shiftingbox

WHY BANDBOX WILL BE A HUGE SUCCESS - REASON #1

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:33:00 +0000

Anyone who's started a business quickly realizes that the "to do list" is always 10x longer that what was originally expected. Once that shock wears off and the reality sets in, the next logical question (that came to my mind anyhow) is "can we actually get all this done." Of course not was the answer that slapped me back. It's not possible to get everything done. However, I quickly realized that if you have the right team in place you CAN accomplish the items on the to do list that matter most. Bandbox's core team is by far the best I've ever worked with. When it gets down to it, they know how to get the right things done. The more I see how we can execute the more I'm confident that Bandbox will be a huge success.

-Brian

The Beginning Of The Direct To Fans Movement

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:28:00 +0000

Selling direct to consumers is not new. But musical artists asking fans what they want and then selling to them how they want directly from their own personal website(s)...that's still a work in progress.

Below is an email that successful d2F (direct to Fans) artist Trent Reznor just sent out. A step in the right direction, for sure.

Here is the email from Trent:

Hello everyone.

I'd like to thank everyone for a very successful year so far in the world of Nine Inch Nails. I'm enjoying my couple of weeks off between legs of our Lights In The Sky tour and got to thinking... "wouldn't it be fun to send out a survey to everyone that's shown interest in NIN?" Well, that's not exactly how it went, but regardless - here it is. As we've moved from the familiar world of record labels and BS into the unknown world of doing everything yourself, we've realized it would benefit us and our ability to interact with you if we knew more about what you want, what you like, what you look like naked, etc. I know it's a pain in the ass but we'd truly appreciate it if you'd take a minute and help us out. As an incentive, everyone who completes the survey will be able to download a video of live performance from this most recent tour (and I know what's going through your little minds right now: "I'll just grab this off a torrent site and not have to fill out the survey!!!" and guess what? You will be able to do just that and BEAT THE SYSTEM!!!! NIN=pwn3d!!!)

BUT

What if we were to select some of those that DO complete the survey and provide them with something really cool? I'm not saying we'll ever get around to it, but if we did maybe something like signed stuff, flying someone to a show somewhere in the world, a magic amulet that makes you invisible, a date with Jeordie White (condoms supplied of course), you know - something cool. See, you'd miss that opportunity AND be a cheater.

Do the right thing - help us out. You'll feel better.

Thank you and I've had too much caffeine this morning,

Trent

Getting Along Is Socially Acceptable. Or Is It?

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:16:00 +0000

Social Networks are a dime a dozen these days or so it feels. That said, MySpace and Facebook are still the most popular of these blog-posting, friend-adding, comment-leaving online communities. Google is trying to socialize the social nets but the verdict is still out on whether or not everyone can still get along.

Great article from Business Week:

"At first, Facebook was on board with the experiment. Google (GOOG) was testing a new tool that would let Web sites add a host of new social networking features. Using Google Friend Connect, for example, fans of indie pop musician Ingrid Michaelson could invite their friends, via their Facebook accounts, to join her Web site. Google's tool would let them import their Facebook contacts and then send out the invites to their friends' Facebook feeds. But just days after the trial began on May 12, Facebook "suspended" access for Google Friend Connect, saying it violated privacy terms in its user agreement."

Read more:

Leeland And The Amazon MP3 Widget

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:25:00 +0000

THIRD DAY SNEAK PREVIEW! - 1 SONG A WEEK

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:43:00 +0000

Syndication & Aggregation: The Future Of The Web

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 03:41:00 +0000

Widgets and Gadgets are the new catch-phrases of the marketing and web community today. However, I'd wager that few really understand the power of the underlying business models of content syndication and traffic aggregation. It's the future of the web and there is money to be made.

Venture Beat published a great article a several weeks back. Read Here.

Keep It Simple Stupid: Lessons From Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:29:00 +0000

The default thing we do is ask how we can add something to make it better. Instead we should say, What can we take away to create something new?"

Evan Williams, the 35 year old entrepreneur who sold Blogger to Google and recently co-founded the new 2.0 mobile start-up called Twitter knows simple, believes in simple and is hoping to cash in on simple.

He should know, his $50M cash cow, Blogger (one of the first blogging sites) embodies the truest form of simplicity. Typically it's one post, once a day on one particular subject. Millions are avoiding the overwhelming clutter of portals like Yahoo and MSN and are fleeing to the comfort of simple.

I've highlighted a few of the nuggets from Inc Magazines recent feature on Twitter.

This is Twitter, in all its wildly popular, ridiculous glory. The service, which had a few thousand users at the beginning of last year, had close to 800,000 at the beginning of this one. Because Twitter allows anyone to send messages to thousands of cell phones at once and for free, new uses are popping up.

