The other 1%:
The music industry is a Superstar economy, that is to say a very small share of the total artists and works account for a disproportionately large share of all revenues. This is not a Pareto’s Law type 80/20 distribution but something much more dramatic: the top 1% account for 77% of all artist recorded music income (see figure).
Pete Townsend feel that the digital giants like itunes and amazon should have staffs of A&R guys and gals who help nurture and develop young talented bands. Give them money and resources to try and fail and find their own footing. I think that’s a splendid idea and, really, doesn’t it make better business sense to have a broad base of solid artists rather than just hoping you hit the lottery?
This is a fun lecture.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00lmrh6