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Do you think Kanye West[0] could be the Paul Graham of the music industry? On one hand he's been in the industry long enough to understand the system; he's gen

Do you think Kanye West[0] could be the Paul Graham of the music industry? On one hand he's been in the industry long enough to understand the system; he's generally respected as an artist; he has a platform to reach the masses; he has a track record of being able to organically grow a collective (organization/business/product) from the ground up (Yeezy). On the other hand, the music industry is huge and run by conglomerates. Going against the norm would truly be David vs. Goliath. I think if anyone could do it, it would be Kanye (with a super savvy business partner). I think he has the conviction and general anti-status-quo mindset to embark & be successful in this endeavor [0] https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1305977929180966913 https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1305977929180966913

soheil 6y ago
The value that music brings to people’s lives isn’t comparable to tech. There may be conglomerates that one way or another twist people’s arms to pay them and generate revenue for artists, but as a whole the music industry does not produce enough value relative to the world of startups. So there won’t be a YC of music that is large enough.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- radihuq 6y ago
  Not sure if "large enough" matters as comparing the music industry to the tech industry is like comparing a pond to an ocean. I think the real value here is that a YC of music can fundamentally change the way the industry functions by: - Allowing artists control over their masters/creations (equity) - Reducing the barrier to entry to enter the music industry by providing upfront capital, and support (mentorship, music marketing & distribution) - Concentrating talent in one area Also if anyone is interested I'd recommend checking out this documentary by J. Cole's Dreamville[0] where a bunch of artists and producers came together in a house and built an album in 10 days (basically like a hackathon) [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-9mZLh5XU8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-9mZLh5XU8
  - adamsea 6y ago
    Yeah artists have been doing “hackathons” since day one :/. Sorry to be that guy, I just hate seeing jargon migrate. The proper term is simply “working on stuff”, or “collaborating” if you prefer :). Or Jamming, whatever, what have you. A lot of albums in various genres have gotten made that way over the years.
    - radihuq 6y ago
      My intent was to use the term hackathon as more of an analogy than description, as hackathons to me include: - Working on a team to build a tech solution - Finite time restrictions - Limited resources - "demo day" at the end all of which are present in this project in the context of album creation Though I do agree with the sentiment of trying to be deliberate & accurate with word choice when describing things
- munificent 6y ago
  The Earth is dying and humanity's last effort to save the species is sending seed ships to nearby potentially habitable places. You have been chosen. You will spend ten years travelling alone through the darkest reaches of space, hoping to build a new future. There is limited room in the ship for entertainment and resources. Do you take: * A recording of Claude Debussy's "Clair de Lune". * A PDF of Uber's 2019 S-1 Prospectus filing. ?
  - srtjstjsj 6y ago
    A textbook? Colored pencils and paper? Not sure what you are getting at. Playing one song on loop for 10 years doesn't sound fun.
  - lioeters 6y ago
    A snapshot of the web at the moment of departure - that ought to keep anyone busy for a decade of study and entertainment.
curiouslurker 6y ago
From what I've read, Kanye is too much of an egomaniac to pull off something like this. From the stories in Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holloway. And also the "grabbing the mic" incident with Taylor Swift.
- radihuq 6y ago
  Could you expand on why you think being an egomaniac is a negative in this situation?
  - TheOtherHobbes 6y ago
    Firstly, it's a pain in the ass to deal with in a very direct way. A long time ago I did some work for someone who is now very well known in the music business, and we used to have conversations during which he would talk at me. Mostly about himself. While his persona was actually fairly mild compared to some in the business, it was still not fun to be around. I imagine - possibly unfairly, but perhaps not - that Kanye is the same *10/100/1000. Secondly it's very hard to trust someone who is primarily interested in themselves. Trust is absolutely critical to any kind of successful business venture, and if you can't manage the real thing you should at least be able to create a convincing illusion of being trustworthy. Would you trust Kanye with anything? Would you trust him to turn up to meetings, pay people on time, not suddenly flip the table over and run the rules and the game tokens through a blender? YC has created a certain consistent branding for startups, and Kanye in his current state is going to have a hard time doing the equivalent in music. Which is not to say he won't succeed, because narcissism is a huge driving force in the music business, and like calls to like. But there's always going to be extra drama over and above the usual startup dramas - and that's going to add up to a whole lot of drama for anyone to deal with.
- kyrers 6y ago
  I actually agree that if someone is going to do it, it's going to be him. Plus the "grabbing the mic" incident was bound to happen sooner or later. Music awards keep being given to people who clearly didn't deserve them. I've heard artists (mostly rappers) speaking about this on their songs. Kanye simply did what many before him, I'm sure, thought about doing but didn't have the courage.
antidaily 6y ago
No.
jamesmishra 6y ago
I think Kanye has the sheer talent and connections to build the Y Combinator for the music industry. The more fundamental problem is portfolio construction. It is hard to invest in early-career artists on friendly deal terms because the top-performing catalogs are maybe only 1/1000 as financially successful as the top-performing YC companies. I've written about this in more depth here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24528099 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24528099
notional 6y ago
There's already been a lot of changes and efforts to remove heavy handed labels from the music industry with various degrees of success. Tidal which is part owned by Jay-Z was an answer to Spotify and Apple. It's had varying degrees of success. Soundcloud enabled anyone to get their voice out there and be heard. There's even a new industry term for these artists Soundcloud Rappers. There are platforms (podcasts) which cater to these unsigned artists from soundcloud to help promote their music. Many artists have formed their own labels, Master P who Kanye recently was posting on Twitter about is one artist who went out on his own to create his own label and promote himself. What is the goal of Kayne on the music industry? It seems right now it is about removing the big record labels from having control over an artist and redistributing their earnings more evenly. Y Combinator is about introducing founders to massive record labels (VCs) and getting 'singed' by them. These feel like opposite goals to me.
vbordo 6y ago
Justin Vernon from Bon Iver strikes me as another pick for the PG of the music industry. He's an unconventional thinker, a bit of an outsider, and well-connected in the industry. This includes close ties to Kanye. Supposedly he's a fantastic collaborator too. It'd be fascinating if they partnered up to create the YC for artists.
nickthemagicman 6y ago
Rather than the new, toe the line, corporate approved performers, who speak in focus group validated non controversial statements, whose lyrics are simple, and who maintain image over substance. I've always thought Kanye is one of the last few rock stars willing to buck industry norms and speak out freely(even if it can be a little controversial at times and hurt his bottom line). He's what I consider an artist not a performer.

