Shaznay Lewis & the Digitisation of the Music Industry

For as long as I can remember since I came to England to go to school, the All Saints were my group. They were just heavy. No ifs or butts. Who can forget I Know Where it’s at ? and Take that Key. The All Saints were an extremely successful girl group in the UK and Europe, I believe. At the heart of the All Saints as the chief songwriter who masterminded a great deal of the songs was Shaznay Lewis.

Of Bajan & Jamaican origin, Shaznay Lewis penned huge hits for the All Saints. She has to go down as one of the most important British pop songwriters. I was so surprised to hear of her return on the bassline track, Daddy-O a song by garage producers, the Wide Boys. It is a brilliant bassline track. Bassline is a genre of music related to dub, 2-step and garage, but I think fits more into the house variety. Nonetheless, it was massive up north in Sheffield and is achieving more mainstream appeal. My point is people like Shaznay Lewis are the ones who will survive the digitisation of the music world.

*Songwriters will always be in vogue - In my opinion, as a songwriter, Shaznay has her future certified because by writing the songs, she is effectively part of the creative teams, instead of just being the face or representative for something. Just because something is digitised does not mean the Internet will change what is written, just how it is sold. At the end of the day, songwriters will always be in demand. The question is, they need to figure out what songs the public wants to buy and spend money on. It is a business that needs creative minds who understand financially viable models, in my view.

*Music industry people need to adapt to the Web - Like journalists who have to know a lot about the Internet to get jobs, I reckon music industry artists and songwriters will have to come up with proper methods of how to extract money from the public. Everyone needs to eat but it is time to work with Internet, not against it. For example, the decline in CD sales I would argue means that more emphasis now is put on endorsements via make up companies etc. However, it has also helped artists to make money in other industries that rely on their musical popularity, such as building their own fashion lines. The ringtone model is not viable for sure but what Radiohead did by allowing fans to pay however much they wanted proves that fans are loyal and will buy quality music. I remember reading an XXL magazine article a while ago stating that artists basically rely on concerts and tours now to eat. However, this is what the rock industry has been doing since DAY 1! It is so ridiculous that the hip-hop industry has been very slow about realising this.

Emerging artists cannot rely on hype alone - Emerging artists now need to be even better than the ones out there. There is no point in relying solely on a MySpace page. Up and coming artists need to give the consumer listener more than just a good album, it has to be a great album, that innovates and pushes forward. I think most people who love music are more than willing to buy an artist’s album as long as they know that the artists has put their all into it. I think the digital revolution with the Internet means that emerging artists have to do more PR to generate more hype (which explains the short-lived Soulja Boy hype).

Musicians/performers/entertainers need to understand that they need exposure - I know gossip blogs have made celebs nervous and twitchy. However, music celebs need blogs like Concrete Loop more than ever. This is free exposure to an extent that they are not paying for. These artists need to use it, if they are going to adapt.

I think the Internet has given the choice back to the consumer. But it has opened up another Pandora’s box in that it has jazzed up the music industry’s old model to make money. I think music artists, in particular, rap/R&B artists basically need to get more involved in working in making money for themselves, as opposed to relying on MTV, big record labels like SONY etc. Artists need to get inter-active.

The last CD I bought was NuAmerykah by Erykah Badu. The next CD I will buy is Santogold’s debut. Why ? Because I have researched a lot on her and I like the sneak previews I have heard. I am only interested in artists who want to go further than just making an album to make money.