21 July 11
Thanks for the explanation Chris. As a guy who runs a customer service team I totally understand and am more than willing to comply. I just find it funny that tumblr received a DMCA request from the label after they themselves posted an official “leak” steam and allowed others like Funkmaster Flex to post independently, but are cracking down on places like this. Can’t say I envy the tumblr CS team today, this song is ALL OVER my dashboard.

Thanks for the explanation Chris.

As a guy who runs a customer service team I totally understand and am more than willing to comply. I just find it funny that tumblr received a DMCA request from the label after they themselves posted an official “leak” steam and allowed others like Funkmaster Flex to post independently, but are cracking down on places like this. Can’t say I envy the tumblr CS team today, this song is ALL OVER my dashboard.

Posted: 10:39 AM
Wait, what? Jay-Z & Kanye West’s ‘Otis’ is streaming for free on their site, but was removed from my tumblr? Update: the track is also available on Funk Master Flex’s site, what gives?

Wait, what?

Jay-Z & Kanye West’s ‘Otis’ is streaming for free on their site, but was removed from my tumblr?

Update: the track is also available on Funk Master Flex’s site, what gives?

14 July 11
How to Get Spotify Free Without an Invite Spotify just launched in the US but if you want an account, you either need an invite or has to start paying for the service. Fortunately, if you want to skip the queue and get a free account right now there’s a pretty simple loophole. Click through to read the full article.

How to Get Spotify Free Without an Invite

Spotify just launched in the US but if you want an account, you either need an invite or has to start paying for the service. Fortunately, if you want to skip the queue and get a free account right now there’s a pretty simple loophole. Click through to read the full article.

12 July 11
The Color Of Music Unless you’re a synesthete (or deep into LSD), you won’t see bright red hues for soft tones or dark blues for a high riff. But there’s still a way you can experience the Color of music. That’s Color, as in Bill Nguyen’s $41 million proximity-based photo-sharing service. MyStream, an app that launched in late March, is a music-sharing app for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad that lets users listen to music on the devices of other nearby users. Like Color, and an increasing number of social location-based apps, MyStream is optimized for “elastic networks.”

The Color Of Music

Unless you’re a synesthete (or deep into LSD), you won’t see bright red hues for soft tones or dark blues for a high riff. But there’s still a way you can experience the Color of music.

That’s Color, as in Bill Nguyen’s $41 million proximity-based photo-sharing service. MyStream, an app that launched in late March, is a music-sharing app for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad that lets users listen to music on the devices of other nearby users. Like Color, and an increasing number of social location-based apps, MyStream is optimized for “elastic networks.”

8 July 11
Turntable.fm Reportedly Raises $7.5 Million at $37.5 Million Valuation Well that was quick, but is anyone really surprised? Turntable.fm skyrocketed to over 300,000 members in a little over a month after Business Insider wrote about the team as one of the hot 25 NYC startups you needed to watch, definitely labeling the product as “Pandora for groups.” A powerful endorsement for sure.

Turntable.fm Reportedly Raises $7.5 Million at $37.5 Million Valuation

Well that was quick, but is anyone really surprised? Turntable.fm skyrocketed to over 300,000 members in a little over a month after Business Insider wrote about the team as one of the hot 25 NYC startups you needed to watch, definitely labeling the product as “Pandora for groups.” A powerful endorsement for sure.

17 February 11
The Death Of The Music Industry A stunning visualization of the collapse of the music industry. As you can see the growth of digital sales is not doing enough to offset the death of the CD.

The Death Of The Music Industry

A stunning visualization of the collapse of the music industry. As you can see the growth of digital sales is not doing enough to offset the death of the CD.

5 February 10
Team Teamwork removes Final Fantasy VII-rap mashup after cease and desist letter Team Teamwork’s entire catalog, including the Vinyl Fantasy 7 album, has been pulled from its original download destination after one of his RPG-rap hybrid songs led to the mashup artist being served with a cease and desist letter.

Team Teamwork removes Final Fantasy VII-rap mashup after cease and desist letter

Team Teamwork’s entire catalog, including the Vinyl Fantasy 7 album, has been pulled from its original download destination after one of his RPG-rap hybrid songs led to the mashup artist being served with a cease and desist letter.

7 December 09
Apple Has Acquired Lala Is a cloud-based version of iTunes on the way?

Apple Has Acquired Lala

Is a cloud-based version of iTunes on the way?

6 October 08

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.