This strange statement encapsulates Williams's business philosophy. He believes that small ideas are almost always better than grand visions. That Twitter's main function--telling you what your friends are doing--is included as a feature in Facebook, MySpace, and most instant messaging programs doesn't bother him in the slightest. "I think features can make great companies," he says. "You just have to choose them right." Moreover, he argues, a product can succeed by doing less than a competitive product. Case in point: Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), which rocketed to popularity because of a single feature--the search box--while its chief competitor, Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO), offered dozens of services, from search to stock quotes to horoscopes. Google operated for years without a business model before it figured out that it could throw off billions in cash by serving little text ads next to its search results. "Applying constraints can help your company and your customers in unexpected ways," says Williams. "The default thing we do is ask how we can add something to make it better. Instead we should say, What can we take away to create something new?"

Read Full Article

Friend or Foe: Myspace and Facebook 2 Years From Now

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:18:00 +0000

Labels are constantly looking for partners that have their best interest in mind and are constantly disappointed by their retail partners moving past music to bigger and better things. iTunes who once was the "savior" for the music biz is now considered a threat.

Now MySpace and Facebook are getting cozy with the big 4. Read this Business Week article:

"The music industry is wary of letting Apple turn into the online version of Wal-Mart. Since the giant retailer became the largest music seller, it has gained leverage over the labels and pushed for lower CD prices. Apple, now the largest online music seller and second-largest overall, has made several moves that have upset the labels, including insisting on standardized pricing for new releases and old songs."

I wonder how MySpace and Facebook will be viewed a couple years from now; friend or foe?

Web Ad $pending Up, Myspace Still Not Pulling High $

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:08:00 +0000

According to the recent Forbes article, Overall ad spending in the U.S. rose just 0.2% last year, to $148.99 billion but Internet advertising remains the most promising sector. Web display advertising grew 15.9%, to $11.3 billion, paid search 9.8 for a total Internet spending figure of $21.1 billion last year, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

HOWEVER, the challenges (and opportunities) remain within the booming social networks. Who will figure out how to monetize this huge user base? According to Wired, "one social networking metric is distinctly underwhelming: the one with a dollar sign."

"Lookery, an ad network specializing in social media, offers display ads on MySpace, Facebook, and Bebo for only 13 cents per thousand times the ad is served (CPM); Yahoo's average CPM is estimated at $13. Video ads on MySpace reportedly fetch just $25 per thousand showings; CBS charges $50 on affiliated sites, NBC as much as $75."

Read full Wired article

Yahoo's Feeling Social

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:56:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) - Yahoo Inc. said Tuesday that it was joining rival Google Inc.'s initiative for creating photo-sharing and other social tools that work across the Web.

Read full story at www.forbes.com

OpenSocial Is Open For Business

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:07:00 +0000

Here are some highlights from the March 21 article on Fortune's Tech section.

Last week News Corporation’s MySpace (NWS) became the first social network to adopt Google’s (GOOG) OpenSocial, a set of common standards that allow developers to build applications.

"We’re spending 90% of our resources building on OpenSocial now," says Jia Shen, the CTO and co-founder of RockYou.

Among those that have joined the Google alliance include Orkut, LinkedIn and Hi Five, which will roll out its OpenSocial-padded platform next week.

Google says any site, not just social networks, can choose to use OpenSocial. No permission needed. Yahoo is reportedly planning to use the OpenSocial standard for some of its web properties. Bebo, the social networking site that AOL (TWX) bought last week for $850 million, had originally aligned itself with OpenSocial but has since switched to using Facebook’s platform.

"The reality is, you have to do special things for every social network," Ghazizadeh says. "Maybe it’s not the same amount of work, but there’s still a lot you need to do. Google’s not the savior that it wants to position itself as."

READ FULL ARTICLE

THE NEW AT&T IS THE NEW COOL

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:19:00 +0000

Good news for those of you who like expensive coffee but free internet access. The Digital Music News reported this story today...it's about time. Kudos to AT&T for landing some big partnerships, first with Apple and the iPhone and now with Starbucks.

"Starbucks is now teaming with AT&T to offer free WiFi - at least for the first two hours. The coffee giant is ditching its longtime broadband internet partner T-Mobile, which only offered paid access and was unable to meet demands from Starbucks. Under the revised plan, AT&T will offer users two free hours per day, and additional two-hour blocks can be purchased for $3.99. Heavier users can jump into $19.99 monthly accounts."

Read More

BABY STEPS TOWARDS FREE MUSIC

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:34:00 +0000

Music moving toward free is one of today's hot topics around music and tech blogs. Is music really moving towards free? Well, no one knows but if you were to analyze how things are going, it sure looks like it's a comin'.

The bigger question is "when"?

The demise of the Physical CDs has been coming for some time now but "When"? CDs still make up 80%+ of major label's business. The digital revolution hasn't happened quite as fast as most people thought. The reason; change takes time. Technology is one factor of change but not the ONLY factor. Consumers have to buy in, people have to change and history shows us that people don't change as fast as we might want.

