Now that digital media has commanded a significant amount of attention and market share in the music industry, social-networking sites and multimedia applications such as Myspace, imeem and iTunes have become primary sources for artists and labels (both major and independent) to market their music to a larger and more targeted audience. While major record labels continue to grapple with the changes in audio formats, other businesses are benefiting from the restructuring of the industry. 

One company taking advantage of the opportunities made available by the evolution of digital media is Digiwaxx: a service-oriented, membership-based web application that enables record labels and artists (large or small) to distribute and promote their music electronically to a distinct selection of DJs, tastemakers, and musical influencers worldwide. In this inaugural issue, A&R Department converses with the company’s chief architect, Corey “CL” Llewellyn, to gain his perspective about technology’s influence on the music business and the effects it will have on the future of recorded music. 

As a business, what are the benefits of operating in the digital form? How can artists benefit from the digital form?

The number one benefit is that you’re now borderless in the amount of people you can reach. The internet and technology has made it seamless to communicate with people across the world and to broaden your brand, your music, whatever, internationally in the drop of a dime—instantaneously. The value comes from being able to connect with a bigger demographic than you would normally be stuck to off the jump. You’re now, versus working in your city, your town, your reach, you’re now reaching out beyond where anybody else can fathom. That’s the most beautiful thing about the internet—instantaneous communication. The world is just in your reach…The internet is breaking down those boundaries in that communication is allowing people to look at things in a different way. It’s bringing the world together as one. People are creating new communities, new friends, dealing with new people and new places that they would’ve never dealt with before just because they didn’t have access to it.

The popular theory in the music business is that the internet and digital music are the reasons for the decline in record sales. As a leader in the digital community, what’s your view?

It has played a part in it because anytime you can take a CD and everybody rips it, you’re losing money. I think that we all know it’s a problem. I think the way to solve it is that we have to press our government and worldwide organizations to put regulations on it. It’s also us taking personal responsibility for what we do. If you rip a record or get it off of Limewire, you’re taking money out of an artist’s mouth. Second, it shouldn’t be allowed by law. We should be trying to focus on solutions and that solution is to say, “you have to go to the government.” Start off wherever you can: your district, town, state, federal, and worldwide organizations, and press them to put bigger and better sanctions and regulations on what can be done regarding the internet. It should be programs in place now. The technology world makes too much money off of protection encryption, file sharing formats, all of this stuff for it not to be regulated. If there has to be worldwide laws out there that prevent people from…that make it mandatory for people to use certain codes and encryptions so that people can’t download, share, and have certain permissions with music, I’m all for it. At the end of the day, we’re killing our industry and we’re taking food not only just out of the artist’s mouth, but a whole industry’s mouth. We’re killing the industry! I can honestly say—record labels are out of the door.

What’s your forecast of the music business in five years?

The music business in five years will be run by either a combination of advertising companies, technology companies, and independents. Period! I don’t think there’ll be no place for a major label. They’ll probably be winding down, and that they’ll maybe have a couple of 360° deals. I’m saying, if it doesn’t change with the regulations—all of this is dependant on that—then there’ll be no place for a major label. People will get money from a company that says, “I have a new jacket that I’m going to be promoting from Pierre Cardin, give the budget to this marketing company,” this marketing company is going to say, “we’re going to sign this new artist who has a hot album, we’re going to put that $1.5 million that we’re going to spend on the advertising of this product, put this artist along with this product, and we’re going to sell both of them.”

Sort of like Jay-Z’s “Kingdom Come” album with Budweiser. 

Imagine if Jay-Z signed with Budweiser and they spent all that money.

He said that none of the money spent on “Kingdom Come” came out of the marketing budget. 

That’s exactly where it’s going to go. That’s exactly where I see it going.

But do you think that an artist has to have that level of recognition?

Absolutely not. That’s why it’s marketing. Marketing is about taking new products, new things and figuring out a way to sell it to the masses. If they put it in a commercial—that song, being that it’s hot enough—people will take to it and want it anyway.

We’re killing the industry! I can honestly say—record labels are out of the door.

In your opinion, what are the cons of the digital music phenomenon?

I don’t know if it’s so much of a con, but it completely levels the playing field. There’s no distinction between a major artist and an independent artist damn near anymore right now. Yeah, you got guys like Baby Boy Da Prince that are signed, and then you got cats that are maybe just as popular online that don’t got a deal. We’re getting to a place where it’s almost transparent. Like, “Ok, you’re signed to Universal Republic. Ok, I’m signed to myself, but we’re both at the same show.” The only difference is that you may get an advance because you’re signed and they have to pay you, and I may be getting $7, $8 or $9—can’t even say that anymore. I may be getting 75¢ on the $1 or you may be getting way less than that.

Do you feel that music on the internet has hurt radio, which used to be the lead medium for promoting new music?

No. Not yet.

Are radio and DJs still important in promoting music in the digital era?

Yeah, definitely. It still reaches the masses. Radio is free. Everybody doesn’t have the internet yet. It is important because millions of people still listen to it. Yeah, iTunes, iPods and Zunes, and people are listening to internet radio stations—right now that stuff is still not as relevant as radio is. It’s too many millions of audience members and people listening. I do think that those other genres are growing in popularity obviously, but it’s just not at where radio is at yet.

Part of the pleasure in purchasing physical music used to be the experience itself—going to the store, purchasing the CD, tearing off the packaging, reading the booklet, examining the artwork, then listening to the music. Do you think the immediate access of digital music removes the experience for consumers, subsequently eliminating the interest to physically purchase music at retail outlets? 

Of course. You don’t get that same experience going through music on your computer. It changes it. I still go to music stores when I can. I still like that experience. I still like just flipping through music. But to me it is somewhat pointless unless you’re getting old music, and that’s just how I feel. But I do still see the excitement coming across people’s faces. But then you got a lot of people that don’t go to stores at all. So I would say yeah, it’s definitely changing it. It’s still some left—a nostalgic feeling of going to the store. But yeah, it’s changing. People aren’t going to be doing that in five years.

Will physical music product ever regain its leverage in the marketplace?

I think it’s going to go away. I think that people are going to be focusing on buying hard drives, the only physical thing they got. Meaning, whatever size Zune player you have, whatever size hard drive you have, gig, megs, terabytes, whatever it is—