Marketing for the Music Industry: Defining a Viable Strategy in a Future Context

The whole music industry is facing a time of radical changes. New technologies and the evolution of market linkages are bringing into question the marketing models developed and adopted during the last decade. Several contributions seeking for a renewal in this field come from the academic criticism as well as the daily innovation brought by the companies themselves; however, this approach has been shown insufficient to design a clear new path for the marketing in the industry. This study presents a review of the general marketing evolution, focusing on the models most commonly followed by records companies. An overlook of the latest trends in the recording industry is provided by using as a unit of analysis the US market. A combination of secondary data analysis and in-depth personal interviews granted by marketing managers has been considered when approaching the main weaknesses of traditional marketing mix. To conclude, a list of new marketing key points for the music industry is presented, aiming to provide a background to narrower and more specific field strategies to be applied in the near future.