Let’s get one thing straight right here, right now: I am not going to tell you everything. In order for me to claim some sort of ownership over this, some sort of personal investment in it, I need to make sure that I know the special sauce that will make it work.
Here’s a little taste of the burger:
As a student of the music scene (I don’t think there is anyone who could be crowned sensei), I’ve always believed in one basic principle:
“Music should be free to experience.”
This past summer, I was thinking of a new business model for music. A good friend and I wanted to open our own store for a little while, but decided against being pigeonholed into the life of a merchant, into the brick-and-mortar realm. The idea of selling music may seem contrary to the belief listed above, which is why there’s an appendix to that statement:
“Music should be free to experience (but not to own as a listener).”
I racked my brains long and hard for the answer. I couldn’t come up with it: how could I accomplish my goals while still making a viable business model? How could I make a living without exploiting the artisanship and creativity behind music? And then it struck me. On a walk back from work one day, a few days after I heard about Ninjam (see this post), I realized how I could change people’s lives, make music a free experience, and revolutionize the stagnant industry. The answer was simple: extend my core value some more:
“Music should be free to experience (but not to own as a listener) for those observing, and especially for those creating.”
In my earlier post, I mentioned the possibility of working with a Chinese pipa player and an African drummer to create some really different music. This is directly related to where I see the music industry needing to go; I’ll also bring this topic up again when I speak about diversification/music’s “Long Tail”. But what I wanted, want, and will always want to do (until it’s done) is to:
Create a community that facilitates a process of free musical imagination and creation across the globe, and offers a free listening experience to
non-creators.
Like I said before, the way I see it, it is commercially viable. And like I said before, this is only the bare bones, the core value behind a fully structured plan and platform I (and my good friend and partner, Justin) have prepared.
I would love to work with you, whoever you are, on getting this idea off the ground. I’ve met some people who I feel can add to the project. I know it’s resource intensive and will need some fairly major investments, or at least some pretty big partnerships. But it’s doable, and it’s doable now.
If you see eye-to-eye with me on this, write me at “anulman (AT) gmail (DOT) com” and let’s figure out how we can work together.
