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So, in the long run, did MTV actually sink music? 

Just look at this year’s VMAs, and you’ll get the evidence.

MTV has obviously changed the way music is perceived. From something you hear into something you see. At least what we’ve seen has been pretty good for some time. But now ?

This show is a whore.  Try watch it again (if you can actually stand it) and get a dose of reality: who are the real winners here ? The “artists”  ?  Give me a fucking break… Verizon is the star, not Britney !

Presented by Russell Brand ? Well, the name says it all.  

In the YouTube era, this show is an anachronism that makes me cry. The VMAs used to be the countercultural event of the year, the hipsters’ award show.  Now, they are so establishment, so boring, so passè…   

Realize this: the future will NOT be televised. Not anymore. And not by THAT brand anyway. Switching to mobile phones may actually be the only way to save it from extinction.

That’s in fact what MTV Italy is busy doing at the moment. And as we all know, Italians do it better…

Swarm attack !

Swarmtribes is a new type of community-engagement platform, which was designed around communication principles used by social groups in nature such as… ants, bees and dolphins !

It’s an interactive approach, which aims to connect musicians with their dedicated fans, by enabling them to manage, grow, develop and monetise their own fan bases.

For many musicians, getting the first bunch of dedicated fans is probably very easy – just look among your relatives ! – but when it comes to multiplying this number things become quite complicated. And even when their fan base does actually increase, they’re faced with the challenges of managing it.

Musicians needed a communication system to interact with their fans, adaptable and instantly reactive. They needed to engage with their fans, using a means of communication that can be scaled up. This is where Swarmtribes may possibly help.

Now you have it. So what are you still doing here ? Try it, and let us know what you think !

Come on and play

 

This is very cool.

Yahoo! created a wiki to give independent developers a central location to meet up. It made the wiki independent in order to foster a genuine community.

This is a wiki for work related to the Yahoo! Media Player. It is for independent developers to share work and knowledge. Although it was created by them, it is not owned or operated by Yahoo!

Version 2.0 is out, on the developer/test URL: http://mediaplayer.yahoo.com/latest 

Faster, smaller code footprint, more media formats, new features.

Check it out, and send any feedback !

 

Never Mind The Bollock$

According to the Belfast Telegraph, millionaire “supergroup” U2 are accused of pulling a “con” by selling their fans “re-packaged, re-mastered and re-released” (for fuck’s sake…) albums that are “on offer” for as much as… Take a breath… €50 ???

The greedy bastards…  If this is not a scam, I can’t imagine what is one.

See, this is exactly why the old record business is dying… It’s not because of the “pirates”. It’s not because of the “crisis”. It’s not because of the “amazing shrinking dollar”. It is because fans are treated as brainless cash dispensers.

“It’s typical marketing”, I hear someone say. Well, I’m sorry – it’s not. Marketing, and especially smart marketing, is something completely different.

Well, never mind. I’m confident that these pieces of plastic will ship gold and return platinum, as they used to say. Prove me wrong, fellas…

Magnetic Heroes

Yes. Activision Publishing finally announced that Metallica’s highly-anticipated full studio album, “Death Magnetic,” will be available simultaneously in record stores and as downloadable content for the world’s best-selling video game series, Guitar Hero.

Metallica fans will be able to rock out to new anthems from the band in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock this September and will be able to unite on drums, guitar and vocals as the album will also be released as downloadable content for Guitar Hero World Tour.

According to Mike Griffith, president and CEO of Activision Publishing: “We are particularly excited about this fall’s Guitar Hero World Tour, which will deliver unprecedented innovation to the rhythm-based genre with new instruments, a significantly expanded song list, and a music creator to share user-generated soundtracks. Gamers will also be able to play Metallica’s new album on the day it launches.” 

Talking about smart marketing: great idea, Lars.

Metal up your ass !

Pssst !

So here’s the Big Question that everybody seems to ignore nowadays when speaking of digital music marketing: how many euros do you have to spend on promotion to generate a single euro of revenue ? 

In the naked digital music world, the solution is to increase marketing ROI through perfect targeting.

The problem: extremely low margins force targeting to be extremely accurate. Choosing the exact songs to promote to the proper audience without a high rate of failure. Therefore, as some have pointed out, record labels have to become information driven businesses. 

Otherwise, if cutting down on the failure rate is not an option, they will have to operate at a reasonable per-unit cost basis. As we can see, the current solution adopted by the music industry is… Well, er… Cutbacks !

Are we sure there is not another way to look at it ?

How about investing in recommendations instead ? Music is the easiest product in the world to recommend.  I can’t imagine any other product that has the same viral qualities.  Think about it: the billions of tracks sold on iTunes have been sold to consumers that most probably have never seen the artists live nor visited their MySpace profiles…  Billions of iTunes purchase decisions have therefore been driven off simple recommendations: those that liked X, also liked Y, so they bought it.

Artists:  it’s still extremely important to focus on song quality, so that people can recommend you more easily !  Money spent on a quality production will yield more return than the same investment spent on new marketing tricks.

After all, who will recommend your music if the songwriting is poor and it sounds like shit ?

Musique To The Max

Orange has just opened Musique Max in France. It’s an unlimited download service for PC and mobile, offering one million titles from all four major labels and two key French indies.

Thanks to the Orange Media Player, the customers will be able to download music to PCs or mobile phones, with automatic synchronization of music libraries. All titles downloaded can be kept for an unlimited period and transferred to five other digital devices. 

And all of this for an astonishing €12 per month !

So why is this not happening everywhere yet ?

 

MySpace Is Dead

 

So David Hooper at KathodeRay has an interesting theory: MySpace is dead !

Therefore, he’s going to show you what the next big trend for musicians is and get you step-by-step info on how you can take advantage of it… if that’s what you want. Or what you really need. It’s all in his most recent book…

David has a point: anyone who thinks that MySpace alone will solve the problem of DIY marketing is just living on another planet. Check out how many of your “friends” show up at your next gig after using MySpace as a promotional tool, and see for yourself.

Is MySpace overrated as a marketing platform for musicians ? Maybe yes, maybe no… But there are other ways and tools to connect and communicate with people with similar tastes or interests.

That’s why David’s provoking approach is definitely worth some consideration. 

 

Wal-Chart

In the US, the Eagles’ latest double disc, “Long Road Out of Eden,” sold 711,000 copies in its first week and three million since its release. Journey sold 45,000 albums in its first three days on sale.

Really ? And is this happening in record shops ? No way… It’s happening at Wal-Marts.

Irving Azoff, founder and chief executive of Front Line Management and music industry veteran, has done it again !

And there’s more. “With the downturn – Azoff says – the labels couldn’t match the marketing commitments that Wal-Mart could make. It was well in excess of anything a label could do.”

So how does it work ? Here’s the full story, according to the New York Times .

YouLicense

YouLicense.com, the Online Music Licensing Marketplace, is offering many great licensing opportunities to artists worldwide and invites all to submit their music free of charge to be considered for various film placement opportunities.

Recently added opportunities by UK based production company FFAB:UK and the Indie film, Phobidilic, are great examples of the growing community of filmmakers and production companies seeking to license music directly from content owners in a fast, simple and easy manner.

I think this is one service worth some serious attention.