Music For Your Eyes

Nokia has created music for your eyes with their latest visual radio systems. Visual radio is radio broadcast paired with song information, video and interactivity that allows listeners to respond and give feedback—all via your Nokia cell phone. They are offering visual radio through Infinity radio, a station conglomerate that owns about 180 radio stations located in 22 states. Visual radio is also broadcast in seven other countries. The radio system not only shows pictures and reveals the name and artist of the song being played, but users can also directly purchase ringtones, take quizzes on the artists, rate DJs and songs, and get insider facts about artists and concerts.

Nokia actually understands that consumers consider interactivity with their stations and mobility as two key characteristics of quality radio. Visual radio offers consumers these two attributes, through a venue that they already own (their phone) and stations that they already listen to (their local FM), but also add a little extra through the additional features.

So Visual Radio is easy to use and accessible. But will it be a hit? It’s great that Nokia is working to help fix radio and actually encouraging technology, interactivity and a mobile radio through multi-functioning devices. However, the downfall of visual radio is that while the additional features are nice, it fails to change radios largest downfall—the content. The songs that listeners hear are identical to what they would hear on their local radio station, because it is just that—their local station. The cost of internet-ready phones and a wireless plan that includes internet access may also be a problem for lower-income users. And I wonder how much using visual radio drains the battery of your cell phone—enough to make visual radio dead?

MTV Breaking Through the Net

MTV wants to party like its 1999—back in the late 90s, MTV was synonymous with youth culture, defining style, music and social attitudes. But today, television is no longer the outlet where young people turn to discover these cultural norms; rather, people turn to the Internet. MTV Network has lost that pull that they had in previous years with this important demographic, so they are turning online in order to recapture the youth generation. The network already has 150 Web sites online, but they are preparing to create thousands more along with three interactive online communities— Laguna Beach for teens, Nicktropolis for kids and Virtual Hills for young adults. They hope that by creating these digital gateways, they will encourage viewers by allowing them to watch shows, generate feedback, re-edit its television shows and contribute to the MTV channels.

The network has already began MySpace-esque communities, up-to-the-minute message boards where viewers can simultaneously watch MTV on the television and comment on the show online and personal profiles. The expansion into audience-segmented communities will only offer users a place that is more specifically geared towards them, and will be more effective for the user and for MTV as well. The communities will be a tool to discover what it is exactly that this youth demographic desires.

The move online is a smart move for the company, which created controversy in February in response to their demand that the MTV and Viacom content would be removed from YouTube. Consumers were frustrated that they wouldn’t be able to access content online (a venue where young consumers absolutely are turning to find content). They will be able to use feedback from the users as tools to improve their stations along with giving the consumer the easy access to content that they desire.

Despite criticism, MTV Networks have reported that since the removal of content from YouTube, their own sites have received 55% more traffic than this time last year. By creating interactive websites that take into account their audience (the three communities will be focused to audience demographics in content and aesthetic appeal), MTV has a chance to regain viewers that have been lost in the last ten years. Viacom expects that the move online will help double their revenues from its digital services to $500 million next year, and I think that if they successfully capture their audience, the capabilities of the expansion to the Internet community are endless.

I Liiiiiiikkke Good Music

“I liiiiiiike” is no longer just an overquoted phrase from a popular movie. It is now also a social networking service. iLike is a music-focused site similar to last.fm that allows users to create profiles online and share music with friends (real friends or those with similar musical tastes through thier high compatibility ratings). The program also caters free downloads according to musical taste. The site recently hit half million users and ticketmaster.com has also invested $13.3 million in the company, giving Ticketmaster 25% of the shares in the company in hopes to promote concert ticket purchases.

iLike is growing, and their lack of wariness about working with other companies is part of their appeal. Not only is iLike Ticketmaster-friendly, there is also the incorporation with the iTunes software. The program has a downloadable sidebar that directly connects to the iTunes library to offer recommendations and also has a wishlist where users can place songs they enjoy and directly connect to the iTunes music library. The system is so easy to use—so easy, that in fact people are actually buying music. The company released a statement saying that “more than 50 percent of logins result in a purchase, or the filing of a song in a wishlist for purchase consideration later.” This means that half of the time a user signs on, that user either buys or considers buying a song from iTunes.

