THE FOUR ROLES IN THE ENTERTAINMENT ECOSYSTEM - HOW JAY-Z MOVED THROUGH ALL OF THEM

THE ENTERTAINMENT ECOSYSTEM

Who’s who in the zoo?— Finbar O’Hanlon

Among the fundamentals of finding success in the music industry is understanding the roles people play, their motivations and desires, how they get compensated, and what you bring to the table that can help them reach their ultimate goal.

One of the best ways to understand all of this information is by taking a look at the Entertainment Ecosystem, a graph that breaks down into four categories the various types of people you will encounter within the music industry. The graph defines their roles in the industry, their daily responsibilities, and motivations on both a short and long-term basis.

What follows is a deeper look at each with several common examples.

THE ENTHUSIAST (QUADRANT 1)

The Enthusiast is typically a non-professional in the music industry, such as a fan, blogger, student, or supporter of musicians. They are vocal and quick to express their opinions, whether it is to other music fans or, in the case of enthusiasts who are also social media stars in their own right, to their own fans. The Enthusiast is deeply affected by the trends and the daily whims of pop culture.

Expression of The Enthusiast- Perez Hilton (Celebrity Blogger)

Blogger, television personality, and columnist Perez Hilton is known for his coverage of all things related to the Hollywood celebrity scene. He has been criticized about comments and captions for tabloid photographs he posts on social media. If there is a gathering of celebrities for any occasion, you will likely see Perez Hilton close to the action.

THE TECHNICIAN (QUADRANT 2)

These are the service providers to the music industry. They are paid on a per-project basis or for work spanning a limited period of time. This group can include studio musicians, voice and performance instructors, entertainment attorneys, website designers, public relations experts, etc. This tentative work environment leads The Technician to juggle a constant search for new business, fresh clients, and the next gig with the present obligation to serve current commitments.

When Wade first entered the music industry, he did so as The Technician. He worked with artists by authoring biographies and press releases, designing press kits and websites, etc. His background in journalism and professional writing gave him a set of skills that he was able to leverage in the music industry. He saw a void that he could fill because he could provide artists with a product they were willing to pay for and needed.

Expression of The Technician - Tim Pierce (Studio Musician)

While you might not recognize his name, there is a good chance you have heard Tim Pierce playing guitar. A well-known studio musician from Los Angeles, Tim makes a living doing studio work on a daily basis. He has played on albums for artists including Bon Jovi, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Celine Dion.

THE ASSET COLLECTOR (QUADRANT 3)

The Asset Collector is looking to discover, develop, and monetize content and intellectual properties with the intention of someday selling those properties for peak profit. The Asset Collector is successful in their business ventures because they are not emotionally attached to the property. (Remember how we have talked about the importance of removing emotion from your business decisions?)

Expression of The Asset Collector - Scott Borchetta (Big Machine Label Group)

After spending two years working in promotions and artist development for Universal Music Nashville and MCA Nashville Records, Scott Borchetta decided to walk away and create his own label, Big Machine Label Group (BMLG). The first artist he signed was a then fourteen-year-old Taylor Swift. Borchetta has since gone on to work with major artists such as Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, and Rascal Flatts in addition to serving as a mentor on American Idol.

THE SCALABLE INNOVATOR (QUADRANT 4)

The Scalable Innovator identifies a massive void within an industry and creates a technological solution to fill it. The Scalable Innovator finds their greatest success when they can predict future shifts in the marketplace, build and develop a product to address a need, and have the technology firing on all cylinders before the rest of the industry has an opportunity to catch up with them.

Capitalizing on this technology requires having in place a full team of sales representatives, developers, and marketing experts. Much like The Asset Collector, The Scalable Innovator’s goal is to eventually sell their intellectual property for peak profit.

If thousands of people can use your technology at any single time, you fall into The Scalable Innovator quadrant. Scalable innovators include people like Pandora founder Tim Westergren and Ditto Music founder Lee Parsons.

Expression of The Scalable Innovator - Daniel Elk (Spotify)

Spotify cofounder and CEO Daniel Elk launched the company in late 2008. Spotify, one of the leading music streaming services, has experienced massive growth since its launch. In August 2012, TIME reported Spotify had four million paid subscribers. As of January 2018, Spotify reported a paid subscriber base of more than 70 million.

The important thing is not where you are today but how you can expand in the future. The most successful artists will be adept at moving between the quadrants, avoiding confinement of their presence in any one particular category. Let’s use the following case study to examine how one artist, JAY-Z, did just that.

A small portion of music artists find a way to climb to the level of The Scalable Innovator; one of those artists is music icon JAY-Z. He has used his considerable influence, name, and marketing power to build or buy into multiple companies.

Let’s examine what JAY-Z’s journey through the four quadrants looks like:

Quadrant 1: JAY-Z as The Enthusiast

It is well known that JAY-Z had a budding interest in music as a young boy in the mid 80s, long before he began to actually produce any. This was his “figuring it out” phase, something everybody goes through (and hopefully everybody comes out of). It was during these early years, growing up in New York City’s Marcy Projects, that his life and experiences first fueled his passion for music.

Quadrant 2: JAY-Z as The Technician

In the early 90s, JAY-Z began to both perform live and record his music as a profession. If he worked, he was paid for the job he had done.

Quadrant 3: JAY-Z as The Asset Collector

With no major label to give him a record deal, Jay-Z sold CDs out of his car and, in 1996, JAY-Z teamed up with Kareem “Biggs” Burke and Damon Dash to found Roc-A-Fella Records. Previously, JAY-Z was a performing artist only and had very little control over his catalog. Now, as a label owner, he has total creative and business control over not only his assets but the assets of those artists he chooses to invest in. Artists like Just Blaze, Kanye West, and Jadakiss were discovered, developed and distributed in-house. JAY-Z evolved from The Technician to The Asset Collector.

Quadrant 4: JAY-Z as The Scalable Innovator

In March of 2015, JAY-Z and a group of investors purchased a Norwegian music company called Aspiro. The company had launched a music streaming service called Tidal just one year earlier; JAY-Z and his group of investors immediately kicked off a massive campaign to rebrand and relaunch Tidal. Separate of this musical venture, JAY-Z has also reached outside the realm of music to team with Bill Gates on the “Decoded” project, a two-day event in London at which some of the world’s brightest tech minds gathered to discuss the future of technology.

Like other artists making their way through all four quadrants of the Entertainment Ecosystem Matrix, JAY-Z has followed an N-shaped pattern from quadrant to quadrant. Other artists experiencing similar careers paths include Todd Rundgren, Les Paul, Kiss, Harold Bradley, Chet Atkins, Garth Brooks, Eddie Van Halen, and Taylor Swift. Future artists working to see similar success will learn to be comfortable with frequent business collaborations spanning all four quadrants. These artists will be equally adept at making an album and making an app.

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WHO AM I? If we haven’t yet before - Hey 👋 I’m John, a guitar player turned entrepreneur and I’ve somehow built a holding co that builds media businesses. Publish advisory materials for training artists. Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast Hacking Music and writing, I share evidence-based strategies and tools to help you build a career you actually want.

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ArtistWerx is an execution company. We partner with managers to provide infrastructure, marketing, execution and monetization in the rapidly changing media industry. We create products and experiences to engage your customers, drive revenue, build careers and surpass your competitors. https://www.artistwerx.com 

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