A well considered article in the LA Times caught our attention this week. It suggests that while the old system of selling records through Record Labels who signed and developed new acts and then got air play for them on Radio is well and truly dead, it hasn’t been replaced by anything. Well, yes, there’s the internet and stuff, but nothing substantial. There’s no clear career path for up and coming bands. But Radio may yet hold the key as the music industry moves into a new age of music discovery.

Last week Nova launched its own new music initiative to rival Austereo’s Radar. Called I Am With The Band, it offers emerging artists the opportunity to register and upload an original track to its new site www.novafm.com.au and be in the running to win promotion and airplay on Nova’s terrestrial radio. Read our story

If Idol locks up every contestant to a long term record deal before they sing note one for the judges, why not Austereo and dmg?

Sure they could do it in partnership with one of the existing record companies, but having done all the heavy lifting in getting the artist noticed by the record (or download) buying public, Radio should also be entitled to the lion’s share of the profits. Which begs the question; why not go all the way and get into the record business holus bolus?

Would an artist recording on say, the Austereo or dmg record label be out of place?

Both Austereo and dmg have aggressive new faces at their helms in Guy Dobson and Lachlan Murdoch respectively. Both are looking for ways of adapting their businesses to the second decade of the 21st century. If you were advising them, would you suggest that taking over where the record companies have left off would be a viable option?

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