While there hasn’t been data released yet that I could find about ticket sale boosts for Ticketmaster after their iLike partnership, I’d like to predict that ticket sales will grow from this affiliation. Clearly the iTunes sidebar has made it quick and easy for consumers to purchase the music that they find on iLike, and a similar venture with Ticketmaster will make newly-discovered artists’ concerts just a click away. The fact is that people aren’t unwilling to pay for music so long as the music is good and easy to purchase. By assisting people to find this good music, using easy-to-use formats, and working with other corporations not against them, everybody will benefit in the end.

Don't Let Copyright Ruin WiFi

In 2009, smog won’t be the only thing that blankets Los Angeles. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa recently proposed a wireless internet (WiFi) plan that would supply over 4 million residents in a 498 square miles radius with free or low cost wireless internet. The project would be completed in 2009 and would be one of the largest urban WiFi networks.

So if the proposed plan does come to be, what does this mean for the radio industry? The expansion of WiFi networks will allow internet radio to expand rampantly—ubiquitously accessible Internet radio will allow the musical diversity, accessibility and interactivity that radio consumers of the modern world desire. Internet radio is already on the rise, with “revenue from online streaming music radio has risen to $500 million from $49 million in 2003.”

With free internet available to everyone in Los Angeles, it will allow even the underprivileged easier access to Internet radio. There is already WiFi in many homes and commercial locations across the city, but with WiFi across entire metropolitan areas, the internet will become entirely universal. With WiFi, consumers would be able to access custom-made Internet radio broadcasts not only at home, but also over their mobile phones, or other multi-functioning internet ready devices (like the iPhone). WiFi will allow greater accessibility to these Internet radio stations and in turn higher number of listeners. Internet radio adaptors could be invented and installed in cars so that drivers could listen to the radio too (perhaps one of terrestrial radios last real successful venue these days).

But sadly once again, there are those out there that are working against for radio consolidators and small online indie outlets. The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) proposed March 5 to change the way online radio stations pay royalties. They are currently determined by a percentage of revenue that each particular station makes, but if the new rule becomes law, they will be forced to pay per-song and by the number of listeners that each station draws (larger corporations like Time Warner's AOL Radio, Yahoo!'s online station, and Clear Channel's Online Music & Radio are already forced to do this.) The more hefty fees still can generate profit since they are such a large corporation, but for a smaller online radio stations, “could raise royalty fees paid by some online radio stations more than tenfold —enough to put many smaller stations out of business.”

If smaller stations weren’t able to continue production in the face of larger radio stations and the large conglomerates take over the market online as well, WiFi won’t be enough to help save the radio industry. But if CRB fails to pass the proposed increase in funding, digital radio accessed through universal wireless internet will be just the makeover that the radio industry needs. Let’s hope CRB is tuned in to this reality.

NIN Fans Caught in the Web

Nine Inch Nails have recently redefined the concept album, creating a conceptual game for fans prior to the album's release that incorporates the Internet to promote the album in ways that have never been seen before. Their latest Year Zero has yet to be released, but has already built a cult following of fans who decode mysterious messages at various cryptic websites and decipher clues about the dystopia world of “Year Zero” (which followers have revealed is actually 2022, or the year that the evil “presence”is Born Again).The basis for the game first began with a tour t-shirt, seen at the left.

The bolded letters on the back of the t-shirt spell out the clause “i am trying to believe”. iamtryingtobelieve.com is a website which begins to explain what the world will be like at Year Zero. Click here for a more specific description of the eccentric world of Year Zero from Rolling Stone.

The initial website has sparked dozens of fan websites, blogs and message boards with different ideas about what all the various clues mean. You can visit one of the more popular sites here.

The clues are deciphered over these websites through followers alone, and then discussed and analyzed at great lengths via the Internet. Additional clues have been added into the mix, through USB flash drives that have been found on the floor in bathroom stalls at various NIN concerts. The USB drives have included three leaked album tracks (download the first single for free, My Violent Heart ), various pictures seen only through use of a spectrograph (a machine that converts a sound wave into an image), and Morse codes at the end of the leaked tracks that point to new websites where they can try to discover more clues.

The latest website revealed just a few days ago is called Art is Resistance, which claims that the only way to resist this dystopia from becoming reality is through promotion of the album art so that we can find new clues and halt the process of Year Zero from becoming reality. Fans can download AIM icons, desktop wallpapers and printable stickers in order to fight the Year Zero world.

