Digital Home Thoughts: Peter Jenner Says Big Labels Are in Big Trouble

"Few people know the music industry better than Peter Jenner. Pink Floyd's first manager, who subsequently managed Syd Barrett's solo career, Jenner has also looked after T.Rex, The Clash, Ian Dury, Disposable Heroes and Billy Bragg - who he manages today. He's also secretary general of the International Music Managers Forum. And he doesn't pull his punches. The major four music labels today are "f****d", he says. Digital music pricing has been a scam where the consumer pays for manufacturing, distribution, and does all the work - and still has to pay more. Labels should outsource everything except finance and licensing. But he's also optimistic that for almost everyone else - indie labels, musicians, songwriters and budding entrepreneurs - as well as network providers - the future's going to be pretty bright. The Big Four know that the DRM era is nearly over - and within two or three years, he predicts, "most countries" in the world will have a blanket licensing regime where we exchange music freely, for a couple of quid a month."

This is an interesting, though rambling and UK-lingo-heavy, interview with a music manager who's seen a lot of changes over the years. The concept of a flat-rate "music tax" (they don't use the word tax, but that's basically what it is) has been floated around over the past few years, but it has yet to get any serious traction. The biggest challenge I see with it is trying to enforce who actually pays the tax. In the interview Jenner says that people could get out of it if they swear they just don't listen to music, but that seems to be overly simplistic. Give the article a read and weigh in - would you pay a yearly fee to have access to all the non-DRM'd music you could consume? [Language Warning]