危 wēi  danger

The music industry has been under siege  – new electronic distribution methods, piracy and the increasing power of the blockbuster performers has made the traditional music labels less and less appealing.

机 jī  opportunity

The Pop Idol / American Idol model has harnessed technology for opportunity.  The innovative format has been highly successful  –  singers audition and then perform in a weekly program and viewers then vote for their favourite performer.  The winner is awarded a music deal.  Amazingly it turns the A&R (Artists and Repertoire) talent finding cost into a revenue source as viewers pay to tell the program owners who they like (often by SMS).  In addition, this whole process de-risks taking talent to market (because viewers have already made clear who they like) and enables the talent to be acquired at low cost (because they agree terms in advance).

How about…

• turning costs into revenue sources
• harnessing the wisdom of the crowd to help you prioritise your options