The Manifesto

i.Move Now
ii.Music
iii.History
iv.Technology
v.Profits
vi.Freedom
vii.Vibe Revolution
viii.Feel
ix.Time & Money
x.Listen, love, contribute
xi.Means and the Ends
xii.Evolution
xiii.Fans & Artists
xiv.Direct Connection
xv.(Economic) Independence
xvi.The Road Ahead
xvii.Trust & Respect
xvii.Spread the Word
xviii.Coup de Grâce

Move Now

Vibe Revolution is not just a website. It is not just a web community, nor just a web business.
Vibe Revolution is a movement to change the music industry and the way artists make money from their work. Today, with the state of today’s popular music, everyone has a sense that something is missing. Something is wrong, and we all know it.

Music

is different from any other product in the universe, because it speaks directly to and from the soul. You don’t have to be religious or even spiritual to understand what that means. Music is an art form that appeals to nearly everyone, in a meaningful way. It is, arguably, the most popular art form in the world.

Music is loved by all. From those who enjoy the radio on their way to work to those who work at the radio station. From those who sing in the shower to those who spend hours honing their vocals daily. Those who hate rap and those who hate anything but rap, or rock, or rhythm and blues, or Beethoven, Brazilian Samba, Britney Spears, or the Beatles. We all have one thing in common - love of music.

Music is universal. It is of the universe. It transcends space and time and physics and analysis.
Music brings joy and sadness, feeling and emotion. It is a part of everyone’s life.
Nothing can capture the soul quite like music.

Except, of course, the Music Industry.

History

From the beginning, artists have struggled to make a living. Perhaps a patronage might be won if exceptional talent and discipline was discovered by the right people (those with money) and a concert career could ensue. Those on the other end, however, must be able to entertain the toughest of crowds: random passersby. Apologies - entertain is the wrong word. They must impress this audience enough to not only capture their attention, but get them to stop, watch the performance, and eventually reach into their pocket or purse and directly contribute to the artist in return for this unplanned provision of pleasure. In the end, not only is true grit and determination required to succeed as a musician, as much as the opportunity to put in the painstaking hours required, with the right resources. Malcolm Gladwell claims it’s thousands of hours and a whole bunch of luck [1]. It just might be an understatement to say that the odds of making it as an artist are slim.

Concert performances and street performances dominated the music scene until records and radio allowed music to spread across regions. With the ability to record and distribute music being rather expensive, recording companies had the upper hand on artists. This dependency became a fundamental part of the industry. Artists being shackled in one-sided contracts prevailed as the status quo. In recent years, however, one of the core reasons for that dependency no longer exists: recording and distributing music with today’s technology is relatively inexpensive. Even massive marketing budgets can be circumvented through modern means of communication. That is, social media. The tough part is making money once the music is recorded, distributed, and loved by an audience. How do artists cash in on their talent? The status quo dream is the holy grail: a record contract. The Music Industry (MI) has exploited this dependency for their benefit, but today, it simply no longer has the upper hand. They may have world class marketing teams, but today that is no match for true talent, a home studio, and an internet connection.

Technology

Artists are increasingly using modern technology to self-record, self-market, and sell their own music. Despite this, the record contract still exists in the minds of many aspiring artists as the pot of gold at the end of their rainbow. It is increasingly being discovered as a mirage.

Since the early 2000s, technology has allowed nearly anyone to access nearly any music at any time, without paying for it. Lacking effective models to monetize music in the world of the internet, industry profits simply shrunk.

Profits

The 2000s was the first and only decade since the beginning of the MI that revenues have been less at the end than the start. This is typically attributed to digital “piracy” by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). However the Big Four recording companies’ focus on profit-seeking has contributed to the degradation of the sound, and hence people’s lack of appreciation for today’s popular music. This is also the reason why people feel little or no guilt about digital “piracy” - they know the profit-seeking record companies are losing far more than the artist bound by a contract. The artist wants to get her music heard, and she succeeds even when digital “piracy” thrives. She also, rightfully, wants her music to generate money, and wants to earn a fair share of the money generated by her music. However it would be a far cry to say that the RIAA is looking out for the artist’s best interest. Although a record contract, the holy grail, can help an artist record, distribute, market, and sell - it - by its very nature, affects the music being made by the artist. A record contract is a deal that makes the artist an employee rather than an owner and obligates the artist to make music that makes money for the company. It is profit-seeking in its nature. Profiteering an art form degrades its quality and undermines the very nature of the art itself, which is an expression of emotions. An expression of the soul, which cannot, rather, should not, be sold for a price.

Freedom

More artists today are selling their music independently than ever before. Technology allows them to do this. However by selling their music at set prices, they are selling themselves short. They are devaluing their work, and failing to realize its true economic potential. There is a website that allows musicians to sell their music directly to their fans, at prices decided by the artist. The site also has an option that allows artists to set a minimum price and let fans pay more than this.

