MADE

Business is not a war

People aren’t targets

Advantage isn’t competitive

Power isn’t coercion

Markets aren’t for domination

Profit isn’t value

Exploitation isn’t productive

These principles are outlined in a presentation by economist Umair Haque of the Havas Media Lab. You can watch it here. I strongly urge you to set aside some time to listen to the whole thing because it’s one of these grand state-of-the-world types of talks that allows you to make sense of where the world of business and economics are headed. That will give you an understanding of where music is headed. It’s one of the most important talks you can listen to. Big ideas still rule the day.

Haque’s basic assertion is that people who are driven by ideals are the winners in today’s economy(look at Apple vs. Microsoft). He believes that greed and conflict—principles that defined companies of the 20th century—led to the recession last year. The way to move forward is to embrace Google’s motto of Don’t be Evil. Domination and coercion don’t work so well in the Internet economy because they ultimately make you do bad things. And it’s too easy to be outed. It pays to be nice.

One of the lessons I really like from this presentation is that, even though profit matters a lot, creativity matter more. If you work hard at being insanely creative, the profit is likely to come in some way, shape or form. But if your focus is on just money, it’s highly likely that creativity will suffer.

I think that too many music artists are still focused on the illusion of riches instead of the promise of true art. Understand that the world has changed dramatically in just the last 6 years or so. To be anybody today, you have to think in terms of creative value that sets you apart from the rest. Otherwise, you’re just a commodity and commodity is a 20th century concept. You have to make music and create art that makes people’s lives a little bit better. The free market demands it.

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