About a month ago we talked about Timbaland and his plans to release a mobile album with Verizon. Well here we are a month later and according to the PR Insider megastar Madonna is doing something very similar. Apparently Madonna will be the first major artist to release an album via mobile prior to its store release. This is going to be exclusive to UK Vodaphone users….but nonetheless its cool to see artist continually embracing new and innovative ways to sell. Similar to the Timbaland deal, Madonna will release one new song from the album everyday until its complete.

Think about that from a promotional perspective for a moment. If she has ten tracks thats like ten different promotional events instead of one. Ten different themes…and if her songs vary enough in style, maybe even ten different target audiences that they promote to daily. I LOVE the idea, and think its about time that we see more innovation like this.

Tags: madonna mobile vodaphone timbaland

Subscription, pay-per-download, pay what you like, ad-supported and FREE. All of these are the new models competing to “save” the music industry. The one model that may surprisingly gain the most traction within the next year is the FREE model. Of course nothing is really free, other than Limewire and Torrents, but device companies are starting to toy with the idea that selling devices pre-loaded with TONS of music can increase their device sales at a freemium. Back in December, Nokia announced that sometime in mid 2008 they would launch a “Comes with Music” program that would allow purchasers of particular Nokia phones to download as much music as they want from the Universal Music Catalog through an unlimited music subscription service for a year. Though they haven’t released many details we can assume there’s some form of DRM involved to keep music on the device and probably a subscription fee that will kick in after the year is over.

Following this move by Nokia, Steve Jobs, incapable of being one-upped, decided that he would try out the same idea, but quite possibly with enough pull to bring in the catalogs of all the big four…and certainly a much higher market share in the music hardware space. According to the Financial Times, the entire iTunes music library would become free in exchange for a premium on iPod AND iPhone device sales.

As noted by our friends at Mashable I can’t imagine that this concept is going over easy with the big four. It was only a year ago that we were fussing about DRM, and now we’re talking about giving away entire catalogs for a flat fee? According to the deal structures, the Nokia deal will offer labels $80/handset sold, split up according to market share, whereas the Apple deal is providing a paltry $20/unit.

However, there are two considerations that make the Apple deal a good buy for the labels:

• The sheer volume of iPod and iPhone sales means $20/unit across a ton of units
• The average iTunes music store customer only buys one album worth of music

When looking at those two figures it seems smart to pursue the added value of music discovery and a nice chunk of revenue that the labels probably wouldn’t have seen from iTunes. The only fear has to be cannibalization. How much would a model like this eat into other customers that might have been on the high end, already buying 5-10 albums a year with their iTunes subscription?

Cannabilization aside, the model sounds like a winner, and Apple wouldn’t have made a statement unless it really thought it could get the Big Four to agree to it. The only thing I’m wondering is if Apple plans to develop a subscription model for this. Despite the previous failures I’ve been a long-time supporter of the subscription model + wi-fi one two punch. It seems common sense that a premium purchase shouldn’t provide consumers with unlimited music forever, or there will be a backlash from the industry. If Apple presents the labels with a flat device rate and a yearly fee consumers pay to renew the music license this could become the new way in which we consume music. They have the influence to make it happen, the customer base to adopt it, now it just comes down to the numbers that make it smart for everyone.

Look out world!

Tags: iphone itunes music subscription nokia comes with music

So I was having a conversation with one of my industry friends and manager of a very well known artist less than a month ago talking about how digital has not only affected the distribution of an artists end product, but even the method in which they produce it. I teased him about the channels of distribution being so direct and powerful that an artist could release a track fresh from the studio and instead of their album being simply a compilation, it truly becomes an experience that fans can walk-through with them track-by-track.

I have an AT+T phone, but he must have had Verizon, because they certainly took this idea right from my conversation. Verizon + Timbaland = Mobile Album made in real time with the fans….how freaking cool can it get? The plan is that Timbaland will produce one track every month, and each month he will tour the country on a Verizon Mobile bus meeting with different artists to record over his new tracks. Every location he stops at, fans, along with any V-Cast phone, will get to hang with him on the bus and see “making of footage” first hand.