The website claims that when artists do this, fans pay on average 50% more than the minimum price set by the artist [2].

This statistic is a cornerstone of Vibe Revolution’s model:
Give fans the freedom to decide the price of music by encouraging them to contribute directly to the artist whenever they feel, at whatever amount they feel.

Vibe Revolution

Artists can now truly realize the economic potential of their work if they give fans full access to their music and trust fans to contribute as they feel. The fact that today’s technology allows people to listen to any music at any time, undermines the very effectiveness of “selling” music at set prices: people will enjoy music as they feel, but if they don’t like the price set by the artist, they won’t pay. Conversely, if a fan really enjoys the music and wants to pay more than the set price, the fan cannot do this. Allowing fans to pay as they feel at whatever price they want ensures direct contributions of money (payments) from a higher number of fans, regardless of the amount of each contribution.

The site referred to above claims that when fans have the freedom to decide the price of music, they need an artist-set minimum price to give them an idea of what to pay. When fans consider an artist-set reference point, they tend to pay more (in appreciation of the artist’s work). The counter argument is that fans can truly pay as they feel if there is no reference point to influence their sense of value. As well, fans (and hence artists) may benefit from having a reference point for pricing, but it needn’t be restrictive. The ability to access music to discover and appreciate new sounds should not be restricted. Why should people not be allowed to pay less? Why stop someone if they are willing to pay something? At least they are willing to pay something, and it’s not as if a digital download has a significant cost. As a reference for fans, Vibe Revolution will allow artists to place a suggested contribution amount for a song or album, along with the average fan contribution for each song or album. When contributing, fans can specify which song or album they love and are paying for. The average fan contribution can also be used to rate and rank songs, like a stock price. Vibe Revolution is the stock market of music.

The site referred to above is so close to realizing the potential that they have discovered, however their existing model is focused on the artist being able to set the price, not the fan: they simply allow the option. Vibe Revolution takes the critical step to encourage fans to PAY AS YOU FEEL, and makes this the core of its model. Vibe Revolution has created the DIRECT CONTRIBUTION music monetization model: fans directly contribute to the (financial) success of the artist.  Vibe Revolution brings online the timeless tried and true business model of street performers.

Feel

Pay As You Feel: Whatever, Whenever.

Contribute WHEN you feel.
When you feel music, enjoy it, and feel that the artist deserves some appreciation for their work.
Contribute WHAT you feel.
In proportion to how you feel the music, and how you feel about the music.

Time & Money

The logic of Vibe Revolution comes down to circumstance and economics.
It works because, although it will take time, the timing is right. And at its core are two timelessly intertwined aspects of music and money:

• People will pay for music if they enjoy it.
• People must enjoy music before they will pay for it.

Both points are true for hard music sales like vinyl, cassettes, and CDs; performances on street corners and at Staples Center; and digital downloads. People will only contribute money to artists once they love the music and appreciate the artist. People will support artists by contributing money if a trusted mechanism exists to deliver directly to the artist.

Listen, love, contribute

Thousands of aspiring artists around the globe are desperately trying to get anyone to listen to their work. They are giving people free access to their work online, with no channel to collect money contributions when people recognize and appreciate the talent in their work. They know that people need to listen to their music and love it, before money can be made with it. Even when vinyl was big, people had to hear and love a song, perhaps on the radio, before buying it. Vibe Revolution encourages artists to trust fans by providing full access to music (through streaming or download) in order to give fans a chance to love it. Only then can fans truly pay the artist what they feel the music is worth. Only when fans love music, when they truly feel the message from the artist, does it have real value. Only when this value is realized will fans want to contribute to the artist’s success. Once fans love music and want to show the artist some love and appreciation, they need a channel directly to the artist (so they trust that she is directly receiving the money), and the freedom to contribute as they feel: as much as they like, whenever they like. When the fan has this freedom, the artist can truly realize the economic potential of her work. The artist needs to trust the fan by giving full access to her music. However this is part of what ensures that fans will contribute. The fan is being given an opportunity to listen to and love music, along with an opportunity to contribute money directly to the artist. Fans are being trusted. Fans are being shown respect. And as such, fans will want to uphold the trust being given to them.

Artist: “Here is my music. Enjoy. If you indeed love my music, please show your appreciation by making a direct contribution of money.”
Fan: “Most certainly, good sir.”

Rightly so, fans will feel respect and trust for the artist, and will want to show appreciation for the value they feel they receive through the opportunity to feel and love the artist’s work.
Fans want to contribute money directly to the artist, but only after they love the music.

This model is not unique to music, however it may be safe to say that no other product can succeed as successfully with this model as music, especially other forms of media like movies or books. Music is unique. It is an acquired taste; repetition is involved in its consumption. In order to pay for a song, one must love it. In order to love it, one must have access to the song to listen to it repeatedly, to develop a relationship with the music, to truly feel the music and truly love and appreciate the work and the artist. Fans have the right to listen to and love music before contributing.
LISTEN, LOVE, then CONTRIBUTE. It must happen in this order, and it is this model of making money that will change the state of the music industry and improve its output.

