[DudeAsInCool]

Former Talking Head David Byrne takes a look at the changing business of music and offers up some sound business suggestions for artists, new and old. Specifically he suggests that there are now six business models for artists to use, rather than being obligated to the major record companies:

1. At one end of the scale is the 360, or equity, deal, where every aspect of the artist's career is handled by producers, promoters, marketing people, and managers.

2. Next is what I'll call the standard distribution deal. This is more or less what I lived with for many years as a member of the Talking Heads.

3. The license deal is similar to the standard deal, except in this case the artist retains the copyrights and ownership of the master recording.

4. Then there's the profit-sharing deal.

5. In the manufacturing and distribution deal, the artist does everything except, well, manufacture and distribute the product.

6. Finally, at the far end of the scale, is the self-distribution model, where the music is self-produced, self-written, self-played, and self-marketed.

In addition, there are a number of streaming audio discussions with fellow musician Brian Eno, radiohead's and aimee mann's managers and and indie record label merge records (Arcade Fire, Spoon) on the changing business dynamics for artists that are well worth hearing.

Read the full article and listen to the audio discussions at Wired

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[DudeAsInCool]

A tour of David Byrne's office: