My theory
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Over the past 10 years, a lot has changed in the Music Business. We went from an industry that had an established roadmap complete with landmarks and clearly marked routes leading to a divine destination called "success." Now it is up to each individual to make their own map.
In 2004, a combination of 3 things happened, that on their own, would have been horrible. But when put together they were catastrophic. The 3 elements that irreversibly changed the music business were:
Full accountability - the Internet was fully grown and functional and integrated all of us .
Financial Drain - No one prepared a savings account for the huge cost that it took to transfer every single file from paper to digital.
Recession - ripple effect of 911 hit the economy hard and we all started to feel it as early as 2004...
That perfect storm caused permanent damage. Panic incurred, thousands were fired, and doors were closed.
Few were left inside to pick up the pieces and carry on. I was one of those few. I was the Sr VP of Creative at Warner Chappell Music and for 20 years I had always been given more than enough room to mentor the songwriters and artists in finding their own voice. My wing span was huge with the trust that my bosses had in me to do my job. I soared and therefore, so did my clients.
I now had a client list of over 50 writers, double my already full roster, who needed guidance in some way or another.
I had no funds, no support, and no way around it. The industry was falling.
No matter what, I knew I had to continue to champion the song, it’s what I was put on this earth to do. So in order to continue to fulfill that destiny, I did the only thing I could do. In 2009, I left the Music Business and I never looked back.
Now, it’s different. Good different. It took a while but after the debris was all cleared away, new businesses and new ways of thinking have emerged giving a larger playing field for everyone to enjoy.
