Stymied

Year in Music

Mon, 25 Dec 2006 22:43:30 GMT

I've been reading a lot of year-end recaps and looks ahead in the music world recently and thought it was time to add my own two-cents.

10 Best Albums of 2006 (too tough to rank them):

Brand New- The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me: Easily the best, most innovative mid-90s grunge album since the mid-90s. I have to say I expected far less, thinking they would wind up in their own little emo world.
Cursive- Happy Hollow: No disappointment in this follow-up to the incredible "The Ugly Organist" as cursive switches gears from self-loathing and the music industry to small-town America and religion. What's not to like about an album that includes a note to God encouraging him to stay away on holiday?
Kaddisfly- The Four Seasons EP: Easily the best live show in America, even when playing to only a handful of people, Kaddisfly gave us a preview of their forthcoming full-length with five of the most skillfully-crafted songs ever. You can spend hours picking apart the intricacies of the music before even getting into the beautiful and powerful lyrics.
Boys Like Girls- Boys Like Girls: I know it's cheesy, but you have to reward the folks who do pop-punk the best.
Lost Ocean- Night to Life: Beautifully swirling vocals infused with strong drums, ambling guitars, and lots of the low end of the piano make for one of the most traditionally beautiful albums of the year.
The Dear Hunter- Act I: The Lake South, The River North: Bringing together all the right elements of Muse, Panic!, The Mars Volta, and Brand New, this is one of the most promising debuts we've seen in a while.
The Gufs- A Different Sea: The Gufs return after 8 years of disdain for the music industry with possibly their best album to date. Their past albums have included countless gems, but "A Different Sea" is truly a full album. It's great to have them back and making great music!
The Hush Sound- Like Vines: The duo of fronting vocals keeps things interesting as the piano adds depth to this pop-punk quartet. "Wine Red" is one of the best songs I've heard in quite some time.
The Format- Dog Problems: This is one instance where you can really tell that a very talented group made the record they wanted to make. After being dumped twice by Atlantic Records, The Format used their severance money to release the album on their own (it debuted at 77 on the Bilboard charts). Horns, strings, and whatever else they could find to spice things up take these Phoenix boys far beyond the acoustic rock band that the labels wanted to pigeon-hole them as.
Taking Back Sunday- Louder Now: While traditional fans of TBS found the album to be a little too far from their roots for many tastes, there's no denying it status as a fantastic rock album. The only place it falls short is when they try to slow things down. Keep rockin!

Top 10 Best Songs of 2006 (Again, no particular order):

Band Marino- "Everytime I Make a Girl Cry I Know I've Done My Job": It's hard not to be an awesome song with a title like that. Look for great things from these boys in the future.
Edison Glass- "This House": A beautifully sad song with an addictive video.
Taking Back Sunday- "MakeDamnSure": I think it's impossible not to sing along to this jam.
Cursive- "Rise up! Rise up!": "By your good book's standards I've sinned like a champion / But that book seems a tad bit outdated." Need I say more? It might be illegal to listen to this entire album anywhere near a church.
Lost Ocean- "Just Glide": Simply a feel-good song.
Brand New- "Sowing Season (Yeah)": Beautifully coreographed sweeps from crying in a corner to thrashing his brains out.
The Hush Sound- "Wine Red": Romeo and Juliet would be proud of this short epic with many references to Adam and Eve.
Jupiter Sunrise- "This Beauty": Amanda Rogers's voice carries this protest of culturally imposed ideals of beauty.
House of Fools- "Better Part of Me": Aren't we all looking for a better part of ourselves?
Say Anything- "Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too": Written for the B-side EP enclosed with the major label release of "...Is a Real Boy," this hysterically disturbing song is beautiful in its simplicity and honesty.

Top 10 Most Anticipated Albums of 2007 (Once again, no order...we'll let them define themselves)

