Wait a minute, Andrew Mason - the founder and CEO of Groupon - used to work at Electrical Audio? Music degree --> Electrical Audio --> thepoint.com --> groupon

Wait a minute, Andrew Mason - the founder and CEO of Groupon - used to work at Electrical Audio? Music degree --> Electrical Audio --> thepoint.com --> groupon? And having been somewhat of a Camper/Low fan for a decade and a half I had no idea about Lowery's background. My feeble mind has been blown. For years I've observed that the situation with music is very much like the hollowing out of the middle class. The big guys like Metallica, Rolling Stones, Radiohead, they already have their money. The countless small bands that play local shows, tour regionally every once in a while, put out a couple records - they're going to keep doing what they're doing as a hobby. No problems there. It's the mid-level bands (and the small bands that aspire to something greater) that are getting screwed. And I think you're dead-on with your diagnosis. There are isolated examples of labels taking the challenge. Warp Records started Bleep.com years ago. I have no idea how they handle their finances or share revenue with artists but they seem to be at least moderately successful. My impression is that Lowery is speaking from 20+ years of experience in the rock/indie rock world - how do things look for those making electronic music in all its shapes and sizes? My sense is that the kids are more into Girl Talk than Death Cab for Cutie these days... that is to say that guitar rock seems to be in a waning phase. For a long time I've wondered if there's an opportunity here for a different kind of record label, or really a new kind of music company. Figure out a way to pay the artists fairly, with enough capital to be able to both invest in artists long-term and also take chances, with enough marketing muscle behind it to have a chance at breaking bands into the mid-level, and with enough tech savvy to (directly) co-opt and profit from drains like filesharing and piracy. Basically upend things enough so that (in Lowery's words) you could have a small operation could truly compete with the multinationals. I've been thinking about this for a long time and I have no answers, just lots of questions.