Monday at Northeastern

I was asked to visit a class at Northeastern today to talk about online communities & the modern music business. A former professor and former co-worker Dave H. asked me to visit with his class to discuss some current events in the music biz online.

So, what do I do?

I work for a great casual games company as a games producer and community manager. I interact with community members on a number of levels, work on the development team producing new content, contribute the the community blog, and am always looking for new ways to engage our audience.

(At this point I’ll be handing out Gamesville Bumper Stickers and bottle openers to the class. But if you want one, all you have to do is send me a stamped self-addressed envelope.)

Before this, I worked as a community manager at a social network for independent artists. But that’s besides the point, we’re here to talk about the music space today.

So, what’s been going on in the music business online?

Well, this is an excellent time to share some links:

• Muxtape closes open mixtape service, opens space for Favtape, Opentape, Tumbltape, etc.
  • “In the end, Muxtape’s legality was moot. I didn’t have any money to defend against a lawsuit, just or not, so the major labels had an ax over my head either way. I always told myself I’d remove any artist or label that contacted me and objected, no questions asked. Not a single one ever did. On the contrary, every artist I heard from was a fan of the site and excited about its possibilities. I got calls from the marketing departments of big labels whose corporate parents were supposed to be outraged, wanting to know how they get could their latest acts on the home page. Smaller labels wanted to feature their content in other creative ways. It seemed obvious Muxtape had value for listeners and artists alike.” -Justin

• Apple threatens to close iTunes due to royalty fee increases
  • “If the [iTunes music store] was forced to absorb any increase in the… royalty rate, the result would be to significantly increase the likelihood of the store operating at a financial loss — which is no alternative at all,” wrote Apple iTunes vice president Eddy Cue in a statement filed with the board last year, according to Fortune. “Apple has repeatedly made it clear that it is in this business to make money, and most likely would not continue to operate [the iTunes music store] if it were no longer possible to do so profitably.” -Wired’s Listening Post

• Myspace Music gets a much needed face lift and business plan
  • “MySpace has created the first ecosystem that has a shot of producing sustainable revenue streams for artists based on advertising, merchandise and concert sales.

    If it works, the next step is the fall of per-stream fees and download fees. Instead labels will see music consumption for what it really is - free marketing. Labels will compete to encourage song downloads and streams to move those songs up the charts, attracting premium advertisers, merchandise sales and sold out concerts.” -TechCrunch

• Why The Online Music Industry Should Move To a Rev-Share Model
  • “Moving to a revenue-sharing model makes a lot more economic sense. That way digital music sales has more breathing room to establish itself, and the artists will be able to grow with the industry. Eight percent of a bigger pie is better than nine percent of a smaller one. Rather than focus on how much each publisher gets per track, the Copyright Royalty Board should try to maximize the total amount of fees that publishers will get. A rev-share model is the way to go.” -TechCrunch

Why does all this matter?

Well, that’s up for discussion. I’m going to talk about these things in class, but you can leave a comment if you’re reading along on the internet. These are all important and interesting topics, and I’d like to here what you think. I guess we could talk about how these issues effect their current project (which I would plug but I believe I’m still under NDA. Dave? Cause if not, consider this space free of charge). And how these changes in the online music market change the way they approach their project. Yeah.

And on the social web, where else should I tell them to check out, to keep informed?

Off the top of my head: Mashable!, TechCrunch, Technorati, Digg, BoingBoing, Facebook, Wired’s Listening Post, Filter Magazine, Paste Magazine, Pitchfork Media, WFMU’s Beware of the Blog, I guess Twitter, and maybe now Myspace, because they got their shit together with Myspace Music. Myspace: it’s not just for weekends anymore!

How does that help them?

They can learn a lot from being an active participant in these online environments. Truth be told, it’s all about listening to and being a part of the conversation, right?

So what else do they need to know?

Vote - in MA you have until 10/15 to register to vote. Seriously, it’s important.

Thanks for the conversation guys, I’m sure it will be refreshing.