The Race To The Bottom

Although I’ve been critical of Kevin Smith’s recent behavior, I really respect and admire his seemingly anti-Hollywood business strategy. Here it is in a nutshell from a 2006 blog post:

I took that logic into filmmaking, too: my stuff isn’t wildly popular in the mainstream, but if I make up for the lack of audience by spending less, ultimately, I can turn someone a profit. Harvey and Bob Weinstein have always respected this, which is why I still have a job after twelve years and no theatrical grosser over $30mil.

While I don’t necessarily see this approach catching on in Hollywood any time soon (Avatar anyone?), there are music-industry parallels. This simple approach has been the driving force behind independent record labels for years, but I think that in this new economic landscape, it’s as important as ever. Looking to the future, I sense that we’ll start seeing a “race to the bottom” in the music business; which label can spend the least while still seeing marginal success? Kevin Kelly postulates that

:

A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.

In the increasingly fractured music marketplace (nobody selling 10 million records, thousands of bands selling 1,000 records), economic efficiency could potentially mean the difference between success and failure. Every fan is important and should be treated as such. I’ve been reading Ian Rogers’ Fistfulayen blog about his experiences managing a hip-hop group, and it’s interesting to see the new tough choices that independent artists have to make. Moving forward, I think we’ll see more and more lean, smart companies & bands leading the way. I can’t wait.