Scenes From a Movie: Gotta give my boys a shout-out here. They've been working on their debut LP for a while now, and from the songs I've heard, it very well could be a huge hit.
Say Anything: Who knows what will come out of Max Bemis's head next? I'm excited to find out.
The Drive Back: If the Autumnmotive EP was any indication of what these Minnesota boys are capable of, I'm beyond excited for their potential.
Panic! at the Disco: Not gonna lie, I'm interested to see what they come up with. Even if the music sucks, it will likely be another production masterpiece.
Limbeck: They're going back to Ed Rose and Black Lodge Studio, so let's hope they get back to "Hi, Everything's Great."
Jupiter Sunrise: Laughing in the face of a producer walking off with $10,000 of their money and all of their new album, the band promises a Format-like effort, creating what they want to play and drawing on a ton of influences. It will also be fun to hear the first album with Amanda Rogers as a part of the band.
Rediscover: HelloGoodbye's not-quite-so-innocent protoges will be growing into their own shoes with their debut.
We Are the Fury: If "Now You Know" is any indication, we're in for quite a rock-fest.
Motion City Soundtrack: The Minnesotans are sober and have a good bit of success under their belts, can they take it to the next level?
Kaddisfly: "The Four Seasons EP" gave us a sneak peak at what may be a revolutionary progressive rock album. As long as they keep touring, their reputation as the best live show around should keep growing. Heck, I'd pay a lot to see them again, even if I had to sit through The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

I think 2006 has been a great year in music, and I think 2007 is looking pretty darn good in its own right!

testiMONEYals

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 13:36:47 GMT

The hottest trend in marketing right now is testimonials. With the popularity of Wikipedia and YouTube and other user-driven websites, companies have found the best sales results come from customers who have been referred by other satisfied customers. These references can come from either friends and family, or from general "buzz" online or around town.

But can you fake it? Some companies want to think so. Nissaan's latest ad campaign puts a "customer" in his new Sentra to live for a week. They document his week and pick highlights for ads (one being a date, most including places he showers). Other companies have simple customer testimonials with snazzy camera work that makes the commercial more exciting to the eye than just a normal person standing and talking, and usually opening or closing with "I'm Mark Smith and this is my [whatever they're selling]." This sort of campaign could potentially work. However, it could also backfire very easily. If the customer believes (even if they already know) for even just a second that the testimonial isn't legitimate, they immediately distrust the company as a whole.

Dove had a very successful campaign a year or two ago with a group of "normal" women (meaning not models). Showing people who truly are from all walks of life being happy and beautiful (despite not necessarily adhering to societal norms of beauty) created a positive link between Dove and positive self-image. The emotional connection Dove created to their own product helped bolster sales. But the key thing to remember before using customer testimonials or other emotional appeals is that people are fickle, and emotions can change dramatically with one false move. Be careful.

Bandwagoning to the future!

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 17:26:34 GMT

It seems like everyone these days is trying to come up with the next myspace or youtube. Sites like Panjea and GoTuIt have superior stream times (using flash players) and use advertising dollars to give back to the uploaders on a per-view basis. They also offer more original content (from established record labels and such). So why aren't they having success? Because in this glorious Web 2.0 world we're living in, beauty is not a factor. Myspace and youtube are both hideous, from a design perspective. But nobody really cares. It's all about the user and how much they can do. Take Wikipedia for example: not a beautiful site, either; no design team; still just the two guys running it who started it. But users feel involved and feel like they gain something from using the site. Web 2.0 is about community. Uers are drawn to myspace and youtube because they can interact with other users.

So here comes the next big thing: Viddler. It takes all the things that people like about youtube and adds functionality and more opportunity to interact. With Viddler, you'll be able to tag certain segments of videos (whether you're the original uploader or not), search those internal tags, and post comments to those tags. Not only that, but there won't be internal advertising (WHAT?! I thought everything on the web was ad supported!). Instead, Viddler takes a page from Google Programs' success book and offers free and ready access to anyone and everyone, while offering even MORE features to premium subscribers.

So what's today's lesson, kids? Worry first about giving your users a ton of options (well organized, naturally), a sense of community, and stay out of their way. Once you get their trust and interest in using your site on a regular basis, then you can worry about making money off of it. The fact of the matter is, if you're out simply to make a buck on the web these days, you're going to fail. Just as the customer is always right, the user always comes first.

coming up next: the microsoft ipod with sirius radio and napster!

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 21:05:17 GMT

There's a good bit of buzz these days going on around the Microsoft iPod killer: Zune. Frankly, it looks a lot like an iPod. Which might be a good thing, as long as they improve upon the iPod more than the next generation of iPod will. (And maybe make it cheaper? pretty please?)