So what if a fan doesn't have Internet access? Bolded numbers on the back of another t-shirt are 310-295-1040 which is a U.S. phone number that directs callers to a puzzling message with clues and clips from NIN songs.

There are so many reasons why this marketing ploy is so genius. I am not a NIN fan, but I found myself browsing the websites , trying to figure out exactly what this was all about. This reveals to me that by creating a mysterious phenomenon around the album, they are able to spark interest outside of their normal fans (so that the entire online community will be interested). They have used merchandise such as t-shirts as tools for clues to feed their story (so that more people want to purchase merchandise). They use concerts as a venue to release the latest clues to the story (so that more people will want to buy tickets to their tour). They have released tracks one by one online and allowed free sharing of these tracks, allowing even those who weren’t NIN fans to sample their tunes (perhaps making new fans). They offer free downloadable icons, posters and stickers so that anyone can market their album in the non-digital world. And I don’t doubt that when their album is finally released, they will sell a higher percentage of physical albums as opposed to digital albums, as consumers will be interested in obtaining the extras and the clues that may come with the tangible CD. In an era when the purchasing a physical copy of the record itself is dying, NIN are using the Internet as a tool to market their records, their merchandise and their tour. Remarkable how using the Internet has NIN fans caught in the Web, and I can't imagine that the hype surrounding this marketing ploy will help NIN in all aspects of thier latest release.

The Best Music in Life is Free

Dispatch are not sell outs, in the figurative sense. They never signed a major record label, creating their four albums independently. They donated proceeds from their six years of near-constant touring to various charities. And they broke up three years ago in 2004 with a free concert in Boston, drawing 100,000 dedicated fans. But Dispatch are sell outs in the literal sense—they recently sold out the 20,000-seat Madison Square Garden for three separate nights this July for a series of concerts that will benefit poverty-striken Zimbabwe. And surprise surprise, they used the internet as a completely effective promotional tool for the events.

Dispatch originally was only going to have one concert, and they released tickets to the event exclusively to their MySpace friends. The band has just over 57,000 friends, and through this promotion alone, the concert sold out in 30 minutes. They added a second show released through MySpace as well, and this one sold out in 12 hours. They then announced a third show to the general public through ticketmaster.com (which is also online promotion, note) and the show sold out in 23 minutes. At 20,000 concert attendees a show (that's 60,000 ticketholders) and $39.50 a pop, that’s almost $2.4 million for Dispatch to aid their cause.

If the price is right and purchasing is hassle-free (like with the ease of the internet and iTunes), people for the most part are willing to pay for music. But if the rampant expansion of P2P filesharing is any indication, many consumers think that the best music in life is free. Record labels are slow to pick up on this idea, believing that offering music for free will hurt their industry. But they fail to realize that by using the internet as a promotional tool, free music and free concerts may actually lead to profits. Ozzy Osborne is putting this idea to the test this summer, entitling Ozzfest “FreeFest” and completely doing away with ticket prices, relying on internet-based sponsorship, along with concert merchandise and vending to make money from the event.

Those who may not even be huge fans of the bands playing at Ozzfest would be tempted to attend anyway— the word “free” is certainly appealing. Without having to shell out hundreds of dollars for concert tickets, people will be more willing to support sponsors and purchase merchandise at or before the event over the website. And who knows, maybe a skeptic can be turned into a fan after attending the event, and be willing to purchase music to support their newfound bands and buy concert tickets and merchandise in the future.

Not only is the idea of a free concert pretty sensational, but record labels would be surprised by this second "sensational" fact: Ozzfest is using internet promotion to advertise the event. To make sure that you will get free Ozzfest tickets, the website suggests signing up to receive email notifications (from their friendly sponsors?) until the ticket information is released. When the information is released, those who desire tickets will be directed to sponsored website where they can secure their tickets.

If the record labels were smart, they would use this example as a clear indication that radio and records just don’t work as a promotional tool anymore. The internet not only allows consumers to search and discover new music, but it also allows quick and easy music and concert purchase, with just the click of a button. And through the internet and social networking sites, promotion is practically free for the bands— a MySpace page is free to set up. Bands can post pictures, blogs, and concert event reminders. Listeners can stream music for free and receive important information through word of keyboard. Record labels may argue that the best music in life isn't free, but they must be on board with the idea that the best promotion in life is free. Clearly the internet is becoming an increasingly more important and effective tool to promote new music.

