If Elvis Were A Digital Entrepreneur Today
Elvis Presley had fans around the world long before the Internet, but he never toured outside of North America. His popularity overseas soared after his music got played on local radio and his movies screened around the world. Elvis’ record label, RCA, had a network through which it manufactured and distributed his music. The company complied with local laws and licensing schemes and was able to market Elvis’ music abroad.
On their own, it would have been impossible for Elvis, Sun Records, or even Colonel Tom Parker to develop the infrastructure required to expose his music from Memphis to Bangkok. Were he around today, Elvis might have become truly independent after leaving Sun Records. That’s because Colonel Parker would have the ability to distribute and market the music–at least digitally–on a global scale.
Nowadays, independent labels and artists are able to directly distribute their music around the world through services like IODA. Artists’ own Web sites and third-party sites like MySpace.com are accessible around the world. Elvis would have been able to shake his hips live for people around the world because there now are even Web sites that facilitate the streaming of Internet-only concerts.
Just 10 years ago, teenagers relied on local radio and school friends to discover music. Nowadays, their music discovery choices are endless and their friends may be next door or around the world. Teenagers can easily buy or listen to music over the Internet. But the current copyright labyrinth that providers must navigate to offer the music legally perversely facilitates the illegal and unauthorized distribution and performance of music.
Photo by elvisconcerts.com.
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