So here's my idea for an iPod killer. And I'm clearly just throwing this out there so I can say "I told you so.":

So you know how on a lot of radios (even non-sattelite) display song titles and artists and whatnot these days? Well that information is bundled with this signal and is called an ID3 tag. It's the same information that you see in iTunes or whatever you use to listen to music on your computer. Anyway, my iPod killer, which i'll call QT for now (because of course, it'll be beautiful), will capture those ID3 tags (from the options of the low-end FM tuner version or the high-end sattelite radio version) and allow the user to mark those songs for download. From there, the user has the option of downloading the songs immediately (if they're on a WiFi connection), tag the songs for download once they are on a WiFi connection, or create a running list of songs to be downloaded the next time they plug their QT into the computer. The songs may either be downloaded as part of a subscription service (say, $15/month or whatever is competetive with napster, etc) or on a song-by-song basis (the standard 99 cents/song). Naturally the QT will have a good bit of storage and will be able to connect (via WiFi) to a searchable iTunes-store-esque service directly. Bluetooth will also be integrated, so you don't have to fumble with any wires (including the wireless earbuds that come standard and clip conveniently to the QT when not in use). The video version of the QT (QTV, if you will) will follow shortly, allowing you to rent movies through the store (much like iTunes will begin offering towards the end of summer).

So all I need is some of the top engineers in the world, a few million in R&D money, and some partnerships with sattelite radio providers and record companies. Any takers?

photo courtesy: Orbicast

be your own record store!

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 13:50:43 GMT

So to follow up last week's discussion of the trouble that major labels are in, here's another stick in their spokes (and those of record stores this time too!). Shawn Fanning (of Napster fame) is back with his company SNOCAP and has come up with MyStore, a way for anyone with webspace to allow and encourage other people to buy the music they reccomend without having to leave their site. Specifically, a box with the songs from the album or artist that the site owner reccomends contains song titles and check boxes. The user checks the boxes of the songs they want, buy them as if they were in the iTunes or similar store, and download the mp3s.

I'm happy to say that the first band to join in on this new service is the ever-forward-thinking The Format. (I've tried to add their SNOCAP box below, but am not sure msn spaces allows such things to be embeded. Just go to myspace.com/theformat to see it in action.) For just $.79/song (an honest steal), you can download their new AMAZING album Dog Problems from anywhere that embeds the little box! The album has been playing virtually nonstop in my car and computer for the past month, so naturally I suggest all of you pick it up as well.

This technology helps small bands avoid the need to be in record stores altogether. Most people don't realize how costly distribution is. Not only do you have to print, ship, and promote tons of discs, but you have to pay the record stores a good chunk of change to get your name on one of those pretty little dividers in the racks. Score one for the little bands with only enough money to pay for their instruments and the gas to tour! And maybe, just maybe, this will knock off a few more of those outdated places like Sam Goody and FYE. Pretty please?

<param name="movie" value="

<http://store.snocap.com/a/s/T3-31324-LYTCN323PR-5.swf>http://store.snocap.com/a/s/T3-31324-LYTCN323PR-5.swf" />

The Singles Scene

Fri, 07 Jul 2006 18:21:58 GMT

I had written a while back about the lack of one-hit wonders. Well, an article in July's WIRED magazine takes a slightly different angle, which i agree with. While the ClearChannel-dominated radio market is very much a safety zone for artists once they make it there, the internet (with sites like myspace.com and purevolume.com) has become the new media outlet for emerging artists. Thus, small bands are getting far more exposure than they used to. Also, the iTunes store (along with Napster and other music downloading services) is killing full album sales, since users can spend $.99 on the one song they like and not waste the extra $10 on songs they don't know (sure, some of us throw our arms up at the idea of not giving the band a full chance, but my bet is that well over 90% of albums bought over the years have been bought with knowledge solely of one or two songs).

This makes for a million opportunities for smaller bands, and a million headaches for major labels. One of my favorite examples of the power of the internet for bands is Panic! at the Disco. This time last year, they had never even played a show. Now, they're selling out almost every show on their headlining tour. No major label press. Even at their first shows, kids were singing along. They didn't have an album out, how did the kids know the words? Well, starting about a month before their album came out, they began posting songs to stream off purevolume.com. And stream they did. Over 8 million times. Since then, very few days have gone by when Panic! wasn't the most played artist of the day on Purevolume. Then the word spread. And now you can hardly go a day without coming across their songs somewhere, be it MTV or radio. Even some ClearChannel stations are playing Panic!, despite the lack of major label backing. Why? Buzz.