I’m not even going to go much deeper into the specifics, check the recap from Billboard. Bottom line on a rating from Old Model Lameness to New Model Coolness, this is definitely New Model Cool. I applaud Verizon and Timbaland for taking a step like this. Deals like these are the things that stimulate industries, that spark creativity and innovation, and get people to stop crying about the death of the music industry. Last time I checked people were listening to more music than ever, and could get music in more creative ways…bring them an enhanced experience like what Verizon and Timbaland plan to do and I’m sure this campaign will do go not only for sales on Verizon, but it will stimulate sales for the compilation release…hell even if they actually make a CD of the compilation a creative campaign with a story behind it like this one is sure to stimulate interest beyond your typical release.

F Old media And three cheers to Verizon and Timbaland for being brave enough to do this.

Tags: f old media, mobile 2.0, mobile album, music 2.0, timbaland, verizon

AdCamo Monetizes Web Page Backgrounds

One of the most obtrusive but at least not functionally offensive ad modules will now be commonplace.

Your MySpace Web Browser Is Coming

Already way cool for Facebook…definitely should be fun for Myspace.

Kanye West Launches a Web Browser

….but why?

Myspace Open Platform Launches…good for music…

ehhh I’m traditionally skeptical of Myspace…let’s just see how this plays out.

Just finished reading a great blog from Seth Godin about the price point for digital content. As Seth observes, digital media has yet to match its prices to its significantly reduced costs. Apple, Unbox and all the new video rental services are priced at nearly the same amount as their physical competitors Blockbuster, Hollywood Video etc. But they don’t have 1/10th of the cost structure and overhead that these companies do.

Why change the medium of distribution and just stop there? Why not respect the consumer realizing that through digital delivery your costs are significantly reduced.? Pass those savings on to the consumers, instead of having them feed your pockets and maybe you’ll be able to combat piracy. I’d have to agree with Seth that it would be very smart for these services to make a significantly cheaper alternative to physical production, instantly thwarting the physical sales and increasing volume in droves. If you could legally download a movie for rental for $0.50 how many people would still want to go through the trouble of finding a healthy torrent, seeding for days, and then finding that its slightly lower quality than the real thing.

Comparing those two options I’d rent a ton more movies digitally…what about you?

PS. This directly applies to the iTunes model too. Why should I pay nearly the same amount for a digital album as physical when your cost are nearly non-existent?

Tags: apple, blockbuster, hollywood video, itunes, movie rental, seth godin, unbox

Facebook Makes Changes to Newsfeed

Maybe now I’ll stop getting invited to take those movie quizzes every 2 min.

2007 Crunchies winners

Good to see our friends from Meebo up there who are…

Meebo Rocks Widgetsphere

By far one of my favorite strategic partners. Shouts to Danny and Robb

Ioda says no to imeem

Claims royatly rates are poor…

Tags: facebook, imeem, ioda, meebo, techcrunch, widgets

I must admit, it wasn’t until this past week that I had ever been in a HearMusic store. I’d heard about the concept, walked by the HearMusic store in Santa Monica, CA several times and finally decided to stop in. When I walked in the store I was immediately entrapped by the dozens of people sitting at the HearMusic Kiosk, sipping Starbucks, browsing the extensive catalog of digital music, and then leaving with a mix CD the kiosk created for them …it was just great!

I immediately started paralleling the problems of the music industry to the differences between HearMusic and let’s say…an FYE. FYE and labels traditionally focus on the sale, BUY! BUY! BUY! while completely ignoring the “experience. HearMusic takes that extra step and recognizes that listening to music is more than a monetary decision, it’s a lifestyle, an experience that I would gladly enjoy while being served hot cocoa :-).

Of course there are only four of these stores nationwide…but I can’t imagine why a modified version of this might completely replace even our big box stores like Best Buy; particularly when HearMusic is working on expanding their kiosks to synchronize with mp3 players. With innovations like these and the continual advances in wi-fi players like Sansa Connect and the iTunes wi-fi store I wonder what the traditional box stores are thinking about their future.

Disclaimer: I am completely aware that HearMusic has been out for ages I just never got a chance to experience it physically.

Tags: fan force, hearmusic, itunes, mp3's, starbucks

Apparently Yahoo! wishes to answer my prayers and consolidate my 1000’s of beta id’s into a much simpler login. Just a few days ago I said:

5.

