Lots of people are writing about how major artists (Madonna, nine inch nails, radiohead, etc) are ditching their recording labels. They are instead opting to take their business to consumers on their own. This is so great, because everyone wins. Consumers get music for less and the musicians make more money. It’s awesome!
One of the great powers of the Internet is that you don’t need people that don’t build products. The Internet makes it so cheap and simple to get directly to your customers, that you don’t need someone else to do it for you.
Examples:
– Software Companies. 2 guys in a garage with no marketing, no sales, and no funding can build a product. (Lookout & lots of others)
– Authors. An amateur with a blog can garner the readership of millions without help from anyone. (TechCrunch, John Chow)
– IPOs. A company can go public without paying unreasonable royalties to underwriters by selling shares direct. (Google)
– Music. Musicians can sell their songs directly to the public.
In this world, there are two types of people. Those that build product (software products, physical goods, art, content, etc), and there are those that don’t build product (marketers, sales people, etc). The latter is becoming increasingly marginalized. Don’t get me wrong – there is definitely a need for salespeople and marketers. But thanks to the Internet, there is a decreasing need for them. I think this is great, because it makes us more productive as a society – everyone needs to learn to build something. It’s also a clear indicator that the Internet must always be free.