Every successful company, like every successful band, has buzz surrounding it. The more people talk, the more people are going to find out about your company. The key to starting great buzz is to go to the insiders first--the folks that are experienced and passionate about products in your market. These days that often means bloggers. Sure, they might not be buying your product (which is why so many companies overlook them), but they are the ones who other people go to to find the hype on your types of products. Thus, you need to market to them better than to the general public. Pamper them, show them your best stuff. Do whatever it takes to start some good buzz. Because buzz grows.

As for the record industry, what are major labels to do? I wish I had the answer. Whoever makes the best use of the internet and other new media will certainly be dominant in the future of the music industry. I think it's going to take a total restructuring of the labels to spread themselves out more and sign more bands to smaller contracts. They will also have to launch some sort of internet-based initiative to either utilize or compete with myspace (depending on what Rupert Murdoch does with the site) and direct consumers to some sort of legal downloading service. I would also reccomend selling a discounted "3rd single" compilation, mixing in a couple hit singles from their bands with a bunch of tracks from deeper in their albums (showing the consumer that the bands have other good songs and thus encouraging them to buy the full album). But that's just me. I'm sure they'll come up with better ideas. The labels' lives depend on it.

luxury bullets

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 20:27:36 GMT

Let me begin by pasting an IM conversation between myself and a coworker from earlier today:

[14:34] ty: im reading a white paper for josh since he's above reading all 49 pages and prefers bulleted lists
[14:34] scott: bullets are better
[14:35] ty: i mean, they are
[14:35] ty: we should all be so lucky to have that luxury
[14:35] ty: bet you've never thought of bullet points as a luxury item before
[14:36] ty: trust me, sooner or later there'll be high end bullet points that you read about in the robb report that only the top 1% of the top 1% can afford
[14:36] ty: they're the hood ornament of the future
[14:39] scott: i think you're on to something...good work.
[14:39] ty: gracias
[14:40] ty: i'll be the first to take it to market. i'll make enough money to afford my own product.
[14:42] scott: a sure sign you've made it

Now, at first I just thought I was being funny, but there's definitely a lesson from this. As the world gets faster and there are more and more demands for time, the most efficiently effective marketing wins out. Nobody's going to take time out of their day to listen to your 30 minute PowerPoint without knowing what they're getting into.

Thus, you have to make a fast, hard pitch that makes the consumer want to explore more. This is why a great website has become so vital for businesses these days. It's not simply a factor of "everyone's got one;" rather, it's probably better to not have a website at all if you cannot provide a level of functionality and usability that will give the consumer the best possible experience with your product before, during, and after purchase.

A well designed and utilized website can serve as the hub for business. The move to the internet is no accident. Online ordering can help streamline production and shipping, and is far easier on the consumer as well. Even before purchasing, however, a consumer visits a company's website becuase he or she has been referred to it from some other source. That source could not possibly contain the amount of information that a website can.

A website is a continuous ad that is far more effective than any tv or pop-up, not only because of the amount of information readily available, but also because it was the consumer's choice to visit the site (whether referred via business card, Google AdWords, TV ad, whatever). By visiting, they have already crossed the threshold of interest in your product. Use the website to seal the deal. It's the most powerful tool you have in your garage of marketing tools.

it's not apple season, but a gremlin picked one and is trying to take a bite

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 18:16:18 GMT

Those of you who have spent any time with iTunes on a local network have more than likely fallen in love with the feature that allows you to play songs off other computers with iTunes on the same network. The feature is right up the alley of college students, one of Apple's key markets. Apple clearly recognizes this market, because right now they're offering a free iPod nano to any college kid buying a mac.

But where's that wonderful music sharing feature on that tiny little nano? Well, thank goodness for Gremlins. The Gremlin has an 8 gb flash drive (eat dust, nano) and best of all, has a wi-fi connection that looks for any public access wi-fi around you and can be programmed to connect to any private network you have access to. What does that mean for you? It means you can buy songs directly from your Gremlin AND you can mooch off of anyone else on those networks, just like iTunes. The boys over at Gizmodo gave this puppy a great review, despite hating every other wi-fi-ipod-wannabe they've touched. That says something.

So how can this Gremlin take a bite out of Apple? The first key is to work fast. You know (or at least have to assume) that Apple is on your heels with a newer, shinier, more market-friendly product with (perhaps the biggest key) a big ol Apple sign on it.

They're already on top of the next step (at least in a Seth Godin type model, which I think is valid), which is to get the right people to talk. You're not going to get the big market right away (a mistake that countless companies make). First, you have to start a chatter. In the case of tech gizmos, the chatter starts with tech geeks writing for blogs and magazines. You have to present them with a truly superior product, and generally appease them with free products (both of which the folks behind the Gremlin have been doing).

