SOPA? First redefine piracy

I've talked about this subject before. I've sat in a music industry discussion and heard the concerns of the damage piracy is doing to new artists and new music. But enough about X Factor.

I thought maybe it was worth going back to basics. What is piracy? Well the good old Oxford Dictionary says:
1 [mass noun] the practice of attacking and robbing ships at sea.a practice similar to piracy but in other contexts, especially hijacking:air piracy
2 the unauthorized use or reproduction of another’s work:software piracy

In principle it does sound like a bad thing, especially the stuff at sea. And when we were at school we were all taught that copying (stealing someone else's idea) was wrong - maybe not so much if you grew up in China.Trouble is, this isn't really at the heart of the music and media industry war on piracy. The issue is the alleged link between online piracy and falling or lost revenue. Or put another way, the view that if users could not get hold of that book, film, tv programme or album on that pirate website, they would be forced to go to a legit site, or better yet, an actual store, and buy it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, this premise cannot possibly be true, at least not in most cases, and not to the extent that the content owners believe.The real issue is that these dinosaur industries just cannot get their heads around what the Internet means for them and their content. Newspaper online subscriptions - really? Who would bother in this day and age. If you want the 'news' just go on twitter. And herein lies the problem. The dinosaurs cannot figure out how they will adapt sufficiently to survive this online Ice Age. The balance of power has shifted to users and consumers and they can't get their heads round it.

And finally, forget SOPA, what about the fake Apple stores in China??? They can't stop that but they want to stop online piracy??!!

i-hooked

Yes, indeedy. i have had my new gadget for just a few weeks now and i am converted.

Although my Wired subscription might suggest otherwise, i am no techie, neither am i a geek, or a typical early adopter. But this iphone is completely revolutionising my sh*t! To an unprecedented level. i mean i am all over it. The functionality and accessibility is absolutely mind-blowing, unlike any other phone, gadget or gizmo i have ever had.

Where do i start? firstly it is like having a personal computer on hand at all times, so i can do pretty much everything i would do on my laptop, on my iphone - wherever, whenever. Secondly, thanks to spotify - the only decent music subscription service for iphone (come on napster!) i pretty much have my entire music collection, plus new music i recently discovered on last.fm, right at the tips of my fingers...Marc Broussard and Colbie Caillat in case you were wondering.

i am now in the process of pulling together my online shopping list after watching Jamie's top cooking tips (Jamie's 20 min meals iphone app), which includes essential larder ingredients. A-ma-zing! And then there is catchup tv.... 20 seconds behind BBC, ITV etc - cant be bad. AND ALL THIS ON MY PHONE!!!!

Personally i think other phone manufacturers should just call it a day, or at least, focus entirely on the corporate market - iphone have this sewn up. Should Apple ever find a way of making it affordable for PAYG customers, i seriously believe it would be curtains for others. I predict that unless there is a major game changer in the next 5 years, iphone will become the verb for mobile calling. Steve Jobs i salute u

Its Back

Apologies now, to all high-brow musicians who would not dare to stoop so low as to even entertain the thought of watching a trivial, trite, popularity-contest-masquerading-as-a-singing-cum-talent-competition, and utter manipulation and misrepresentation of the blood, sweat and tears that is the music business. Of course, for us normal folk who enjoy listening to pop music, and quite fancy a bit of light-hearted entertainment with the odd bit of over-dramatisation, Saturday nights mean one thing - X Factor (watched live or Sky Plusd of course).

Over the next three months millions of conversations will be had over the wisdom of the judges, the song choices, the shaggy dog stories, the Christmas duets. Like it or not, its becoming a hefty part of British pop culture.

So, who is my money on. Well, I got it wrong last year by backing Laura White, who I would still cite as the better performer. This year, I feel the standard is mediocre - the Girls all sound nice, but a bit bland, same for the Boys. The Groups are generally atrocious, except for the interesting rapper/singer who stands out a mile, and has been forced into a group in a blatant attempt by the judges to bolster that category. For the first time in a few years, the Overs is the category to watch, particularly the men. If I was Simon, I would take all four blokes through. Except he can only have three, and I cant see him keeping it an all male affair, although I'm sure the female viewers wouldn't mind.