soheil 6y ago

The value that music brings to people’s lives isn’t comparable to tech. There may be conglomerates that one way or another twist people’s arms to pay them and generate revenue for artists, but as a whole the music industry does not produce enough value relative to the world of startups. So there won’t be a YC of music that is large enough.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
radihuq 6y ago
Not sure if "large enough" matters as comparing the music industry to the tech industry is like comparing a pond to an ocean. I think the real value here is that a YC of music can fundamentally change the way the industry functions by: - Allowing artists control over their masters/creations (equity) - Reducing the barrier to entry to enter the music industry by providing upfront capital, and support (mentorship, music marketing & distribution) - Concentrating talent in one area Also if anyone is interested I'd recommend checking out this documentary by J. Cole's Dreamville[0] where a bunch of artists and producers came together in a house and built an album in 10 days (basically like a hackathon) [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-9mZLh5XU8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-9mZLh5XU8
- adamsea 6y ago
  Yeah artists have been doing “hackathons” since day one :/. Sorry to be that guy, I just hate seeing jargon migrate. The proper term is simply “working on stuff”, or “collaborating” if you prefer :). Or Jamming, whatever, what have you. A lot of albums in various genres have gotten made that way over the years.
  - radihuq 6y ago
    My intent was to use the term hackathon as more of an analogy than description, as hackathons to me include: - Working on a team to build a tech solution - Finite time restrictions - Limited resources - "demo day" at the end all of which are present in this project in the context of album creation Though I do agree with the sentiment of trying to be deliberate & accurate with word choice when describing things
munificent 6y ago
The Earth is dying and humanity's last effort to save the species is sending seed ships to nearby potentially habitable places. You have been chosen. You will spend ten years travelling alone through the darkest reaches of space, hoping to build a new future. There is limited room in the ship for entertainment and resources. Do you take: * A recording of Claude Debussy's "Clair de Lune". * A PDF of Uber's 2019 S-1 Prospectus filing. ?
- srtjstjsj 6y ago
  A textbook? Colored pencils and paper? Not sure what you are getting at. Playing one song on loop for 10 years doesn't sound fun.
- lioeters 6y ago
  A snapshot of the web at the moment of departure - that ought to keep anyone busy for a decade of study and entertainment.