The USA TODAY posted an article today titled "Music websites are fighting to be free" that highlights the successes of 2.0 music start ups Imeem and Last.fm and mentioning the lack of interest on the consumer's part for a subscription model. It also talks about the difficulties Spiral Frog and Qtrax has run into with licensing Major label content.

Ok, so here's my point. I think we (the industry) may be trying to force a change too quickly. Quicker than consumers, artist and labels are ready for.

Baby steps.

What if there was a digital music model that blended the realities of where we as an industry are at TODAY, with where consumers are at TODAY, while at the same time taking advantage of the current online trends of TODAY?

1) The majority of labels and bands still want to make money from recorded products.

2) Consumers are still willing to pay for music (look at iTunes growth) and prefer to own music downloads versus renting music (as evidenced fledgling subscription services).

3) Advertisers are spending more money online and the ability for Labels and artists to share in that revenue is a reality.

So...someone needs to create a tool that allows bands to sell their music directly to consumers, anywhere online. It should allow artist to play with the pricing; as we move toward free, $.99 may not be the right price. It should use advertiser dollars to subsidize what they're making from sales, putting more money in the label/artist pockets.

Baby steps. Rome wasn't built in a day. Free music won't happen tomorrow. Let's live in the now.

FOLLOW THE LEADER

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:54:00 +0000

In an industry where standing out from the crowd is vital, it may be time for musicians and artists to take some advice from an experienced veteran. According to Forbes, Madonna is the richest woman in music. She must be doing something right.

So what is the "richest woman in music" doing these days to adapt to the fizzling...I mean changing music economy? According to Digital Music News, "the 12-month period ending June, 2007, Madonna raked a hefty $72 million, a figure that actually pre-dates the closure of a massive, multi-year deal with Live Nation valued at roughly $120 million. During the measured period, Madonna pulled heavy revenues from touring, merchandising, publishing, and fashion."

WOULD YOU RATHER BUY MUSIC OR STEAL IT?

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:33:00 +0000

Well, according to a report released by IFPI, you'd rather steal it. And by "You," I'm generally speaking. The ratio of unlicensed tracks to legal tracks downloaded is 20 to 1.

However, 1.7 billion digital tracks were downloaded legally last year, up 53 percent. Good news, right? Actually the sale of digital music globally hit $2.9 billion in 2007, up 40 percent from 2006.

Read more at TechCrunch.com

IS MUSIC GOING TO BE FREE?

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:15:00 +0000

According to TechCrunch Yahoo is exploring this option.

"Yahoo offering DRM free music isn’t ground shaking given Amazon already does and others are headed in this direction. Offering that DRM free music for free however is a big step forward towards the inevitable march to free. It will be interesting to see how Yahoo implements monetization strategies if they go down this path, and how it will be received. For example, will users tolerate advertising in the download itself?"

Read full article

IF YOU HAD A BAJILLON DOLLARS

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 19:45:00 +0000

You would probably ruin your life.

But what if you had a bajillion dollars to create something...what would you create? That changes things.

I ran across this question today while in the process of checking out a graphic designer’s website. This company called Parallel had this cool app on their home page. It was simple yet very creative.

It was actually a breath of fresh air. Sometimes the music biz seems stale. We complain the music all sounds the same. The artists all look the same.

Why is that? Do we get spoiled by all the creativity and thus become immune to the beauty and creativity that constantly surrounds us? Or are the musicians, artists or marketers and web designers less creative today that they were yesterday?

This graphic designer (or company of designers - whoever they are) communicated something profound on the top right-hand corner of their website; all it says is "Creatively Creative."

Hmm...now that makes sense. We have to creatively organize and deliver our creativity in a manner that keeps it from growing stale or boring. Creatively Creative – it’s brilliant!

So, what would you create if you had a bijallion dollars? Click here to answer.

PENNYWISE OR PENNY-FOOLISH?

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:51:00 +0000

The opening paragraph of the recent Pennywise bio reads, "Resting on laurels has never been an option for the men of Southern California’s punk rock powerhouse Pennywise."

Well they're at it again. According to Billboard, they've teamed up with Myspace and are giving their full album away. The music is free to the consumer. The band & Myspace are planning to monetize this transaction through advertising.

This is yet another ad-supported music model. These types of models have been surfacing for the last couple year, most of the press surrounding the still struggling Spiral Frog, the college network Ruckus and the much anticipated Qtrax.

2008 should be an interesting year. I'm interested to see how viable this model is.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS ON THE INTERNET

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:40:00 +0000

The Digital Music News reports on the rise of online Christmas shopping and the continued growth of digital music.