This year, l am backing Daniel Pearce - the second time around guy, with the mohican. Lets see if I'm right...

The Long Tail - What does it mean for music

In October 2004, for Wired, Chris Anderson, in the article which was the pre-cursor to his book, wrote "Forget squeezing millions from a few megahits at the top of the charts. The future of entertainment is in the millions of niche markets at the shallow end of the bitstream."

Instinctively, I think we all agree with it, yet from afar it still looks as though the megabucks, development money and time only go into one-hit, or one-album wonders. Even though the platforms, infrastructure, recording artists and the paying public are probably ready for Anderson-style ways of doing business.

Take me as an example. I am a fan of a wide range of music - from mainstream rock and pop, commercial rnb, to folk and the odd bit of jazz and country. Reason being, what I really love is songs - melody, harmony, stories - and great vocals. So, I'm constantly on the lookout for new, often lesser known artists who fit this criteria - like Teedra Moses, Jazmine Sullivan, Ryan Shaw - whose music I can legally download, or better still whose gigs I can go to. And, occasionally I find a new one! but it is definitely not easy, as all airtime and promo attention is dedicated to the next Britney, Justin or X-factor sensation.

So, my conclusion - "If you build it, they will come..." Even in these credit crunch times, people will pay for good music, of a kind that they like, and that lifts their spirits. It just needs to be easier to get hold of.

What does "Green" look like for the music industry

I attended an interesting MusicTank event yesterday on whether the music industry can 'afford to go green' https://www.musictank.co.uk/events/sustainability
Fortunately, there were no trees being hugged, and it was a fairly balanced, practical, mostly factual, discussion about what could and should be done to reduce the industry's carbon footprint.

I couldn't help wonder though, whether we were in denial, truly unprepared for the major shock when we realise what it will take to live in a sustainable, low-carbon way, and what this means for music consumption. Gone will be the endless promo flyers (recycled paper or not), and the unnecessary concert merchandise (sustainable supply chain or not), and the 21-date or 50-date arena residencies with half the continent travelling to see the artist. The way I see it, our current trajectory is one of extreme sacrifice and personal behavioural change, unless there are major technological breakthroughs to reduce carbon emissions. Put simply, we need to use and consume less. End of...
And as for waiting for the government to legislate on change, personally I wont be betting the Sussex coast on it. This is just not a vote winner, because too many people do not really want to change, if it impacts their lifestyle significantly, even if they say that they "care about the environment".
Until the full cost of carbon is truly reflected in goods and services, people will still shop til they drop for unnecessary crap, and drive and fly to their hearts content. So, whilst we wait for the carbon markets to kick in (post-recession of course), the onus is on leaders (you and me, as well as the fat cats), entrepreneurs (Branson et al), opinion formers and role models (musicians, celebs and reality TV contestants), and all those who generally know better, to do better, and encourage others to do better.
That's enough preaching for one post, and I need to go take off this itchy, organic, wool shirt

Music to My Ears

When I first decided to take my running up a gear, I went to the nearest sports shop and left with as many bags as a WAG on a post-match celebration shopping spree. For some bizarre reason, this hobby, which you first started because it is meant to be low cost, suddenly means kitting yourself out with the right trainers - cushioned, stability or motion-control, all costing north of £50 of course - the right clothing, and a whole array of accessories that the sales assistant, who is half your age, and probably doesn't run, has persuaded you that you need, but which will in fact languish in your spare room, or under the stairs.

On such a first trip, with my just as eager running pal, I ended up with very expensive socks, a Nike water belt, and some seriously disgusting energy gels, as well as trainers costing over £100. I soon added to this with a collection of caps and beanie hats, gloves, waterproof jacket, warm up jacket, thermal top, base layer, top layer, full tights, short tights, skins (!) etc etc. - I think you get the picture.

You soon figure out that there are various sources that are worth listening to when it comes to recommendations for stuff to make your running easier, faster, more comfortable etc. My bible is generally Runners World mag, but even better is the forum on http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/. This is where you get the absolute truth - good, bad, ugly on all sorts, but most importantly on products and services, to avoid making the classic mistakes I mention above.