The next step (which should really be ongoing) is to focus on the next generation of product. If you want to compete with the best in the tech world (or in almost any industry), you have to constantly be thinking ahead. Sure, you have a great product, but how great will that product look by comparison in a few months? Apple has made millions off of having a seemingly insurmountable tech lead on the rest of the world. Other companies are constantly playing catch-up. So if you have something like the Gremlin that finally steps ahead of the industry leader, do everything in your power to make sure that your company (not just this single product) stays ahead. Keep thinking of the future. If you want to compete, you can't play a reaction game. You have to take the initiative to create the latest and greatest, not try to beat someone else's latest and greatest.

To beat an apple, you have to create a whole new fruit.

know yourself, according to the statistics

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 21:23:54 GMT

The first key in building any marketing scheme is to know your audience. For those of you seeking to have an impact with "Generation Y," you may want to skip on over to Josh Thomas's blog (who also just happens to be one of my bosses). He and the other higher-ups are (presenting) at the Cause Marketing Forum annual conference in NYC. Josh's most recent blog is a summary of Carol Cone's presentation on the demographics and interests of Generation Y. The summary: it turns out we care. Unlike some other generations, we care tremendously about how corporations handle themselves in the community. We are also demanding. We have high expectations for our employers, vendors, and selves.

What does this mean for you trying to get to us? Get involved in the community, make a damn good and forward-thinking product, and keep us engaged. We don't ask much.

if you have a few minutes...

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 17:22:12 GMT

If you've got a few minutes, I've got two tasks for you:

From my friend Kathryn who is working at the Forensic Panel in New York City:
"Judges and juries both across the United States and in other countries who decide that a crime is "depraved," "heinous," or "horrible" can assign more severe sentences. Yet there is no standardized definition for such dramatic words that courts already use. And while we may all recognize that some crimes truly separate themselves from others, there is no standard, fair way to distinguish crimes that are the worst of the worst, or "evil."
To minimize the arbitrariness of how courts determine the worst of crimes, and to eliminate bias in sentencing, the Depravity Scale research aims to establish societal standards of what makes a crime depraved, and to develop a standardized instrument based on specific characteristics of a crime that must be proven in order to merit more severe sentences.
This research will refine into the Depravity Standard, an objective measure based on forensic evidence. This instrument distinguishes not who is depraved but rather, what aspects of a given crime are depraved and the degree of a specific crime's depravity. The research will enhance fairness in sentencing, given that it is race, gender and socio-economic blind.

We are trying to get perspectives of all people from all walks of life. We do not only want professionals, psychology majors, or even anyone who has any experience with psychology. The purpose of this research is for it to be a consensus of the public, as they will be the juror in these sorts of cases.
Also, this is in no way either advocating or trying to eliminate the death penalty. It is completely neutral on this. This is, rather, advocating fair and race, gender, SES, blind sentencing in criminal cases. I think whether you are for or against the death penalty, everyone wants a fair and just sentencing system.
If you could participate in both Phase B and Phase C on www.depravityscale.org I would really really really appreciate it. Also please pass this on to family, friends, colleagues, etc. Anyone and everyone can participate!"
Do yourself a favor and get the beta of the new PowerPoint. The rest of the new office is a good upgrade, but PowerPoint really stands out. It is incredibly user-friendly as its new organization does a great job of showing what the end product will be if you choose each option. Microsoft also picked up a flow-chart program and integrated it into PowerPoint as the "IGX Graphics" tool. The only problem I've found is that it's very frustrating to set up hyperlinks from slide to slide. But since most people using PowerPoint don't do complicated things like that, the 2007 version is definitely a significant upgrade.

sick of $3/gal?

Thu, 08 Jun 2006 21:45:37 GMT

While hybrids are selling okay, Toyota and Honda each have plans for some pretty amazing improvements. For Toyota, it's 100mpg with a kick! They're making the prius more fuel efficient while apparently throwing in a turbocharger (alleviating previous complaints that hybrids couldn't accelerate like a normal car). For Honda, it's finally realizing the goal of a functional fuel-cell vehicle (to hit roads in 2010).

