In case you missed it, AT&T announced some changes to their unlimited data plans for iPhone/iPad/other smartphone users. In short, the “unlimited” plan is being replaced by a tiered system that will provide a discount for light data users and challenge heavier users to curb their bandwidth habit or risk paying some overages. AT&T claims that by offering a lower cost-of-entry for data plans, they can grow their smartphone business significantly. They also claim that “only” 2% of their customers are using more than 2 gig per month which is now the top tier data plan (and $5 less per month than the current unlimited plan). Not surprisingly, consumers are crying foul across the whineosphere (Twitter, blog comments and pretty much anywhere that consumers are allowed to post their feelings), and some in the press are predicting that this is a major flub by AT&T that will only benefit Verizon & Sprint who will be poised to steal customers with more attractive plans.

Nothing really shocking here in terms of reaction to the announcement, but I find the timing curious. Rumors have been swirling for months that Apple, having acquired LaLa and then shut it down while building a huge data center in North Carolina, is preparing to launch a cloud-based entertainment initiative. Further rumors suggest that this initiative may be announced by Steve Jobs next week at the WWDC.

Now, rumors about Apple announcements aren’t exactly rare and part of Apple’s special marketing sauce is getting the press, the blogosphere and consumers chatting about what surprises are in store well ahead of their events. But given that it appears that any surprises around next generation iPhone hardware have already been revealed, one might think that Apple has additional surprises up its sleeve. When AT&T made their announcement about the pricing changes in their data plans, I thought perhaps this meant we might not hear about an “iTunes in the cloud” type of service from Apple next week. After all, what good is the promise of unlimited access to your content if the 3G pipes you use when away from WiFi (like when driving) are not unlimited? But then I got to thinking…when they announced the iPad, the hype around the device (it does have “wow!” factor) and the controversy around it (plenty of people still claiming that its an overpriced, oversized iPod touch that has little practical use) overshadowed the totally groundbreaking and unique offering made from AT&T–a month-to-month data plan without a contract. Is it possible that new ground will be broken once again, and data usage for iCloud accounts won’t count against AT&T monthly data allotments? Given that audio and video access comprise the majority of big data usage, if that becomes gratis by signing up with an Apple/AT&T ecosystem, that could be a pretty strong selling point. This combined with a rumored refresh of AppleTV (perhaps a hybrid device that combines MacMini computer with AppleTV functionality) and Apple could become the most powerful force behind entertainment in the living room, on mobile handsets and tablets. And imagine a scenario where the superb Pandora radio service becomes a part of that ecosystem…a lot of other companies out there would be playing catch-up.

Again, no hard facts in play here, so I’m as guilty as the others of rumor and speculation. I suppose we’ll find out soon enough…I know I’ll be following the action next week.

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Seems pretty obvious when you read this, but its pretty clear that a LOT of companies don’t take this approach…and the same rules could easily apply to artists.

Want to Make Money on Twitter? Take a Look at How Dell Does It : Technology :: American Express OPEN Forum

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Mad props to Mr. Reznor for a well-considered explanation to his fans regarding concert ticket pricing, availability and scalping/reselling.

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I’ve seen two examples of “augmented reality” today, this article about Topps baseball cards in the NYTimes, and the solar/wind power site that GE has set up. There are some other examples in this YouTube video:

Really neat stuff though it will need to quickly move past the novelty factor to have staying power as a marketing tool. Certainly Topps is making good use of it to differentiate their brand of sports cards at a time when their business has suffered an ~80% decline since its peak days. From a music industry perspective, there are clear possibilities for liner notes, as well as potential for download cards and other physical printed media associated with live and recorded music. If the technology has the capacity for full-on UGC or capability for at least some degree of user customization, there could be some cool community and even social networking opportunities.

Definitely a technology worth watching.

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A guest blog post from Neil on Hypebot is a really good read this morning. Inspirational paragraph:

Today’s web world has created a new way. Artists today can go directly to the people. There is nothing standing between the artists and their audience. Freedom of expression reigns. People today feel that they should be able to get all the music and art that they want, from the artists who they appreciate. When that conduit is broken, the connection is weakened.

