As an observer, something like the yearly MIDEM conference in Cannes is a great way to catch an insight into the current views of those inside the music industry about what is happening right now, and how they see things changing in the future. It is often supported by fantastic panels with often conflicting views. At the MIDEM Manager Summit, one such panel helped to highlight completely different views from two different managers. While the don’t necessarily conflict as they are personal opinions and not a clear case of right or wrong, it is interesting to the approaches of two successful artist managers.

Monday’s panel of Chris Morrison of CMO Management (Blur, Gorillaz) and Mark Wood of Radius Music (Imogen Heap) showed two managers working from different approaches – Morrison’s more traditional approach and Wood’s more tech-centred approach.

For me, the conversation was notable for a few different points. Morrison’s view of online digital retail was very concentrated:

“…there is only one retailer that counts on the net: iTunes… yet we spend an inordinate amount of time feeding the competition, rightfully so because we want there to be some competition”

There is no reference from Morrison to direct-to-fan techniques. I understand that for a number of reasons his point is correct; iTunes has by far the largest market share and is one of the largest music retailers, both online and offline, is a key access point for chart inclusion, and is an established brand for consumers with incredible tie-ins with the market-leading portable music devices. It is also true that competition must be maintained to keep the pressure on iTunes. Maybe it is the label involvement in the artists that chooses this path, but even EMI must be able to see the potential in direct-to-fan marketing and retail for such established acts – especially with EMI being on the virtual receiving end of the Radiohead ‘In Rainbows’ experiment. With platforms such as Topspin allowing many cost-cutting aspects to a release maximised for the established fanbase, and with the big name acts still more than capable of receiving media coverage even without chart placement, it is a better time than ever to shift to a new business model.

Morrison admits that he tries not to get overwhelmed by the online side of the music industry, distilling it in his mind to “a form of communication and a retailer”. While it is understandably a big shift for someone experienced in traditional record industry values to move into the digital world, a lack of understanding or neglect could prove costly – if I were an artist, I would want my manager doing their utmost to keep up with developments, should the time come that the band move away from the safety net of a major label deal.

When the topic of file-sharing was brought up, Morrison had a response to Pharrell Williams’ earlier comment about comparing file-sharing to “taste-testing” which has been widely reported:

“It’s not, it’s like giving them the whole bloody meal!”

While it is understandably frustrating to work so hard on a project over a period only for it to leak before release must be frustrating, his views about stopping piracy and “taking the gloves off” echo the lawsuits and clampdowns that have alienated music fans from major labels, by vilifying them after years of supporting the industry only seems to do itself further harm.

Mark Wood’s awareness of the internet and social media are far more in-line with how the industry seems to be developing, partially because his client, Imogen Heap, is so switched on to the idea of fan interaction. The information they receive from fans through the stars prolific Twitter-use amongst other things allows the management team to maximise and direct it’s avenues going forward, whether it be geographic pockets of information of fans requesting shows, or database cleansing and management. While such digital information is by no means exclusive, it can only be representative of a whole fanbase, it is vast information that would only be missed if these opportunities were neglected.

As I mentioned before, I am not saying that either approach is right or wrong – Morrison’s traditionalist approach is fine while the band are still operating under the major label record industry rules, albeit in a different climate – but as time passes, those in the industry who are more open to change and keeping up with the way consumers interact and source music will enjoy far more success than those who steadfastly cling to what has worked before now.

As Charles Darwin noted:

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

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