Props due to both companies for continuing to develop technologies that will have a significant impact on the future of the world, regardless of how they caught on immediately. Having a long-run vision for any new technology is key to maintaining sanity in the short-run. If you focus too much on your product and convince yourself that it is the be-all-end-all of products, you will fail. Fast. You have to realize that your product and company will evolve over time and customer reaction to your product will change over time (in a favorable manner if you have a quality product that is marketed well). Have vision and allow yourself to be adaptable. It will make your company run more smoothly for longer and will give you and your employees peace of mind.

pigs are flying

Thu, 08 Jun 2006 21:22:42 GMT

It's official. Pigs are flying, cows are jumping over moons, and I'm fairly certain I saw a pumpkin turn into a rolls royce.

IPODS HAVE SURPASSED BEER IN POPULARITY WITH COLLEGE STUDENTS

Now, I don't know about you, but I'm left saying "What's wrong with the kids these days? Doesn't anyone have values anymore?" Did that extra couple gigs and a color screen with video capabilities really topple the frothy goodness of whatever form of inebriant is cheapest at Apu's mini-mart? Oh, for shame. I don't know about the rest of you, but I plan to go home, throw Animal House on the TV, crack open an ice cold Miller Lite, and toast to the good old days. You can have your iPod, I'll have a beer.

more music

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 20:31:59 GMT

Sorry to focus on music so much lately, I promise I'll get back to bigger issues soon. In the meantime, here are a couple follow-ups and promos:

Jupiter Sunrise (whose producer stole their music and they are now giving it away for free) has posted the first free song "Why'd I Wait So Long" here and here. PLEASE download it and pass it on to your friends.
The Format's new CD "Dog Problems" comes out in hard copy form on July 11th (pre-order here and get a free frisbee!), but you can also save a couple bucks (and a few weeks) by downloading the mp3 versions here. This is one of those rare CDs where you can really tell that the band got to do whatever they wanted to. Free from any label, but with the knowledge of a great producer, they have produced easily my favorite CD of the year thus far.
My good friends Scenes From a Movie are on their "DIY Do or Die" Tour right now. Check here to listen to two new, unreleased songs and to see when they're coming to your town! Go support them, feed them, tell them they smell bad but sound great, do whatever. Just make sure you see them play!

Why ClearChannel has single-handedly made American music mundane

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 19:55:09 GMT

The punk rocker in me can only see so many very good albums come out of major labels and not make it in the mainstream before realizing that the battle is no longer with the labels, it's with the radio. Sure, the stigma may still remain about "selling-out" and whatnot, but it's difficult to justify not doing it when bands like Anti-Flag and Say Anything have cds on major labels. The question still remains then, why is the music on the radio so stagnant?

I've been over my thoughts on the consumer culture of modern America already, noting that we have a comfort zone that is difficult to break into and difficult to be removed from. ClearChannel took that comfort zone from the turn of the century and continues to exploit it. Case-in-point: name a one-hit wonder since 2000. The 70s, 80s, and 90s were LOADED with them. Radio took risks with the music it played, throwing a massive variety of music at the American listeners and seeing what stuck. Now, ClearChannel has scientifically (or something) found out what Americans like to listen to. Thanks ClearChannel! It's so good to hear the latest Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, and whatever other bands were popular about 6 years ago! Why would we want anything new?

I hope that sarcasm comes through across the internet. Anyway, the point is that ClearChannel has such domination over what we listen to that it seems to be a real-life Farenheit 451 (except without the sweet interactive life size soap opera walls). I can't even be hard on MTV anymore because they have so many layers (mtv2, mtvU, mtvYounameit) that they are still working on a system in which the cream generally will rise to the top. ClearChannel insists on milking the same old cows insisting that its the same quality cream they were producing 10 years ago. I say the American people deserve fresh cream, maybe even new flavors.

Note: The plus side is for the artists that do make it-- they have a much better chance of hanging around for longer.

band branding

Wed, 31 May 2006 22:06:59 GMT

Thanks in part to helping my friend Mary Katherine draw up business plans for her jewelry business (website coming, hopefully), I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about branding. More specifically, I've been thinking how a business gets to a point where the brand is sold more than the products and the products must try to keep up.

This phenomenon is also prevalent in the music industry. A band is a brand. Let me rephrase that--once a band signs with a record label, it goes from a business to a brand. They're no longer selling music, they're selling the band. They try to build brand identity with tours and music videos.

Let's think about music videos for a second--why do bands make videos? It's simply an ad, showing off their product. They make no money off the video directly, and often record companies and artists invest thousands of dollars into making a video and getting it on air. And it's all to build a brand. If the customer likes what they see and hear in the video, they will buy the cd.