Apple and Starbucks Brewing A Hot Idea

When I go to Starbucks, this is what I order: a grande, double shot, skinny, sugar free vanilla latte with extra foam. Back in my small-coffee-with-room ordering days, I swore I would never be that girl with the painstakingly specific order. But as my coffee order has evolved over time, so have my sentiments. If I’m going to pay $4 for a cup of joe, it better be what I want. I can get coffee for free from the coffee machine in my house, but I am willing to pay for Starbucks because it’s handy, it’s quality, and it’s in a convenient (and trendy!) portable container.

Those adjectives that I just used to describe my cup of coffee could be easily applied to another little something I often carry around with me—my iPod. Much of the appeal of the iPod and the iTunes store is that they are quick and easy to use. The music downloaded from iTunes is sure to be of utmost sound quality, and you can bring your music anywhere you want to go. Plus there’s the aesthetic appeal—those white ear buds and pretty colors sure do look cool.
iPods are surely popular with the 18-24 demographic, and in the last five years Starbucks drinkers between the same age have risen from 3% to 13% of their total consumers. So it’s a natural progression for Starbucks to collaborate with record labels to create Starbucks Entertainment and special coffee houses with in-house coffee bars.

The corporation started in 1990 and has progressed to include an XM radio station, numerous café-media-bars across the nation where consumers can burn CDs at the Starbucks store, in-store CD racks offering exclusive or unique compilations and releases, and most recently a Hear Music section at the iTunes store that offers coffee-house chill playlists and carefully selected music for Starbuck’s loyal consumers.

In the midst of a flailing record industry, Starbucks has embraced technology both in their stores and through the internet, and low and behold they are actually selling CDs. Executives at Starbucks Entertainment have reported that CDs in their stores “often account for 20 percent to 30 percent of the record's weekly sales, and sometimes as much as 50 percent.” Another top executive from EMI Group said that Starbucks was among the top four retailers for every single one of his label’s records sold at the store.

And not only are they selling CDs, but they are able to make quite a profit off of them. An example—Starbucks sold Beck’s “Guero” in their stores for $15.95, which is nearly 2 dollars more than the suggested retail price, but still managed to sell over “38,000 over a six-week period this spring.”

One could argue that consumers may be more willing to purchase something when they are already in the store buying something else—a pricey cup of coffee. But I think there’s something more to it.

While people may be willing to purchase CDs when what they want is a physical copy of the CD, when it’s just an extras-free burned CD, consumers just aren’t interested. They can get that on their home computers. So the in-store CD burning bars weren’t as big of a hit as Starbucks executives had hoped, and many have been demolished. But what's going to come in thier place?

Starbucks wasn’t afraid to abandon the CD and focus more on digital music, and their recent collaboration with Apple on the Hear Music section of the iTunes store reveals this. Check this statement from Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz, claiming that, “Within 12 months, probably, you're going to be able to walk into a Starbucks and digitally be able to fill up your MP3 player with music.” I think that soon enough there will be an in-store kiosk where consumers can connect thier own iPods to the iTunes store and purchase songs to immediately upload and listen. But with digital rights management, iPods are only able to connect to a limited number of computers and they aren't compatible with multiple playlists. This kiosk (under current laws) simply wouldn't work, but does the fact that this idea is clearly heating up insinuate that DRM may not last for much longer?

So let’s relay the facts—Starbucks and Apple have partnered and created a Starbucks-specific section of the iTunes store. Starbucks executives make claims of being able to use MP3 players in Starbucks stores within the year. And Apple executive Steve Jobs writes a letter urging lawmakers to do away with digital rights management laws that would inhibit connecting and buying digital music at a kiosk in Starbucks. All this is amidst a period of growth for a Starbucks Entertainment as a digital music provider, and after they have already established themselves as a prominent non-digital distributor.

It’s pretty clear that Starbucks and Apple are brewing something hot for the digital music industry, and so long as DRM is revoked it seems as if this iPod friendly downloading technology might be available in a Starbucks near you within this next year.