labels were each hit with a hydrogen bomb, and now all these musicians are standing around, asking, “What do we do now?”I want to answer that question.
The word normative refers to defining norms.
The company Normative works by asking, How should this be? and then pursuing that conclusion uncompromisingly.
It embodies my complete disinterest in the past except as a record of previous experiments. I am wholly concerned with the future: the slice of existence which can be shaped by my will; the blank canvas upon which I can paint my ideals; the one place where we might live amidst triumphant art and where existence might be tolerable.
It is only by disregarding the dominant paradigms that we can create the future that we ought to live in. I have no interest in tweaking the present system. I intend to invent something new, not “reinvent” the old.
Musical success in 2008 will require a deep familiarity with three important concepts: art, commerce, and technology. I believe this truth stands without exception. A label that doesn’t “get” the web will fail. A bedroom music producer who cringes at signing a contract will fail. A web entreprenuer who sees musicians as entertainers, not as walking gods, will fail.
The reason for the above premise is the theme of our present phase in history: Technology gives us the power to do almost anything. This means making a profitable album no longer requires hundreds of people. It requires two or three. Big record labels, and large corporations in general, are no longer needed to make money from art. This is not to say that Normative will buy magazine ads and mail press releases ourselves. That’s too much work. It means we will promote our albums in new ways that are hundreds of times more efficient; ways that record labels don’t understand, but are obvious to a seasoned web entrepreneur.
It also means that if you want to make money from music, you’re going to have to pull your weight, or you will be left behind. In the old model, a small number of artists created a living for hundreds of label employees. When those arists realize they can split the money with a couple of partners instead, will they? I’m betting the answer is yes, and every musician I talk to seems to agree with me.
If you can bear his egotism enough to get through this essay about Jakob’s new music company, it’s a provocative read. I couldn’t agree more with the basic principles he outlines as the philosophy behind Normative. Its an excellent riff off the idea Radiohead’s latest move worked, not because they’re Radiohead, but because they understand Art, Commerce and Technology. (Wait a second, ACT? Really??? An acronym? *groan*) The only thing I see missing is how the consumer fits into this. They’ll only want to spend money to support these artists if it’s easy for them and valid reason enough to do it.
I suspect that this guy is already doing things for Normative and when he fully launches to the world with what he’s doing, he’s either be in the midst or already have at least one success to show the world.
