Streaming economy and listener’s power

There was an interesting talk given on Amsterdam Dance Event 2015. You can read the full article here . I just quote some interesting points with my comments below.

1. “Оn demand streaming services has caused the current generation of listeners to develop an increasingly fickle relationship with both the music they listen to and the artists who create it.” It means that our emotional connection with music is weaker than decades ago. You don’t need to remember the name of a tune or an artist or know a story behind the composition — you just press «favorite». It looks like is a part of our human nature: we can’t appreciate something that is gotten without an effort.
2. The author gives an interesting reference to “YouTube phenomenon”, which is not a way to increase the popularity of music artists but the whole new format and product (see more here). YouTube is a platform, medium, format and talent at the same time, and the most important thing — it is interactive. The Web is a bit like a guillotine: it is a great equalizer. And if the artist wants to be popular, he or she needs to suits the rules of direct communication between him and his fans without middlemen. Now the listener is the power player. However, the music industry still focuses on the wrong things: release dates, campaign cycles and budgets, and the need to sell product right now — instead of communication.
3. So,  how to connect artists and audiences in a streaming economy? The author says: “now, the listener is the power player; in order to successfully build and monetise an audience, you have to start with your listeners and put them first. You have to give people a reason to care about you, and to follow you – because the most important factor in any potential fan’s decision as to whether or not they want to support you is how you’re making them feel. The only metric that the music industry really needs to be concerned with is customer lifetime value“.

And here we go. The main long-term aim of Jamz — to make a whole new format of communication between musicians themselves and between musicians and their fans. Because what would be more democratic than jam improvisation and that can be more close communication than playing a song with your favorite artist, record it and share it? The listener becomes a brother musician and shares the power with a favorite artist.