They also expect the brand to maintain said identity. That's why bands say they're taking risks when they divert from their standard mold of music (case in point: "Time of Your Life" by Green Day vs. Vanilla Ice's hard rock efforts). The world went up in arms when Dylan picked up an electric.

Some bands embrace the mold. Emo-rockers Hawthorne Heights followed the success of their first album by proclaiming their second album would be as similar as possible. The result? The album peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 200 charts and #1 on the rock charts. What's the number one album/song/video right now? Red Hot Chili Peppers' umpteenth track/album about California that sounds exactly the same as all the previous songs and albums.

Have you noticed that when artists wish to make a different kind of music, they start side projects? Probably my favorite example of a side-project-gone-right is The Gorillaz. Damon Albarn broke completely from his one-hit-wonder band Blur in order to do something totally different with Gorillaz. And he further hid his identity behind animated characters representing his "band." He created a new brand that people came to know and embrace and did so without any association to his previous brand. Had the Gorillaz's albums been released under the brand of Blur, what are the chances they would've had that success?

It's a sad state, but the truth is Americans love their comfort zone, and once you're in, the only way you get out is by straying from what they know and like. The key is getting your band (or brand) into that zone.

whodathunkit?

Fri, 26 May 2006 19:05:12 GMT

Here are a couple crazy ideas expanding on existing technology that I bet you never thought of:

A lot of techies these days like to have multiple screen setups running off one machine so that they can multitask. Programmers write code on one and test on another. Bill Gates has his inbox on one, an active e-mail on another, and any other programs (calendar, etc) on a third. But what happens when you're stuck with a laptop and can't have your multiplex of multimedia? HIT IT! That's right, someone realized that iBooks have motion sensors that can be reprogrammed to shift between screens when you bump the computer. Almost makes me want to buy a mac.
Another Apple technology (perhaps released after they test the running waters with the Nike/Nano deal) is a version of the iPod that not only takes the data from the runner, but matches it to the music. The question is, do you really want a piece of technology to pick your music for you?
Finally, maybe it's not that crazy a technology, but the review is certainly a new way of looking at things. A C4 quadriplegic reviews a new tablet PC.

let's complicate things a little more

Thu, 25 May 2006 13:56:35 GMT

I hit on a couple points yesterday that have related stories in the news today.

First, the idea of big companies collaborating to grow bigger and bigger. Today, eBay and Yahoo! have teamed up. There has been some speculation for a while of some sort of merger to compete with Google for top company on the net; but for now, it's just cooperation. The deal is: Yahoo! gets exclusive rights to run the advertisements on eBay's site, while eBay's PayPay payment system will run Yahoo! Wallet throughout the Yahoo! site. This might not sound like a huge step on the surface level, but investors think they see where this is going, sending eBay and Yahoo! prices up and Google's stock down a bit.

Second, Vonage is taking the risk I encouraged yesterday- resisting selling out to a bigger company. In this case, I'm not so convinced it's a good idea. While their technology and idea is awesome, and they were one of the first to start this whole internet-phone service phenomenon, they're so relient on other companies' services (you need to have the internet before you can use an internet phone service) that it will be incredibly challenging for them to go it alone with any success. Not to mention, now that their idea is out there, the door is open for the bigger companies (with more R&D funds) to develop the same service and package it for cheaper with their other services. If Vonage can find a way to expand their service beyond their initial offering, they can grow beyond their current 1.6 million customers and maybe have a shot at longevity. At this point, however, I can't really say that I'm confident. Then again, I don't know if they have some sort of secret project to build a mobile phone based on some magically world-band wifi network. I think it may take something of that scope to make Vonage survive the attack of the giants.

footnote

Wed, 24 May 2006 15:35:15 GMT

As a footnote to that last blog, an alternative to making peripherals for another company's product is to take the Red Hat approach: create a product, offer it for free, then make your profit off the services and support features surrounding the product. Red Hat is the second fastest growing tech company thanks to their open-source OS Linux, which they offer for free. People like it, they like it being free, and they support the company. The key is to make sure your product is high enough quality that people will want to use it before counting on making money off support for it. You still have to create the initial market (albeit free) before the secondary market can exist.

taking a byte of apple

Wed, 24 May 2006 15:25:30 GMT

Apple achieved the ultimate in product development and marketing when they created the iPod: they managed to create an entire market, nay industry of accessory products and peripherals surrounding a lone product. For such an industry to come to fruition and grow and thrive, the product that the industry surrounds must achieve clear dominance not just within their own market, but within the world market as a whole. There's no question iPod has done that. Who doesn't own an iPod (other than me)?

