Jazz Odyssey

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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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:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKw_Mp5YkaE

Really neat stuff though it will need to quickly move past the novelty factor to have staying power as [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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Ahead of the actual discussion led by Jim Griffin at SXSW Friday, Wired has posted and overview of a notion that has been whispered about in the hallowed halls of the major labels for years…a fee imposed on ISPs that provided end users with an “all you can eat” music service. Read Music Industry [...]

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This article from Fortune/CNNMoney.com about who is using digital marketing more effectively for campaigning should be discussed at every major label marketing meeting.  The entire article is worthwhile, but this particular Q&A exchange between Fortune and Publicis CIO Rishad Tobaccowala hits the bullseye.  The major labels have historically taken a more Clinton-esque approach despite public [...]

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From Mashable: “The Web-based social music service of great renown has assembled a nifty thing dubbed the SXSW Group page, where site members can nab themselves their very own “Band Aid.” What’s a Band Aid? Simple. A list of bands whose SXSW shows you might be interested to catch while down in Texas. The names [...]

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The ever astute Paul Resnikoff offers his viewpoint on the brewing battle between publishers and digital music provider MusicNet. This is a perspective worthy of consideration. Back in the early 90s when I was in the wholesale end of the music business, it seemed like the CD price wars at retail and the [...]

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Real Time – WSJ.com: “…the key point isn’t the idea of releasing a steady stream of music instead of an album a year at most — that’s an interesting discussion, but not a new one. Rather, it’s asking what music fans will most readily pay for. Debates about serializing music tend to revolve around the [...]

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“Qtrax launches today making available 20-30 million tracks floating around on P2P’s available for free and legal download via its new ad supported service.  All four major labels have signed on.
Users download and launch a player that runs ads while they search for and download tracks.  DRM prevents the tracks from being burned and counts [...]

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Billboard Magazine’s Antony Bruno reports: “According to label sources and pirate network tracking firms, fans downloading full albums from BitTorrent sites almost universally choose files that include scans of the CD booklet over those that don’t.
Of course, there is little that can be done with those scans other than view them on a computer. Imagine [...]

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“Sixtyone is different from most read-submit-vote-comment sites because it has an elaborate point system…When you sign up, you get points; each time you vote up a song, you spend 5 points, but if others vote for the song and it gets popular, you earn your points back. Furthermore, you can earn free points by listening [...]

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No single model will work for everyone. There’s room for all of us. Some artists are the Coke and Pepsi of music, while others are the fine wine — or the funky home-brewed moonshine. And that’s fine. I like Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and Christina Aguilera’s “Ain’t No Other Man.” Sometimes a corporate soft drink is what [...]

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One of the early complaints about the WiFi sharing ability on the Zune was the rule that limits playback to 3 days or 3 plays on shared tracks. The Zune team eliminated the 3 day rule but left the 3 play rule intact with the latest firmware update. Many musicians who record their own music in the garage would prefer to share it free of this 3 play DRM restriction. Now there is an easy way to do it.

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A historic moment for artists, fans and the entire music industry. More commentary to follow, but the key points are in this press release.

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Apple has added a “Complete My Album” feature to iTunes that gives customers who have bought a single the opportunity to purchase the remaining tracks from that album at a discounted price (within 6 months of the original purchase).

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