The Power of Statistics
A big chunk of what I do involves looking at endless numbers of spreadsheets and charts. Spotting trends, digging into referral sources, and trying to make facts rise from figures like some sort of marketing phoenix….
What if Gene Simmons was right?
Here in the new music industry, the paradigm is shifting. There’s a clear lack of synergy between the next-gen music makers and the major label gatekeepers. As a result, there’s a clear lack of revenue caused by and resulting from illegal file-sharing by the disenfranchised youth movement. While some may claim a certain Luddite pretense by those in control of the industry, it’s easier to claim that they’re disconnected and reluctant to embrace new technologies.
Maybe you’ve heard this bullshit before? I thought so.
What’s your shtick?
Our industry, and our patience for hearing new music, is contracting. We’re increasingly overtaxed/conditioned by technology so that if it doesn’t come to us instantaneously, and stand out at the same time, we just move on. The act of musical discovery and exploration has been relegated to music purists who make up an increasingly small piece of the consumerist pie. So what’s YOUR shtick? Why do we care about your music? And don’t say “because it’s good … ” That’s a bigger cop-out than the last five Rolling Stones albums.
I love Rdio.
I wanted to come up with a more profound title, but I couldn’t. Although, a declaration of true love seems pretty emphatic, don’t you think? Staying up with the trends in the music industry is important…
Direct-to-Fan Head-to-Head Battle-to-the-Death Mega-Royale Gala-Fest
I figured something like this deserves a bigger title than just “Something I’m Gonna Try.” In my capacity as mild-mannered marketing consultant, I spend a fair amount of time at Nimbit. No surprises there, and honestly,…
Is TuneCore really a direct-to-fan solution?
Direct-to-Fan is the dominant trend in today’s music space. Whether it’s Trent Reznor telling us, or anyone else, the ability to engage with fans and provide unique, compelling offers is tantamount to success. What’s disturbing though, is that you’ve labeled Tunecore as a frontrunner in the direct-to-fan space. Nothing could be further from the truth.
What about MySpace?
As Facebook eats the lunch of just about every competitor, I have to wonder — what happened to MySpace? Are they the spurned middle child between Friendster and Facebook? Do they have a Jan Brady complex that causes them to sit in their bedroom dreaming up imaginary boyfriends?
There should never be free music.
Anytime you give a track away, people should be buying it — and the currency of choice is an email address. Second to that, let them pay with a tweet, by becoming a Facebook fan, or creating a post about your music. Any of those currencies may actually be more valuable than the 99 cents they may (or may not!) want to spend.
An open letter to the Texas Rangers
To Whom It May Concern: I’m Scott Feldman — no, not that Scott Feldman, another one. Â I live in Boston, and I’m a Red Sox fan. Â As you might imagine, being a Sox fan is…
Educating tomorrow’s music biz…
During my own time at Berklee, I took advantage of everything I could. As a piano player, I spent most of my time playing Hammond B3. While I didn’t plant on being the next John Medeski, I welcomed the opportunity to play an instrument I’d like never own on my own.
But he drives a truck…
We’ve been conditioned to vote for change. Even when that change is actually reverting back from the change we voted ourselves out of just two years ago. Sometimes irony is indeed quite ironic.
Breaking the 11th Commandment
As I watch my partners and competitors engage in battles of marketing will, I’m amused by the way they turn the super strategic, high level actions into their own raison d’etre. The belief seems to be…
Can You Survive on $311.9 million per Quarter?
Odds are you didn’t read a newspaper this morning. In fact, newspaper readership is down roughly 20% this year alone. Daily circulation of American newspapers peaked in 1984 and dropped 13% to 55.2 million copies by…
Respectivize
Respectivize. What? Huh? I’m tired of incentivizing the userbase, and I’m beginning to think that it doesn’t work. Instead, it’s time to focus on respect rather than incentives. In the long run, respect goes a lot…
What, why, and so what…
Over the last few days, I’ve been wondering about what we say. Admittedly that’s a wide, open-ended type statement. But think about how you say what you say. Do you actually take the time to choose…
Here a Beatle, There a Beatle …
Judging from this week’s media hype, 9/09/09 is the next coming of the Beatles. The folks at Harmonix are releasing RockBand: Beatles Edition, and all things Beatle are flooding the market. I just got back from…
But interns are free, right?
I was poking around on Craigslist this morning, and alongside a sweet deal on a Rhodes, I noticed that roughly 60% of the marketing job listings were for internships. None of which offered pay, temp-to-perm opportunities,…
How Not to Write a (Music) Blog
Lots of folks will tell you how to do things. In fact, everyone probably prides themselves on being an expert on something. I’d rather spin things a little bit and tell you what NOT to do….
Kooper on Napster
This is a column by Al Kooper for EQ Magazine back in 2001. I wanna start off by saying I chose the music business back in 1958 to express myself and to make a living. I’ve…