To focus more on the peripheral industry, it's a scary place to enter. Basing your whole product line on some other company's product is incredibly risky. It also requires incredibly quick design/production turnaround whenever the main product's company (in this case Apple) releases a new design (ie-nano). While now it seems a safe bet to make accessories for an iPod, the market already is flooded with accessories (from iPod boomboxes to JCrew iPod cases). The only way to get into such a market is to develop a new way to use the existing technology (in which case, it doesn't hurt to have Apple on your side). It also doesn't hurt to be a huge company with plenty of money for R&D: SHOW ME THE SWOOSH!

Nike, which in the past has stubbornly snubbed the thought of working with other companies, has now teamed with Apple develop a system that allows runners to see their stats on their iPod nano. Even before the product hits the marketplace, consumers responded positively, sending both companies' stocks higher. Why? Trust. If you have two big name, well established companies working together on a new product, people are going to trust it as a quality, useful product. While it's nice to have this sort of security, the trust consumers have already built in big companies makes it increasingly tough for smaller companies to break into markets, regardless of how quality their product is.

Unfortunately (in my mind), many companies have started recently with the mindset "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." New companies are just trying to get big enough for someone else (google if you're a tech company, pfizer if you're a biotech/drug company, etc) to want to buy you out. Our "global marketplace" is getting more and more centralized as our world turns into one big Wal-Mart.

I say fie on the selling out approach. If your product is truly worthy of being marketed by a someone well established, it's worthy of its own company. The reason big companies buy smaller companies is either they believe they can make a profit off selling the smaller company's product or they are scared of losing market share to the smaller company. Thus, if the big company wants your product, so will the consumers. You might not have the immediate power of the big companies, but you'll get there. Just treat your product like a seeing-eye dog: feed it, nurture it, love it, and it will take you where you want to go.

what were they thinking?

Tue, 23 May 2006 01:20:06 GMT

Okay so maybe they're not the first thing you'd think of when you think "innovative," but here are a couple new ideas that I thought were worth sharing (or at least ridiculous enough to be entertaining):

Download your own 35mm camera!That's right, you can download, print out, and fold up your own working 35mm camera. I reccomend using pretty sturdy paper, but give it a shot!
Pay 1 million Euro to see a model naked! Or at least contribute and buy one of the million Swarovski crystals off her body for 1 euro each (plus shipping, which I imagine is at least that much to the US). They're pitching the idea as a sales tactic for companies to be noticed by being on their "biggest buyers" list. Not to mention appealing to the common man: spend 1 euro to try to get a model naked (I mean, who hasn't tried that? This time it might work though).
I'll need a doggy bag! (Click "Rouge Sauvage") Does your dog not like those doggy cages you usually have to take them in when you travel? Do you really need a new plaid handbag? Well now these danes have come up with a solution to both problems! Just carry your dog like a purse! Simple concept, right? (check out some of the other stuff they have on there. just wild stuff)

Music List: June/July Top 10

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 21:20:47 GMT

June/July Top 10

Dresden Dolls: Backstabber
Kaddisfly: Campfire (Junio)Set Sail the Prarie
Scenes From a Movie: Just Ask UsUnreleased
AFI: Miss MurderDecember Underground
Agent Sparks: Polyanne
The Hush Sound: Sweet TangerineLike Vines
Jupiter Sunrise: This BeautyThe Best Things In Life Aren't Things
Taking Back Sunday: What It Feels Like to Be a GhostLouder Now

Custom List: Custom List

Sat, 20 May 2006 19:11:05 GMT

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Music List: May Top 10

Fri, 19 May 2006 17:37:49 GMT

May Top 10

Mute Math: ChaosMute Math
Our Lady Peace: ClumsyClumsy
Taking Back Sunday: MakeDamnSureLouder Now
Limbeck: Mr. Spaceman2006 Tour EP
Scenes From a Movie: Save YouUnreleased
The Format: She Doesn't Get ItDog Problems
Gym Class Heroes: Under the BridgePunk Goes 90s
Jupiter Sunrise: Why'd I Wait So Long?Unreleased
The Hush Sound: Wine RedLike Vines
Say Anything: Wow, I Can Get Sexual TooWas a Real Boy