Why the Long Game Still Wins in the Music Business
The music industry loves to convince itself it’s in constant revolution. First it was downloads, then streaming, then social platforms, now AI. Every shift comes with a new promise that this time the rules have changed for good. But one of the most revealing moments in a recent episode of Mixed and Mastered—featuring entertainment attorney and label executive James McMillan, Esq.—cuts through that noise with a simple truth:
No matter the era, hits create leverage. And leverage creates options.
That idea is easy to overlook today, when attention feels cheap and metrics update in real time. Artists can build followings overnight, labels can spot trends instantly, and catalogs are being bought and sold like financial instruments. But as James explains in the conversation, those surface-level changes haven’t altered the core mechanics of power in the business.
A hit doesn’t just spike streams or revenue. It raises your floor.
In modern terms, music operates on a “long tail” system. A successful record creates a surge, then settles into a sustained level of performance that continues to generate value over time. That sustained relevance—not the initial moment—is what opens doors. It’s what allows artists and their teams to negotiate better deals, retain ownership, and make decisions that aren’t purely survival-based.
This is where the conversation moves beyond nostalgia and into strategy.
James’ career spans law, management, and label ownership, and that evolution didn’t happen by accident. It happened because he recognized a ceiling: transactional success without equity leads to constant motion, not stability. Legal fees end. Commissions fluctuate. Ownership compounds. But ownership is rarely offered without leverage, and leverage still starts with records that truly connect.
In an era obsessed with virality, this distinction matters. Not every moment translates into a career. Not every spike builds infrastructure. Without development, on stage, in community, and behind the scenes, artists risk becoming interchangeable data points in a system that moves on quickly.
That’s why James emphasizes the role of cultural builders: people who understand how to develop artists over time and how to advocate for them inside corporate environments. These are the translators who can explain why something matters, not just how it’s performing this week. They protect artists from being overvalued too early or discarded too fast.
Technology will keep evolving. Distribution models will keep changing. New tools will keep promising shortcuts.
But the underlying lesson remains consistent:
Hits create leverage.
Leverage creates choice.
And choice is where long-term ownership lives.
