Brian Feener

On Rhapsody, there was an amazing collection of producers and and songwriters who answered some very good questions about the future of the music industry.

I want to share one piece with you.

Technology and the Collaborative Process
Tricky Stewart: If you’re working with people that know what they’re doing, the more established artists, they know exactly what to do. It’s bad because [with modern communication] you don’t get to meet everybody all the time, but at the same time you can do more work. Sometimes, you could be doing a guest spot over here on this record, and doing one actually in the studio with someone here, and mixing next door. Technology has definitely made it more convenient to make records. The other day, me, Dream, and Ne-Yo did a record together and we weren’t even in the same place.
…
DJ Toomp: It takes away from what we really worked hard to get to. Tip, Jay-Z, and cats who been in the game for at least five years or more understand being in a room and vibing. But this new generation came in just [emailing] tracks. Some new rapper who never heard of a MPC, never has really been in a true studio, and has never seen a record being mixed, that’s how they think it comes together. But they about to fly me [to England] to work on Jay-Z’s new album. So, it depends on the artist. (Full Post)

There’s two interesting points here:

1. With technology, you can get more work done.  There’s no question that when a there are affordable laptops that can do the same thing that $20,000 of recording equipment 10 years ago, there’s a level of accessibility that there has never been.  This is pretty much true of all media nowadays.  Even here - you’re reading an editorial that wouldn’t be in existence anywhere 10 years ago.  With blogging software, open source recording software like Audacity, Garage Band on the Mac, GIMP (Photoshop competitor), and million other programs I’ve forgotten,content can be created, uploaded, and put in the appropriate distribution channels quickly.
2. Toomp is caught in between an old guard style of record making and a new technological revolution.  Jay-Z and T.I. started their hip-hop careers before the age of Napster and iTunes, when text messaging was done on two-way pagers and the only way you could get an email was through a dial-up connection.  Toomp mentions that the new generation doesn’t understand the work that goes into a fully mixed record.  There is a condescending tone in his observation.  While I think there is no magic formula for creating great music, you have to consider the studio habits of biggest rappers in the industry right now: Lil Wayne.

Lil Wayne’s latest album The Carter III was certified 2x Platinum on 7/14/2008, making it one of the best selling hip hop album of the year.  It has been critically acclaimed and well-received by the hip hop community.

By all accounts though, this CD was made according to the same email-based process that Toomp does not prefer.  According to the Play-N-Skillz who made the beat for the third single from the album, “Got Money”

Then, one day, I got it on my iPhone with Wayne and T-Pain’s vocals on the actual track. Then we couldn’t come to the mixing or the mastering, which we were upset about. Wayne doesn’t let you come unless he has personal relationship with you, which we didn’t. Skillz is such a music guy that he doesn’t care about the money, he cares about the situation. So he was like, “F*ck it, they can’t have it.” But I’m more of the business head, like, “Nah, it’s Carter III and we’re going to get this single.” [Wayne’s engineer] Fabian Marasciullo, did a great job on the record. (Full post)

So if your looking to take sides in the debate, do you look at the best results like Lil Wayne’s “Got Money”, or the worst?

There is a certain production [used here as a general term] dynamic being created here that if you’re always making content and practicing your craft, you will eventually be able to stumble upon a hit; however, there is going to be a large volume of misses.  If your business model can sustain the misses, I think the argument can be made that this is a valid strategy for media and content creation, so long as you avoid the status of “commodity.”  This would be a Lil Wayne strategy.

The other argument is that if you only make one or two intricate pieces of work a month (or a week, or a year, or decade) in an environment that normally have a deluge of content, that you can focus on making only hits.  This is a Dr. Dre strategy, who’s made only 2 albums in the past 20 years.

Both strategies work.  Both strategies are hard.  Neither is a guarantee.

For the comments, do you think technology is making your material better or just making it easier to make?

What can you do with a facebook group?  How can you turn it into something tangible?

We’re going to find out…

I can search for music by artist, by album, by genre, by related artists….

Why not date? What about searching for a song released on your birthday? See all rock songs released in 1969.

How important is the minutia to your customers?

What would an infinitely large table serve the needs of?

What would an infinite amount of tables serve the needs of?