I could login one time and access ALL of my social profiles…or better yet if i could use my fingerprint to replace all these usernames and passwords

And here comes the announcement from Yahoo! to provide a OpenID which would essentially become your master login for everything. Of course none of these OpenID attempts are even going to hit my radar until all my favorite sites are participating and I actually CAN use one login. Right now some of the other attempts at OpenID like OpenID.net just don’t have the sites I’m interested in. But with Google and Yahoo toying in this space I’m sure well see a ton of movement this year regarding OpenID’s.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Zuck decided to get in on this game as well. As our friends at Read/Write/Web stated OpenID certainly presents a HUGE opportunity to gain a wealth of information on what other sites I visit. If the ID could be smart enough to add some functionality, profile control, and even report back data on my login activity this could be a very smart tool for targeted advertisement opportunities. Biggest concerns with OpenID are definitely Privacy and Security…now someone can steal one ID and have them all….what do we do.

I’ll just wait for full fingerprint support

Tags: google, openid, web2.0, yahoo

Is it just me or does it seem like I won’t be able to do much of anything in the future without happily paying Amazon? I mean the strides that Amazon is making in hardware, software, and digital content are just incredible…and very impressive. I swear it seems like every month they come out with something new that severely threatens another heavyweight’s market share.

Here’s a rundown of some of the fights that Amazon’s in right now and some of the blows they’ve thrown that may put them on top. Note: I’m purposely leaving out a lot of the smaller digital competitors…Amazon’s fight with them is for a whole different chapter.

Amazon Software Downloads

Though the concept of downloadable software isn’t new, and Amazon launched this service with an unimpressive catalog, imagining an on demand download service that boasts a catalog as unlimited as Amazon’s regular software section would make any brick and mortar shutter.

- Contenders: Best Buy, Circuit City, and formerly CompUSA

- Striking Blow: Umm why would I ever drive to Best Buy if I have broadband and can get the new Windows XP downgrade from Amazon at blazing speeds…yeah on my Verizon wireless Amazon can download a 400mb file in about 30 min.

Amazon Unbox

For the past few months it’s pretty much surpassed my tv watching time..not that I did much to begin with. With a decent amount of content licensed already the Unbox is high quality, reasonably priced, and lightning fast.

- Contenders: Blockbuster, Netflix, Cable On Demand

- Striking Blow: Unlimited Catalog plus (for some titles) unlimited viewing, as much storage space as you can manage, no late fees, one click purchasing

Amazon Mp3

So when Amazon Mp3 launched with the first DRM-free catalog, I thought the fight was on, and then when they got all four of the labels to go DRM-free, I really thought it was on, and then when they announced their Superbowl promotion with Pepsi…I once again thought it was on…and then Macworld came and I realized apparently everyone else conceded.

- Contenders: iTunes, Rhapsody, Yahoo! Music

- Striking Blow: See above. The biggest blow quite possibly has to be the non-response by the Jobs’ clan. iTunes started the DRM-free march almost a year ago and Amazon beat them to the punch in a few months, beat their prices, AND will still make money whether you buy an ipod or a sansa from your Amazon store to put all those new Amazon Mp3’s.

…Last Striking Blow

…my Grandma made a ton of money from Amazon stock…so I’m definitely a fan. Go AMAZON!!!

Tags: amazon, amazon mp3, amazon software, apple, drm-free, itunes, unbox

Things I would like to see that will probably not happen ever or for a very long time…

1.

Pandora launched a wi-fi enabled device, that had a powerful recommendation engine, a catalog as deep as i-Tunes, and a subscription model.

2.

Myspace would let us share in ad revenue like Reverbnation?

3.

I didn’t fat finger the iPhone all the time…making it impossible to replace my blackberry

4.

Recording artist unionized…that’s it…

5.

I could login one time and access ALL of my social profiles…or better yet if i could use my fingerprint to replace all these usernames and passwords

6.

The US would catch up with the rest of the world with mobile technology.

7.

Major Labels stopped suing people and trying to fight the inevitable

8.

It was totally wi-fi…not that t-mobile hotspot stuff…FREE wi-fi

9.

All the TV’s just shut off for a month forcing everyone to dedicate their attention to new media and learn just how fast people would embrace it.

Tags: blackberry, iphone, itunes, myspace, openid, reverbnation, wi-fi