The New Flatness

UMG usually seems more ahead than any of the other majors labels when it comes to pressing forward into using using new technology…not to mention they’re ahead of the pack in revenue.

Universal stands out when compared to the other major labels.  They are the only major that is making steps like this and its such a good thing.

AnySong is a new mobile music search and discovery service being introduced in Holland.  Universal partnered with Targetize to provide the technology solution.  And, it seems like part of the revenue stream is going to come from advertising sales on the service.  This is the right direction for mobile content providers.
This is the beginning of what will be common place in a few years.  What needs to happen in the states is a mobile search service for MySpace, TagWorld and the other big social networks that use music as part of their service.  Helio is trying to do this…but Helio is closed system.  You have to use their devices.

The search and discovery service for something like MySpace needs to be an open service that can be accessed by any device.

MySpace and Co. seem to have a vision as to where they want MySpace to be in the future.  Instead of just using the site as is, they are pushing the evolution of the social network.  Asking questions like what else can we do with this dense group of people besides just integrating paid search?  After only aquiring MySpace nine months ago it is good to see them making steps to continually evolve and change the service.

Thats what it is all about today.  Changing quickly and frequently.

Always look for the next space to push into.  FIM is doing just that with new ventures like Fox Atomic that I mentioned in my last post.
MySpace used music to create a user base and a social group that grows based initially on musical tastes.  That is what other purly music based services need to be concious of.  Music recomendation sites like Pandora, Mog and many others should think about something.

Why not use their users and join them to another service.

For instance; join GarageBand a music discovery service with a service like Dodgeball.

Push music discovery into an unlikely space.

Did you see Rupert?  Charlie always asks the right questions.  The interview was not ALL about MySpace but it was a big part of it.

Something that Rupert said resonated with me.  “Content is everything and…the focus must be on making it better than ever.”

With all the great and amazing things that are happening right now with the way you and I are aquiring our content; the content itself has to be better than ever.

No longer are the days where content is made for the majority.  It has to be built for everyone.  It has to have the ability to be customized for everyone’s world.

Rupert also developed Foxatomic.  Its a part of Fox that developes content just for 17-24 men.  The site so far has multiple partners including Jupcut which is a online video editing and publishing service.  This is the future…content provision has to be deep for customers to be loyal.

There has been a lot of talk about LisaNova…sure you’ve seen her around.

This is the state of things now. Its possible to have your material see and heard by everyone…everyone knows this. …although Mark thinks its boring.
I can’t help but think what it would have been like if these tools were available when Speilberg was making his war movies as a kid in his backyard.

What would that have been like? Were the internet availble then would it have made Speilberg, or someone that good, into something that he isn’t today?

Doubt it.

Even though there is the potential with the internet to break down walls of distribution and access, people still have to make the right decisions. The internet doesn’t help you make the right decisions.

When I say “right decisions” I’m talking about the question that Lisa must be asking of herself “now I have 75,000 views of my movie, now what do I do?” The best answer is to probably just keep on making the best content in the same manner. But the goal is to move forward and become a bit more than someone who posts funny movies on YouTube right!?
Here is the problem: How do you grow and continue to reach more and more people with progressively better quality content but do all of that without the help of old media concepts.

Brains always trumps technology.

I have yet to see a super star come from the likes of YouTube, MySpace etc. It’s possible and its going to happen. BUT, you gotta be smart, you gotta know how to do it, you gotta have a plan, you gotta know what you’re trying to do, you gotta know how to envision the end result, you gotta keep it goin’.

I was talking to my brother the graphic designer many months ago about advertising and how powerful it would be if a “new” way of advertising was developed. One that didn’t work in the classic manner of shoving a pitch to as many random eyeballs as possible.

PayPerPost is here. This is what I’m talking about. A lot of people seem to be shunning the concept. One of the things that stands out on the surface to me is that it enables more people with more products and services to reach more people. How can anyone think that when there is so much positive stuff to had from it…like lots of money. I know why. Because no one likes the feeling that they are being duped which is what can happen when reading a blog post that may have been written just for money and not for the just out of belief of what they are writting. A lot of the time the best ideas feel strange at first.

This concept goes for all sorts of content as well…video and music. Fred Wilson has a good post on the issue of content providers making it difficult for the consumer to consume.

Creators of the products and content aren’t going to have a free-for-all though. They will still need the dough to pay the bloggers, and the more ya got the more people are going to read about your product/service. The important thing is that this is just a better, more effecient and more effective way of advertising.

Does this mean we’re going to see the rise of the rich blogger?

YouTube made it simple for the a la carte video watcher.

Its interesting that the BEST clips from TV shows or movies can be found there. Forget all the other stuff no one cares about. The user is so in control that she is essentially telling the content creator what is favored and what is not when she puts choice clips on YouTube.

NBC is getting smart.

Doing business with something as powerful as YouTube is the best move.

It makes sense that TV networks are adopting this easier and quicker than the music business has because TV is an ad based business model. YouTube can easily facilitate that.

The revenue stream for the music business comes from CD sales…or at least they want it to.

How can music be part of an ad based model?

Advertising creates a huge platform to work from.

How can the music business wrap its content with advertising. Its a much better, and easier way to pay the content creators.

To shareholders of major labels it makes the most sense to turn to ad revenue as the primary source of income.

More revenue=happy shareholders=an environment to create

Is it possible to run out of acts that draw big numbers to concerts?

What will happen in 10-15 years when the top grossing acts like U2, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Elton John aren’t touring anymore? Who is going to fill that hole? Are young acts today being sculpted into lifetime performers and entertainers? Some are, but most people don’t want to live in the margins.

This is not the end, its just the beginning of a change in how it works. Times change and this is the beginning of a time where people won’t pay insane amounts of money to see a rock show.

“The same show will be on the internet sooner or later, why not just watch it then?” Regardless if this attitude is good or bad, right or wrong, this is how younger generations think.

Know the customer.

Think like the customer.