Warner Music Boss: We Were Wrong

edgar-bronfman.jpgSomeone in the music industry finally seeing the error of their ways? A blue moon rose over Macau Wednesday when Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Warner Music Group Edgar Bronfman admitted on stage that the music industry had been asleep at the wheel.

Bronfman told the audience at the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress that mobile operators should not make the same mistakes that the music industry has:

We used to fool ourselves…We used to think our content was perfect just exactly as it was. We expected our business would remain blissfully unaffected even as the world of interactivity, constant connection and file sharing was exploding. And of course we were wrong. How were we wrong? By standing still or moving at a glacial pace, we inadvertently went to war with consumers by denying them what they wanted and could otherwise find and as a result of course, consumers won.

The remarkable thing about Bronfman’s admission is that the music industry considered what they were doing, in trying to limit consumer choice, to be a war. It’s a frank and honest admission that’s a positive for the music industry in moving forward from the sins of the past, however one mans words alone do not herald a sea change in an entire industry. Having said that though it’s still nice to see at least someone has woken up to the realities of today’s marketplace.

(via MacUser)