BOOM! It’s back! Welcome to Boom Boom #03, back with all the best from the Danish music scene. We published the first edition of Boom Boom two years ago because magazines weren’t really covering the Danish music scene at the time. We needed an English-language publication that told attention-grabbing stories about Danish artists, producers and songwriters, and which reported on the Danish music industry as a whole. Think of Boom Boom as an annual introduction to the Danish scene, directed at music enthusiasts all over the world. A lot has happened since Boom Boom first appeared. The market for physical CDs has continued to decline rapidly. The digital market is growing, but not enough to compensate for the loss of revenue. We have seen the birth of the Danish subscription service TDC Play, the first of its kind in the world. Nokia and Sony Ericsson also intend to enter the market soon with brand-new business models, and even iTunes is finding new ways to meet the insatiable demand for music. I heard recently about a research company that has been interviewing Danish teenagers – none of whom were in any doubt that music should be free. They were sure that musicians already earned a fortune, and thought those that didn’t ought to find a real job. No matter what we might think of their attitude, it still represents the reality within which we have to operate. This may well be one of the biggest challenges the music industry has ever faced. How do we make sure that future generations (and the current crop of teenagers) understand the value of music? Is getting them to appreciate music mission impossible? Should music be “free” in the same way as tap water – which isn’t really free anyway? Will we be expected to cope with a small number of music-subscription schemes, or does the future hold a far greater number of alternative models than we currently suspect? Personally, I think the latter is the case. I think that music, like water, will be subject to an element of price differentiation – from free to very expensive. There will be different ways to buy, borrow and rent music, and its quality will vary too. It’s precisely because of this uncertainty about music’s future that I see a great need for all sorts of new partnerships that transcend conventional thinking, e.g. following the example of DUP (Danish Independent Record Labels) and IFPI, who have, slowly but surely, built up a close working relationship – including on the magazine you are now holding. We also hope to turn Music Export Denmark into a finely tuned launching pad that propels band after band onto the exciting export market. The time is ripe for everybody in the music industry to acknowledge the need to work together to face the future and develop new business models. And I mean everybody – from record labels to rights organisations, interest groups, bookers, managers, etc. One thing is for sure: we face a fantastic future, and none of us knows what it will bring. But the music will live on, with or without us. SØREN KROGH THOMPSON Deputy Chairman DUP Chairman MXD General Manager Playground Music Boardmember IFPI previous page next page