Which leads me to my best running purchase to date. Last week I received, in environmentally friendly packaging - bonus - the Sennheiser PMX80 headphones. You see, when I run alone, I need music - radio, playlist, it doesn't matter. And I have been through at least 15 different headphones, which all either fall off/out, sound tinny/too quiet, or barely last 2 weeks without falling apart. These Sennheisers are, without exception, the indisputable, bomb-diggity of running headphones. I purchased them solely on the strength of the forum and Amazon customer rating and comments. Now, this is no new thing - the power of consumer reviews, e-pinionators, wide scale belief in the web as being the truth. But for me, this links to something about the buying patterns and behaviours of those engrossed in their hobbies or interests which I'm guessing must be relevant to the music industry. What makes people repeat buy? Why do people pay above the odds eg. for that perfect piece of kit, music memorabilia, or concert ticket? What drives loyalty, and what is it worth? What is the influence of other consumers - certainly Amazon, last.fm, Spotify, and others jumping on the social-networking-linked-to-product-placement seem to think there must be something in this. It's all rather interesting, but what does it mean for future business models? who wins, who loses...or is there a win-win

The Circle of Life

Actually, I'm thinking more the circle of business life. Specifically, start up(birth), growth (teen struggles), maturity (mid-life crisis leading to old age), and finally death. Isn't this what happens to all businesses? - eventually...

Only, those of us working in Strategy, or positions of leadership, are paid to keep the business alive - rejuvenated to cope with the world changing around us, or to keep up with the market innovator who has now changed the rules of engagement.

But should we invest so much time and energy in trying to keep dying businesses alive, or should we allow them to grow old gracefully, pop their clogs and then nurture the daisies that grow in their wake.
From what I can see, Strategists and Consultants spend most of their time trying (and failing) to convince businesses, who don't want to change their way of doing things, that they need to change in order to survive. Remember Sir John Harvey-Jones, Troubleshooter?? How many of those businesses took JHJ's advice - very few. And how many are still around? - I suspect very few, and I don't think it's all the recession's fault!

I was somewhat surprised when I attended a music industry event last year to hear what sounded like an awful lot of 'stuck in a rut' views and opinions on how to deal with the changing face of technology, records, file-sharing, illegal downloads etc... Apart from the subject matter, it was just like listening to the sorts of conversations I hear everyday in the energy (utilities) industry - the majority stuck in some time warp, with a few frustrated forward-thinkers trying to persuade the many of their impending doom. There seems to be a common inability to look at the world from a different perspective, as an outsider or new entrant would, seeing through the obstacles that will inevitably cause paralysis for some, and opportunity for others.

In reality, it seems that only when there is enough impetus from the top will things actually change. I guess the textbooks would call it visionary leadership. Perhaps this is what Leoni Sceti is bringing to EMI with talk of a new business model, new ways of connecting with audiences. Let's wait and see. Do record companies (majors in particular) really know what consumers want, or are we simply waiting for them to kick the bucket and make way for the next generation in music distribution...

Music to Run to...

I have a few loves in life, aside from family of course. The first is music, and sound, the second is running (actually the second is probably shopping - shoes, bags, coats etc. - except I'm on a recession-busting shopping fast this year).

Anyway, I have been looking for music to run to for years and years - particularly in 2007 when I was training for the New York marathon. I don't mean any old speedy track, or something that just makes you feel like running, I mean pace music - music to run to the beat of.

If you're anything like me you'll know just how difficult it is to find either decent playlists, or the bpms to stuff you own or download. I have spent literally hours searching various free databases and downloads to compile my playlist of 'music to run to', and I now have about 5 hours worth. So, in the spirit of togetherness and collective enjoyment I thought I'd share it with you, in the hope that you would also share yours with me as my collection is now getting a bit stale.

Now, I realise that the list may be a little hip hop/RnB heavy (look out for clean versions or radio edits if you are of a sensitive disposition), but this does tend to be at just about the right bpm to run to. In fact, the first track that got me into wanting to compile such a list was Lose Yourself by Eminem. Perfect, and great lyrics to motivate you on those dark mornings - think Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

So, here's my list - hopefully you can read it by clicking on it, and for you non-RnB fans, there's even some Oasis, and some amazing Pendulum tracks. My recent Pendulum discovery, which I have yet to add, is the awesome Slam. Enjoy