Testing "Music 2.0": Building an International Network of Student-Run Music Companies to Assess New Music Business Models

Guy Morrow
Macquarie University

Abstract

Traditionally, record companies and music publishers have stood as musical gatekeepers; the authorities on who can produce and what can be consumed. Yet, in 2008 – the constantly connected age of the Internet – the lines that differentiate producer from consumer, and vice versa, have begun to slip away. This new musical landscape calls for a new kind of business model. Although not verified, early scholarship suggests that these businesses would best operate under 360-degree deals via rights service ventures. Furthermore, because creativity, a commodity that forms around clusters, is still the raw good in the production of art, the university setting, a cluster by design, has become an increasingly ideal environment to collect and disseminate music. Thus, with rich capital in time, talent, and contacts, a network of international music companies run by students and connected by universities could be the testing ground for these new business models. With publishing and licensing as its vehicle, this international network could very well lead the music industry into Music 2.0.

Keywords: pedagogy, music publishing, music licensing, international business, artist development, music production, student labels, student led music business, creative clusters, 360 degree deals, intellectual property

Morrow, Guy. “Testing 'Music 2.0': Building an International Network of Student-Run Music Companies to Assess New Music Business Models.” Journal of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association 8, no. 1 (2008): 105-138. https://doi.org/10.25101/8.6