kidmercury

As I discussed previously, I wanted to remove one of my songs from online stores and streaming services that I had gotten listed in via TuneCore, a music distribution service. Turns out TuneCore can help you get stuff removed as well, for a small fee of $20. So it costs $10 to get a song in a store and $20 to get it out. That seems kinda kooky to me.

Anyway. I'm very impressed with TuneCore as a business, and think it is the kind of thing that is an example of the media revolution we are on the brink of. From a business strategy perspective, I find TuneCore to be what John Hagel has referred to as a shaper -- meaning it has the ability to completely re-shape how all the participants in a given industry operate (in the case of TuneCore, this would apply to the music industry). Hagel is one of my favorite business strategists/visionaries, and makes Kid Mercury's list of influences. Our business reports are largely based on Hagel's ideas; I generally try to take his ideas and make them simpler and more fun, with an added dose of conspiracy to illustrate the larger picture.

Anyway, Hagel's post on shapers is highly recommended. Here's a key quote:

The opportunity for aspiring shapers is to flip that risk/reward perception by magnifying perceptions of rewards and discounting perceptions of risk. By re-shaping mindsets, shapers can unleash significant investment by many participants and ultimately re-shape broad markets or industries.

In the case of TuneCore, the company dramatically re-arranges the risk/reward paradigm for creating and distributing music. My experience is a nice example: I wrote and recorded a song in my apartment that cost me pretty much nothing to make. Then, for $10, each song gets placed in stores and streaming services that pay royalties for listens. For my search engine marketing songs -- songs that incorporate the names of musicians and albums/songs by them -- the risk/reward paradigm is completely altered, as I can turn a profit on these songs relatively quickly. So why not upload it? And why not continue writing these songs, especially if I can do so relatively quickly (and thus at a low labor cost)? Well, there are other "costs," like being misunderstood or inadvertently creating negative energy, which I personally place a greater premium on, but from a strictly monetary perspective, TuneCore is a shaper because it re-arranges the risk/reward paradigm. Unsurprisingly, TuneCore now distributes more music than the major labels combined -- and thus can influence, or shape, the entire music industry. To this end, TuneCore recently announced it will be offering sales tracking and certification, and thus is set to disrupt the RIAA's monopoly on certification.

Of course, as Internet business people know, the real opportunity that the Internet provides shapers is in the ability to connect things. TuneCore can create entirely new marketing opportunities by connecting artists, connecting fans, and connecting its network of business that it works with that cater to helping musicians make money (i.e. like businesses that help musicians make and sell merchandise or book tours).

In sum, TuneCore is an example of a "shaper" business because it can completely re-wire how participants in the music industry can connect with each other -- something it can do because it offers a new risk/reward paradigm. Internet business people know that shaper businesses are the most lucrative and the most world changing. And as the old economy collapses, it is the shaper businesses that will guide us to the world of immense profits, creativity, productivity, and liberty that awaits us. Act accordingly!