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FORTUNE: Techland Neil Young takes on the iPod «: “‘Apple has taken a detour down the convenience highway,’ Young told the Brainstorm audience after taking the stage for an interview with Time Inc. editor-in-chief John Huey. ‘Quality has taken a complete backseat – if it even gets in the car at all.’”

The sound quality of iTunes downloads is what prevents me from being a regular iTunes customer…they just don’t sound very good. I certainly like the convenience of iTunes, but I’m not ready to do much iTunes buying until they offer a lossless option.

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“At a time when online file-sharing is rampant, record stores are closing and consumers are buying singles instead of albums, getting into the music business might seem like running into a burning building. But as record labels struggle to adjust to a harsh new digital reality, other companies are stepping up their involvement in music, going far beyond standard endorsement contracts and the use of songs in commercials.“

It’s American Brandstand – Marketers Underwrite Performers

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A blog post on the New York Times website leads to a study done by the University of Washington regarding DMCA takedown notices.  Here is an excerpt from the overview:

Although the implications of being accused of copyright infringement are significant, very little is known about the methods used by enforcement agencies to detect it, particularly in P2P networks. We have conducted the first scientific, experimental study of monitoring and copyright enforcement on P2P networks and have made several discoveries which we find surprising.

• Practically any Internet user can be framed for copyright infringement today. By profiling copyright enforcement in the popular BitTorrent file sharing system, we were able to generate hundreds of real DMCA takedown notices for computers at the University of Washington that never downloaded nor shared any content whatsoever. Further, we were able to remotely generate complaints for nonsense devices including several printers and a (non-NAT) wireless access point. Our results demonstrate several simple techniques that a malicious user could use to frame arbitrary network endpoints.
• Even without being explicitly framed, innocent users may still receive complaints. Because of the inconclusive techniques used to identify infringing BitTorrent users, users may receive DMCA complaints even if they have not been explicitly framed by a malicious user and even if they have never used P2P software!
• Software packages designed to preserve the privacy of P2P users are not completely effective. To avoid DMCA complaints today, many privacy conscious users employ IP blacklisting software designed to avoid communication with monitoring and enforcement agencies. We find that this software often fails to identify many likely monitoring agents, but we also discover that these agents exhibit characteristics that make distinguishing them straightforward.

Tracking the Trackers–Why My Printer Received a DMCA Takedown Notice

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Ian Rogers posted his advice to Guy Hands at his blog and it makes for some very interesting reading. His core premise:

“With the disappearance of advantaged label competencies such as superior production, distribution, and marketing, reconfigure your labels to be based around affinities and focused narrowly enough to serve roughly the same audiences from release to release. The labels would be very small teams responsible for fan cultivation, focused and direct marketing, and A&R. They would rely on EMI for service, support, and tools (generic marketing would happen on the EMI mothership, for example).”

Ian, as many of you may know, was head of Yahoo Music for the last couple of years before leaving to head up a new top secret music project called Topspin. Ian is also one of the smartest digital music guys out there, and his comments are insightful and worth a moment to consider. His comments deserve better commentary than this quick blog post, but two things stand out in my mind based on what Ian has said here.

First of all, Ian has had an impressive career in music and has spent a lot of time looking at the business from the perspective of artist, label and digital music expert. This alone gives him instant cred, but Ian’s true cred comes from his musical DNA–Ian has always approached things from the perspective of music fan. This is a mindset that many executives in the music business (particularly at major labels) have lost touch with and a reconnection is critical if recorded music is to survive. Secondly, and more directly to Ian’s point, the notion of serving audiences “from release to release” is troublesome to major music companies–they are not structured to handle that. An artist out of an album cycle generally does not have a project manager, budget or resources allocated to maintain the connection between artist and fan. Most of the readers of this blog are in the industry, and many have had the experience of sitting in a marketing meeting to discuss the setup of an artists’ new album and heard the question asked, “How are we going to reconnect with the artists’ fanbase?”. Ian has eloquently stated what I’ve been asking for years….”Why did we lose touch with them in the first place?”

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Pew has just published a new study on consumer purchasing habit,s and the impact of the Internet as well as traditional media on their decision making. Clearly, the digital arena continues to grow in importance but it is only one part of the media mix, and carries different weight among different consumer groups.

Click here to see the questionnaire and here to read the results of the study.

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