"Online shopping tallies continued their year-over-year gains last week, and a fresh, one-day record emerged. According to research group comScore, December 10th was the biggest online shopping day on record, reaching a healthy revenue total of $881 million. Between November 1st and December 14th, online spending totaled $22.7 billion, a bump from year-ago figures of $19.2 billion. On the music side, digital downloads moved upward 35.9 percent to 15.6 million a-la-carte downloads for the week ending December 9th. Cumulative annual downloads are now up 45.9 percent to 766.3 million units, according to figures published by Nielsen Soundscan."

Read more...

50 CENT ADVOCATES 50/50

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:50:00 +0000

Change has been staring record labels in the face for as long as most can remember, however, little would question that today's technological changes have disrupted the music industry like never before.

One of the new models that is emerging within traditional label worlds is the 360 or 50/50 deal that involves more of an equal partnership between record labels and artists where revenue from all areas of the business (touring, merchandize, film & TV licensing, etc.) are shared. The risk is also shared.

The Digital Music News just posted an article that quotes 50 Cent as saying, "What is important for the music industry to understand is that file-sharing doesn't hurt artists...a young fan may be just as devout and dedicated, even if he didn't buy my recording." The article goes on to say that 50 believe labels need to embrace 360-degree models because of these realities.

AYO Technology feat Justin Timberlake

JET + BLUE = WIFI

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 19:15:00 +0000

USAToday.com just released some exciting news about JetBlue offering free in-flight Wireless service.

It's about time. One step further for mankind...right?

But don't get too excited yet. The test flights with the Wi-Fi have had only moderate success and the service is very limiting at the moment. Due to bandwidth and connectivity issues, it only allows customers to email or instant message and only with Yahoo mail, with talks of adding other partners in the future.

MORE NETWORKS THAN JAMAICA'S GOT MANGOS

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:18:00 +0000

Here's the deal. I just got an email blast from TobyMac with his endorsement of yet another social network. My first response was..."are you serious."

This one is called ZoeCity and I'm sure has some cool explanation for the reason behind the name but from first glance, I'm not buying it.

I get the idea of having a safe/family friendly environment for Pastors, Worship Pastors, Christian Artists and their fans but we've already have Xianz.com, Shoutlife.com, MyCCM.org and a handful of other struggling Christian social networks not to mention the Myspace and Facebooks of the social media world.

I'm just curious why ZoeCity thinks they can be competitive in this market. I'm all for people following they're dreams and trying something new but in order to be successful, you have to do some really extraordinary. Take TobyMac for example. There is nothing like him in Christian music. His live show amazing, his music cutting edge and his imaging/branding is some of the best in the business. I'm not sure ZoeCity has the Toby factor.

But we'll see. I was skeptical of GodTube when they first launch and now look at them. According to USA Today, GodTube grew nearly 1,000% in its first month, and had 1.6 million unique visitors every month.

ps. Title courtesy of the Beastie Boys :-)

FLUX & NING - ALL YOU CAN EAT SOCIAL NETWORKS

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:06:00 +0000

The age of customization is going to the next level. Check out this article by TechCrunch below. I really think labels will start to utilize these types of platforms for customized community sites. They will allow us to integrate our design needs into their existing social media structure.

"Flux, a new social network joint venture between Viacom and SocialProject, had a limited launch in September. The platform is the cornerstone of Viacom’s social network strategy. Instead of building independent networks for MTV and its hundreds of other brands, they’ve built a distributed platform that shares users, infrastructure and content, but allows for distinct branding and community building around each property. And Flux isn’t just for Viacom - third parties are using it as well."

Read more...

FRIEND OR FOE

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 03:40:00 +0000

The Digital Music News had an interesting post today. Apparently the music industry outsiders who just purchase EMI music group (Terra Firma) are seriously looking at the amount of their label's budgets that go to trade orgs like the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)

"Estimates vary widely, though the organizations may be saddling labels with annual dues of more than $200 million," states the Digital Music News. "That makes the organizations a plum target for cost-cutting, especially given the painful profit losses being experienced by the sector. Groups like the RIAA have been heavily criticized for aggressively litigating against music fans, and picking strategies that have failed to curb massive sales drops."

It's about time that someone is wising up to how we're spending our money. Instead of using our resources to create and innovate, we're using them to fight a useless battle. It's too bad that it took someone outside of the industry to see this.

MERCY ME SHOWS NO MERCY

noreply@blogger.com (Shifting Box | Brian Peterson) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:02:00 +0000

Another big Christian music success story…Mercy Me's fifth record, "All That Is Within Me" happens to be their biggest debut week yet with 83,000+ CD sales. Granted, they had Thanksgiving weekend and some holiday sale pricing to help push those numbers up but you got to admit that there's still some demand for some good ol' Christian music. Congrats guys!

Casting Crowns latest, "The Altar And The Door" debuted 3 months ago with 128,000 first week sales.

Tell me music's dead. Come on now people. It's alive and well.