Label executives are used to receiving free advice from bloggers, analysts,  business associates, artists, and everyone in-between.  Music is a business of passion, and seemingly everyone has an opinion on what labels should do next.  Some of that advice is dreamy, unproductive, and divorced from day-to-day business realities.  Other opinions are more sensible, and have helped to form an influential consensus on where labels should go.

Just recently, well-known marketing guru Seth Godin dispensed some of his own advice to labels, and urged a number of progressive steps.  Godin, a best-selling author and expert in digital-generation marketing, is regarded as a top thinker on digital marketing principles. 

Among the tips, Godin urged labels and artists to embrace community aspects surrounding an artist more deeply.  The interactivity and participatory experience are difficult to duplicated, unlike digital song files.  "The winners in the music business of tomorrow are individuals and organizations that create communities, connect people, spread ideas and act as the hub of the wheel ... indispensable and well-compensated," Godin asserted.

Godin also urged artists and labels to embrace permission-based registrations and relationships, and super-serve targeted audiences.  He also encouraged more investment in the power of artist celebrity, and underscored the importance of establishing a subscription-based business.  "The biggest opportunity for the music business is to combine permission with subscription," Godin noted.

Seth Godin, "Music Lessons"