curiouslurker 6y ago

From what I've read, Kanye is too much of an egomaniac to pull off something like this. From the stories in Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holloway. And also the "grabbing the mic" incident with Taylor Swift.

radihuq 6y ago
Could you expand on why you think being an egomaniac is a negative in this situation?
- TheOtherHobbes 6y ago
  Firstly, it's a pain in the ass to deal with in a very direct way. A long time ago I did some work for someone who is now very well known in the music business, and we used to have conversations during which he would talk at me. Mostly about himself. While his persona was actually fairly mild compared to some in the business, it was still not fun to be around. I imagine - possibly unfairly, but perhaps not - that Kanye is the same *10/100/1000. Secondly it's very hard to trust someone who is primarily interested in themselves. Trust is absolutely critical to any kind of successful business venture, and if you can't manage the real thing you should at least be able to create a convincing illusion of being trustworthy. Would you trust Kanye with anything? Would you trust him to turn up to meetings, pay people on time, not suddenly flip the table over and run the rules and the game tokens through a blender? YC has created a certain consistent branding for startups, and Kanye in his current state is going to have a hard time doing the equivalent in music. Which is not to say he won't succeed, because narcissism is a huge driving force in the music business, and like calls to like. But there's always going to be extra drama over and above the usual startup dramas - and that's going to add up to a whole lot of drama for anyone to deal with.
kyrers 6y ago
I actually agree that if someone is going to do it, it's going to be him. Plus the "grabbing the mic" incident was bound to happen sooner or later. Music awards keep being given to people who clearly didn't deserve them. I've heard artists (mostly rappers) speaking about this on their songs. Kanye simply did what many before him, I'm sure, thought about doing but didn't have the courage.

antidaily 6y ago

No.

jamesmishra 6y ago

I think Kanye has the sheer talent and connections to build the Y Combinator for the music industry. The more fundamental problem is portfolio construction. It is hard to invest in early-career artists on friendly deal terms because the top-performing catalogs are maybe only 1/1000 as financially successful as the top-performing YC companies. I've written about this in more depth here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24528099 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24528099

notional 6y ago

There's already been a lot of changes and efforts to remove heavy handed labels from the music industry with various degrees of success. Tidal which is part owned by Jay-Z was an answer to Spotify and Apple. It's had varying degrees of success. Soundcloud enabled anyone to get their voice out there and be heard. There's even a new industry term for these artists Soundcloud Rappers. There are platforms (podcasts) which cater to these unsigned artists from soundcloud to help promote their music. Many artists have formed their own labels, Master P who Kanye recently was posting on Twitter about is one artist who went out on his own to create his own label and promote himself. What is the goal of Kayne on the music industry? It seems right now it is about removing the big record labels from having control over an artist and redistributing their earnings more evenly. Y Combinator is about introducing founders to massive record labels (VCs) and getting 'singed' by them. These feel like opposite goals to me.

vbordo 6y ago

Justin Vernon from Bon Iver strikes me as another pick for the PG of the music industry. He's an unconventional thinker, a bit of an outsider, and well-connected in the industry. This includes close ties to Kanye. Supposedly he's a fantastic collaborator too. It'd be fascinating if they partnered up to create the YC for artists.

nickthemagicman 6y ago

Rather than the new, toe the line, corporate approved performers, who speak in focus group validated non controversial statements, whose lyrics are simple, and who maintain image over substance. I've always thought Kanye is one of the last few rock stars willing to buck industry norms and speak out freely(even if it can be a little controversial at times and hurt his bottom line). He's what I consider an artist not a performer.