October 3rd, 2007 Rachel
Digital cards instead of CDs offered at Starbucks stores. What’s the cost difference? Doesn’t say in the press release…Ken says - no cost difference. Apparently having different prices would somehow be confusing to the consumer…?
?????
Seriously? Yikes…I’m sorry - give me the CD. There is value in the tangible, put it in my CD player as I leave Starbucks, sipping my grande non-fat sugar-free vanilla latte, and rip it onto my computer later physical product. I appreciate the convenience of the download card…BUT…you couldn’t knock a dollar or two off? The packaging costs have got to be less, right?
Oiy vey. I love your drinks. I love this CD that I found one morning at the counter (and now had to got to Amazon to link to since you don’t have it on your own site anymore…) but I’m not sold so on the download cards.
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October 3rd, 2007 Rachel
Josh Brooks from MySpace says they’re going to keep innovating.
Or rather…start innovating more.
Innovating again?
Sigh…
Friendster has innovated too - but it’s been too slow. I get notifications of new features but they’ve already lost me a long, long time ago. It’s a shame when something blows up, gets big, becomes ubiquitous, and then…plummets. Yeah, MySpace has 2-3x more users than Facebook overall, but do I really have to pull up the numbers on how much user participation and time is spent on one versus the other?
Facebook has kept innovating, but minus a few massive features like news-feed which got a tremendous amount of media coverage, the features have come about naturally. It’s just there one day…and usually it’s something that is noticable as a “hey, well now that’s better.”
p.s. it’s just so not fun to be the zune guy on a panel. Did I mention smug laughter in my last post? Yeah…not like what you hear the obligatory Microsoft or Zune jab/quip/joke comes up while one of their own is in the room…geeebus.
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October 3rd, 2007 Rachel
Soundexchange the…mediator?
Hmm.
Is this really about the artist for you guys, Michael? Like…”really” really?
After our Soundexchange “dude” (thanks for that, Adam) gave his pitch about how their trying to get everyone to hold hands and jovially clapped Jon Potter of the Digital Media Association on the back…
“Jon, are you happy with how things are going?”
pause.
“No.”
Insert nervous (smug?) laughter around the room…
His point - you’re going to turn this fledgling revenue stream into zero. Nothing. Nadda.
If the businesses can’t pay, they don’t stay in business, then nobody gets paid.
I love hearing someone say this, but it seems so utterly obvious and fundamental that at the same time it’s kinda frightening that we still don’t have a resolution that everyone can sustain and profit from…
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October 3rd, 2007 Rachel
“The Civil War is Over” - Davi Pakman, eMusic
Big names on this panel - Yahoo, Sony, Warner, AOL, and my personal favorite…eMusic. The ‘uproar’ and ‘chaos’ has settled a bit (it would seem) and now we’re all talking about business models and everyone trying to gain the upper hand in the market. Everything and nothing has changed…but the “what do we do?!?!” mentality is still there…minus a few exclamation and question marks. This is potentially better - as long as the industry doesn’t get stuck in paralyzed and impload because of it. Though, that might not even be so bad…if the folks that try it again the next time learn…at least a little.
Lots of questions about subscription services and ad supported music downloads…related to that, I came across a good breakdown (however biased it most obviously is) on Hypebot of the difference between two such services - We7 and Spiralfrog.
DMF is doing something new and interesting here - text a question to the panel. Here are a couple:
“Didn’t the lala experiment fail cuz warner was charging too much 4 licensing/royalties?”
“If the real game in being a success as an artist is promotion rather than artist development, can a record label really compete with starbucks or verizon?”
At times distracting, but also super interesting because the pointed questions people sometimes tone down when they have to get up and use a microphone are being asked. Very good.
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