“Artists should use recordings to build a brand so that they can make money on concerts and T-shirts.” said Bob Pitmman, founder of MTV. Trends in Music Distribution

All this talk regarding the end of recorded music as a valuable commodity seems to be gaining credibility. However, I am wondering if Bob Pittman understands the value that is prepackaged music. Would anyone argue that there will always be a market for great art? Some artists need to charge for their music for credibility purposes alone.

Still, I agree that many artists would be better off using promotional giveaways to build their brand. However, would not some of the “top-shelf” artists be harming their brand by giving away their music for free? I believe Bob Pittman’s comment to be shortsighted. However, it is true to say that all artists need to use whatever distributional methods they choose as a vehicle to build their sonic brand.