Music Today is Aimed at Tomorrow

There's a fantastic "must read" article gracing the cover of this month's Fast Company (February 2007) entitled "Music's Secret Money Machine" talking about a company called Music Today that connects artists and fans -- and is making a boatload of money for artists. Artists like John Legend, Gwen Stefani, Dave Matthews Band, and hundreds of others are taking control over their relationship with their fans in ways that are not only bringing them closer to those fans -- but are also bringing the artists additional revenues.

From the article: "They (the artists) found that the Internet has become not only a channel for distributing music but one for insinuating bands into the lives of their most enraptured fans. They found that the efficiencies of the Web are such that for very little cost, an artist can build his own online operation and outsource everything, from peddling "merch" to boosting the fan club to ticketing and marketing. And they found a full-service company that had built an infrastructure so vast and so efficient that no one could rival it." That company is Music Today, started by a forward-thinking long-time artist manager named Coran Capshaw (Dave Matthews Band, Phish & more). The industry no longer hinges on the CD in terms of revenues -- there's a vast fortune to be made in touring, merchandising, and in fan subscriptions. And Music Today is leading the charge with a cost-effective machine and infrastructure that enables artists to take control of these facets of their career (and much more) in a turnkey fashion.

If you're interested in new models of commerce for artists, you'll want to read this article in full; Music Today is miles ahead of anyone in this space -- and this article does a great job of providing specifics.