Jazz Odyssey

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"The media marketplace in 2005 will transformed by a "steady disappearance of the ‘mass’ market, replaced by an ever-growing number of ‘micro’ markets that cater to the needs of specific groups or individuals."   So says Tony Kern, deputy managing partner of Deloitte’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice in a series of reports released this week.  There’s a good deal of data that won’t come as much of a surprise to most of you (such as the predicted growth of new devices and new media created for those devices) but the reports do raise some points worth noting, particularly the growth of new forms of embedded advertising such as software toolbar buttons or links on mobile handset screens.  The ability to hyper-target and dynamically update these types of advertisements will lead to greater acceptance and effectiveness of this type of advertising, while also making the ads themselves seem less intrusive.

As the "big hit record" becomes more of an endangered species, the micro-market mindset is more important than ever.  There are independent labels that have been profitable for many years without having records that sold in the millions (in many cases, not even in the hundreds of thousands).  While one obvious answer is to make less expensive records and videos, another is taking a hard look at the marketing spends and what it costs to effectively rise above the clutter.  Technology will make hyper-targeting and dynamic delivery of advertising a more economically feasible and resource efficient alternative.  This is a smarter business practice that ultimately can lead to lowering the break-even points and increasing the ratio of profitable records without relying on blockbuster sales.  As my grandfather once inscribed on a piece of parchment framed on my office wall "For what shall it profit a man who does volume but cannot make a buck?"

Read the full reports here….