she signed with live nation (traditionally a concert promoter) as an artist. what an interesting concept. could it be the first move in a series of events that will lead to the final downfall of the record industry as we know it?

i see it as being a really ballsy, yet smart, move on her part. she’s out from under the traditional thinking by record labels that you cannot give away the music for free and make money. it has her tying all of her revenue to one company (as opposed to the old model where the promoter takes a cut, the label takes a cut, and the artist takes a cut). she can probably distribute the music for free or relatively free online then recoup her recording costs in merchandising and ticket sales. no longer will there be a tug of war between the promoter and her label (as they’ve become one in the same).

i think this model probably has a better chance of surviving and/or bringing more artists to the limelight than the DIY model that some bands are taking now. i’d be interested to see how this kind of idea will work out with some lesser known names. if live nation can use madonna money to develop and promote some smaller or lesser known bands, i think it could really hellp to turn the music industry tide from a stream of sound-a-like brainless pop music to something where interesting, innovative, or otherwise more “niche” type sounds can make it a bit more mainstream.

we’ll see though. maybe i’m being overly optimistic here.