A post I wrote yesterday made me realize that #Unresolved has spread to different people in ways that have drifted from its origins. So it seems worth recapping what Unresolved actually is, why it exists, and where it came from.
Let’s start with a definition, so the explanation has some structure and anyone who reads this can pass it along.
Unresolved is a movement by people who feel invested in solving problems in the music industry through entrepreneurial thinking and technology.
Well, okay. Unresolved doesn’t actually have an official definition. So the one above isn’t necessarily correct, and anyone can redefine it. But when I think back on everything that’s happened around Unresolved, that description comes closest to capturing it.
“That’s a bit vague, don’t you think?”
Yes. Because Unresolved genuinely has no creator, no owner, no organization, no movement, no mission.
So then: Unresolved is a way of thinking. Unresolved is chaos without a leader. Unresolved is people who believe there are problems in the music industry and want to solve them. And because no single method can solve every problem that currently exists in the music industry — especially the recording side — Unresolved exists.
An example of the kind of problem that needs solving:
Problem: Business models in the digital era. The question: What’s the best business model for music right now?
Some will say, “Easy — just do what Radiohead did.” Others: “Why bother with albums at all? Be Metallica — tour the world and sell merch.” PROBLEM SOLVED!!
Well…
In earlier decades, a musician’s career followed a more predictable arc. In the ’80s and ’90s, you made a demo, sent it to a label, and if they bit, you had a shot. If not, you went back to school. In the ’90s, self-releasing became possible. After that came merch with “Fuck Major Labels” in large print. Then a lot of shows. Eventually retirement: open a rice stall, run a karaoke business, or teach music lessons.
There was a pattern. Now there isn’t. Among every act that’s achieved commercial success recently, no two did it the same way. So the honest answer is: nobody actually knows what’s happening in this industry right now. Let alone what’s coming next.
That’s the opportunity. Because we don’t know, Unresolved matters.
People get frustrated because they expect someone to answer the big question once and for all. But nobody can do that. The only way forward is to break it into smaller, more specific questions. Like: How do you sell pop music online in Indonesia — and which city do you start in, Yogyakarta? Bandung? Makassar? How do you get more show bookings through social media? If you had to pick one platform, which is it — Twitter, Facebook, Google+? How does a musician get their song onto Path? What are the requirements? What do you need to prepare? How do you make album artwork? Can you do it yourself? Where do you even start?
This is where Unresolved can help. What needs solving isn’t the music industry as an abstract whole — it’s the small, specific, daily problems that will, in aggregate, create real opportunities for people building music businesses today and in the years ahead.
As for the recording industry being dead — especially now that Aquarius Mahakam has closed — don’t be dramatic. Grateful Dead is still out there. OK GO. Spotify. Kickstarter. YouTube. Hundreds of millions of search results for “future music business models.” There’s a lot we can do. One avenue is Unresolved.
If you feel the pull, like the few dozen people who’ve been active in this space, here are some things you can do: Read the articles linked in the source list below. Run your own Unresolved event in your city. Start a podcast, a blog, a music discussion community — anything that solves small problems in the music industry. Tag it #Unresolved and share it.
Let’s Unresolved.