What’s in a Vision

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What’s
in
a
Vision?

Published: 31st
August 2011
Context
This is a blog article I wrote as CEO of a listed US microcap company. It was part
of a communication channel I created called “Behind the Front” which was
designed to add context to press releases and other announcements that had, by
necessity, to be brief.
This piece was posted to provide a clearer picture to shareholders of the
company’s vision after complaints that they didn’t understand what the company
did.
The product under discussion, CloudChannel, was not brought to market after
development funding was withdrawn after my departure from the company. It was
a great shame. An alpha version of the product was built and demonstrated to
potential customers, who loved it.

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In the late 1990s I worked at a marketing consultancy that
helped companies overcome BIG issues. More often than not,
the starting point was to examine a client's DNA and explore
how well staff identified with it.
In practical terms this means knowing where you're going, what you need to do
every day in order to get there, and how you need to act along the way. I am
talking about Vision, Mission and Culture. These are the three basic elements of a
company's DNA. If all three elements are in harmony and are embraced by its
people, you have strong DNA and a strong company. If even one is weak you
have a dysfunctional company, a struggler, one that can't attract and retain talent.
“If
everyone
in
a
company
is
moving
in
the
same

direction
for
the
same
reason
the
momentum

becomes
unstoppable
and
great
things
can
be

achieved.”

A really big vision gives purpose, defines a framework for problem solving and
encourages innovation in teams and individuals. But, the thing is this. Everyone in
the company needs to know what the vision is, they need to understand it and
they need to believe in it too. To me, the vision is the starting point, it's the most
important element of a company's DNA. The mission and culture of the company
may change, but the vision very rarely should.
With this in mind, I thought I’d explore our own vision in a little more, because it’s
where we’re headed and there’s no better way of explaining what we’re about to
those people that like to follow what we’re doing.
The
People’s
Republic
of
Music

Regular readers of this blog will know this phrase well because I’ve referred to it in
many previous postings. To those that haven’t seen reference to it before, the
People’s Republic of Music is how we see the future. Let me start at the
beginning.
The internet has been a democratizing force in every area of the media. Many
people now take their news from Twitter, not the New York Times. The
Blogosphere has given everyone the ability to publish, YouTube has given
everyone the ability to broadcast and the list goes on. Why should music be any
different?
The internet hasn’t made it possible for everyone to be a musician in the same
way that blogging made it possible for everyone to be a writer. We really do need

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to leave making music to those who are proficient at the art. But, for those
prepared to put in the 2,000 hours of focused practice it takes to become
proficient or 10,000 hours to become world class (Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers), the
internet has done much. Today’s artists have the ability to self-publish, record and
distribute. Fans have more choice than ever before in how they for consume their
music including the “too good to be true” all-you -can-eat subscription services
from the likes of Spotify and Pandora.
But, the real revolution... the one that ushers in the People’s Republic of Music is
rather more disruptive than that. New ways to listen? Big Deal. New ways to
publish? So what. Are Pandora and Spotify really going to change anything? They
might produce nice incremental revenues for the industry, but we’re not talking
seismic change.
The infrastructure of the music industry is still geared towards the model of big
companies as producers and music fans as consumers. It’s kind of like the feudal
system of old where a few people with power decided what the masses without
power would do. We’re now entering the age of enlightenment, with the internet
as the catalyst, that puts information, interaction and access in the hands of any
connected fan. Revolution follows enlightenment and that’s what we have coming
down the line. The ivory towers of the elite few will be toppled by popular demand
for a different kind of relationship between people and their music.
I often make reference to companies that are part of the revolution. These are
some of the companies that understand what consumers are looking for:
turntable.fm, Songkick, Pledge Music, Soundout, SoundCloud, Spreaker.com and
CloudChannel. The strand that unites these companies is they put power into the
hands of fans, they let fans interact with content instead of just consuming it, they
create more meaningful links between fans and bands. This is what the revolution
is all about.
Who’s
facing
the
firing
squad?

After every revolution by force, the leaders of the old guard are generally lined up
against the wall and shot. For example, we’ve recently seen a clamour for blood in
the Middle East as dictatorial regimes have toppled there. So, in the music
industry... who’s facing the firing squad?
The People’s Republic of Music is not a revolution by force, it’s a peaceful
revolution: a transition that is certainly painful for some, but not lethal. That doesn’t
mean that companies of the revolution aren’t disruptive, it just means that the old
guard will be adopting the new tools to embrace change in their businesses too.
The big four labels aren’t beating our door down just yet, but they will. They’ll
realise that our product is a management tool that’s just as relevant to them as it
is to an artist, manager, sponsor, event owner etc etc.

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CloudChannel answers a problem that’s common to every single owner of live
music video and we enable harness people power through social tools for the
benefit of their acts and their fans.
But... in a revolution surely someone has to die? Perhaps so. If I was pressed to
pick a victim, I’d probably aim my sights at music TV. With its linear programming
format, lack of interaction and playlist rotations, I’d suggest their time is getting
short. But there are others too who may not want rights holders to be able to
monetize and manage their content directly. If you’re one of those, we’ll be
knocking on your door soon with the revolutionary guard. You don’t fit our vision.
Note
1:
Tidal

03 April 2015: The recent announcement of mass celebrity endorsement of Jay
Z’s Tidal service doesn’t change much. It might hurt Spotify, Rhapsody and other
non-artist owned enterprises, but it’s hard to see how it changes the basic issue
which is that all-you-can-eat music services favour the mainstream at the expense
of the niche.
Note
2:
YouTube

07 April 2015: Since writing this blog piece, YouTube has emerged as a free way
to consume just about any music in existence. Today’s teenagers use YouTube to
download music instead of using sharing and downloading sites.

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