WGO: Melismatic Turns 3 & #FutureSound

"Ninety percent of the time, people are listening to the same ten percent of their music library." - Joel Resnicow, CEO of Rexly, a new music-sharing social network functioning as an iPhone app

"There are fans for every artist out there...Marketing 2.0 is about the speed & momentum of acquiring fans -- finding fans faster builds buzz." - Jed Carlson, ReverbNation.com

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Today is a momentous occasion, friends. November 19, 2011 marks Melismatic's third anniversary living in cyberspace. Blows invisible yet slightly irritating New Year's Eve-esque kazoo. In case you're curious, it's purple and sparkly. Naturally.

It's on days like these that I like to reflect about my place within this crazy thing we refer to as the music business: the blogger. 

Billboard is sponsoring a FutureSound Convention, highlighting the state of the industry as we know it and it's slow evolution and adaptation to the digital world -- a subject that couldn't be more interesting and intriguing to me. The music business model is arguably archaic in some respects. As a young person who grew up enamored not just by the musical output of my favorite artists, but of the roads they walked to get to that end, I'm quick to assert I'm always on the artist's side. But in 2009, not long after Melismatic first surfaced, I was able to see first-hand life on the other side of the fence as an intern at a major label here in New York. 

My mindset was forever changed, as I began to truly understand and appreciate the difficult balance -- two sides that seem to be naturally at odds, even though they don't have to be. The business side, seeking the bottom line, and the creative side, seeking artistic satisfaction. But if I learned anything from Mr. James Diener during my short stint working at A&M/Octone Records, it was this -- why does there have to be a fight?

One of the reasons why I adored my time at A&M/Octone was because they were a label environment that was more interested in developing their artists (potentially over a long term) rather than putting all of their money, luck and influence on one catchy single and hoping for the best. The proof is in the results: Maroon 5, Flyleaf, Hollywood Undead, K'NAAN. Each artist is completely and utterly different -- different sound, different fanbase, different needs, different promotional avenues -- and are handled as such by the label. This is the model labels need to adapt to -- looking beyond the one-chance, instant gratification mentality we live in now. We need to look for the career artists -- not necessarily those with the best voice (or looks) but the best chance of producing excellent material over the longest period of time.

I first began documenting my rambles via this diary of what I was listening to, in blog form, three years ago, today and in just that short span of time, already the music industry has completely changed. I have completely changed. When I first started this humble blog, I was just a starry-eyed senior Music Industry major. Three years later and I've moved to major city (that serves as a critical musical hub). My musical tastes have changed. I've met and interviewed so many artists I've admired. I've been to several life changing concerts. My feelings toward music have changed and adapted -- they are elastic in a sense. I've become a touch more cynical, more seasoned, more knowledgeable. But I've also abandoned the mentality that just because an artist I love is being seemingly ignored by the major marketplace, doesn't mean their work is a failure. I was able to hear their work, and enjoyed it. If I've enjoyed it, others most likely have or could or will, too. If my voice encourages just one person to listen to a song or an artist, my job as a music fan is being done effectively.

It's these kind of thoughts that keep me hungry, keep me motivated, and keep me interested in what's going to happen next.

As I say every year, hugs and kisses to all the artists who inspire me, the music that keeps me dancing, and the friends who are willing to listen to my rambling obsessions -- whether they agree with me or not. I love all of you so much more than you could ever know. Here's to the Future (Love/Sex) Sounds to come!