How To Save The Music Biz: “Be More Like The NASCAR”

Like me, you, and everyone with a blog we know, market research dude James McQuivey has noticed the Sorry State of Slumping CD Sales, positing that the no-turning-back moment for the industry will come on a cold day in 2012, following big-box chains like Wal-Mart finally ditching in-store CD real estate for stuff of actual value to humans like 2-for-1 dog food and bulk toilet paper deals. His advice for labels attempting to weather the physical-to-digital storm: Scrap the ad- and subscription-driven streaming services, shift to downloads, and pray like hell that anyone has .99 left when the economy finally bottoms out. His advice for artists, however, is to look to America’s favorite four-wheeled pastime, and not just for the moustaches and explosions.

In a final note, McQuivey suggests that music artists, who have historically looked down their noses at advertising, had better change. He says the industry should rip a page out of NASCAR’s playbook.

“Artists who used to pretend that their platinum album success was really about their “art” will no longer have that luxurious pretense because labels won’t sign them unless they agree to a barrage of sponsorship opportunities,” McQuivey wrote. “There will eventually come a day when Chips Ahoy will contend with the Keebler Elves over who can be the official cookie of the Taylor Swift world tour.”

But isn’t that far off day…pretty much here already? Only the most rancorous anti-advertising pop star hold-outs continue to thumb their noses at sponsorship, even if it doesn’t necessarily take the form of snack food ads flanking their stage shows. Things’ll be really bad when artists have to start getting sponsor tattoos a la actual NASCAR cars. Just how important is that space on your lower back between the Jiffy Lube logo and the portrait of the Geico caveman?

Analyst: Music Industry Should Help People Share Music [CNET]