Means and the Ends

Vibe Revolution is not just a way for aspiring and emerging artists to build their fanbase.
It is a way for artists to get their work recognized and a way for them to make money.
It is both the means and the ends. Artists can make money while they build their fanbase and make a name for themselves. They can monetize their work along their path to success, and beyond.

Radiohead released its album In Rainbows online with a pay-what-you-want scheme and people did in fact pay for the digital download.

Evolution

Music Industry 1.0 - Live performances - industry/fan-set price
Music Industry 2.0 - Hard music sales - industry-set price
Music Industry 3.0 - Digital downloads - industry-set price
Music Industry 4.0 - Independent digital distribution - artist-set price
Music Industry 5.0 - Direct Contribution - fan-set price

Vibe Revolution is Music Industry 5.0.
Vibe Revolution is a community for artists to share their music, build and connect with their fanbase, and make money - without a record contract. Vibe Revolution is a community for fans to listen to music, discover new music, and directly support artists by paying as they feel.

Fans & Artists

Fans are a critical component of Vibe Revolution and the new music community. Artists can only be supported if their fans have a way to support them. Fans want to directly support artists, and everyone should know that the traditional music industry and its new products and services (e.g. cloud subscriptions or ad-revenue sharing models that license music from the Big Four) are perpetuating the old model, which does nothing to help artists progress in their status economically or in society. Artists should know that distribution services to get music on the above mentioned cloud models, by their nature, fall into this category as well.

Vibe Revolution is different. It is an intimate financial link between the artist and the fan.
It disrupts the old model and breaks down the barriers to artists’ true financial freedom.

Direct Connection

Vibe Revolution encourages artists to provide fans with full access to music and trust fans to contribute. Vibe Revolution encourages fans to make direct contributions of money to artists they wish to support, as they wish, while and after they enjoy the music. Music today is freely available via the internet, yet until now, no unrestricted direct monetary link existed between the artist and the fan.

Vibe Revolution is the first unrestricted, direct monetary link between artists and fans.

(Economic) Independence

Vibe Revolution aims to help artists make music free from the shackles and influence of the traditional record industry and its one-sided contracts. The means to achieve this is by artists owning and controlling their own music. Artists have the right to own their music and make money from it. In achieving this, the economy of music will grow because more people will directly contribute money for music and more people will directly contribute more money for music (because they know that artists are directly benefiting). Artists will collect most of this money, directly from their fans. The market economy of the amateur artist is being created. Artists can now make substantial money from their work, without a record contract. Over time, amateurs and professionals will blend, and monetize their music in the same way. Skewed record contracts will become more balanced, and begin to decrease in popularity overall. Major record companies will be reduced in their influence over artists, their creativity, and their music. Eventually, after these influences have reduced, the state of popular music will improve, along with the state of the MI as a whole. The dominance of the Big Four will diminish and professionals in different fields within the industry will contract their expertise. More than just artists will take control of their careers and free their financial futures.

The Road Ahead

The challenge for Vibe Revolution in the early stages is convincing artists of the power and potential of trusting their fans with access to their music. While there are countless aspiring artists who are giving their work away for free, there are others successfully selling their music independently, online and elsewhere. It may be challenging to convince these artists to trust their fans by giving full access to their music without paying up front. However once the Pay As You Feel model has been proven by a few clever artists, others will follow. Artists will bring their fans to the source where access to their work is easy and a method to collect Direct Contributions of money from their fans is available, easy to use, and trustworthy.

Trust & Respect

are values that Vibe Revolution puts first in dealing with everyone in the world.  Customers, fans, partners, employees, bosses, friends, are family. Artists must trust & respect fans, and fans must respect & trust artists.

Spread the Word

What is your role in the big picture that Vibe Revolution envisions?

If you are an artist, share music now.
Give people access to your work. Trust them to directly contribute to your (financial) success.
If you are a fan, enjoy music now.
Listen to music. Make direct contributions of money to your favorite artists. Pay As You Feel.

Spread the word about Vibe Revolution to anyone that you think may find value in what we do.
Show people the website, this manifesto, and your profile. Explain to them why this is a great cause.  Please feel free to Contact Us about anything.  Email, Facebook, Twitter.

Coup de Grâce

Music Industry is an oxymoron. A paradoxical concept, because music, being of the soul, cannot be sold for a price, as the term industry suggests. Placing a price on one’s soul is a transaction, a subtraction of integrity. The words of Thomas Paine explain:

“Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul by swearing allegiance to one whose character is that of a sottish, stupid, stubborn, worthless, brutish man.”

Let the movement stir your soul.
It is of the soul.

Viva la Revolución!