Last week, I discussed the first of my six things that I consider to be crucial to a successful music company in the digital age – being able to freely share music, and passion for music between people without let or hindrance, as my passport would say. This week, we’re down to more business-focused principles:

1. Music must be sharable – word of mouth is more important than ever
2. Revenue must come from multiple sources – if one bit of the industry becomes obsolete, it shouldn’t sink the whole ship
3. New technologies are to be welcomed and understood, not feared and litigated against
4. A&R can be crowdsourced, but remember the long tail
5. “Added value” is key – give people a reason not to pirate things – carrots, not sticks
6. Your artists are your most important spokespeople

Click over the jump for my thoughts on the second one, and stay tuned over the next few weeks for the finishing chapters.