hypebot

MTT Weekly Recap: Let's Talk About Google+ For Artists

Where

The Music Industry

Thinks Out Loud

The Week's Top Posts:

REWIND: The Music Industry's Week In Review

• Study: Global Digital Music Revenues To Almost Triple By 2015
• Independent Record Stores Protest Jay-Z and Kayne West's iTunes and Best Buy Exclusives
• Spotify Sued For Patent Infringement In U.S. Court
• BMG Submits EMI Bid, WMG Reportedly Next
• Warning: Do NOT Start a Google+ Account for Your Band
• 10 Tips To Advance Your Music Business Career

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Pandora's Westergren: 'Being In A Rock Band Is A Lot Like A Startup'

"My first entrepreneurial experience was being in a rock band. It’s a lot like a start-up," said Pandora founder Tim Westergren. "You are involved in a creative process, there is no proven road map and it involves a tremendous amount of uncertainty. You have to build it from scratch. You have to work effectively as a group and you are all poor."

Facebook Users Don't Spend Much Time Using Facebook Apps [CHART]

The new ComScore study "The Power Of Like" reveals that Facebook users spend most of their time (27%) in their News Feed and relatively little (10%) using apps.  That's not to say that there's aren't successful apps that add value to the Facebook experience.  But it's a reminder of how important activity - which appears in a fan's feed - have even greater influence. 

CHART: Time Spent On Facebook By Section:

Use Memolane & Patchlife To Improve Your Social Media Presence

A recent blog post by Wes Davenport put me on to a couple of free services that should be of interest to anyone wanting to get a better picture of their social media presence. Patchlife and Memolane treat social media posts as events to be displayed rather than items to be tracked statistically thus providing a more qualitative overview.

Approaching Music Journalists

DIY artists have the challenging task of marketing themselves. You have to present yourself well to marketing outlets like blogs, podcasts, online music communities, music websites, and magazines. On Music Think Tank, Rick Goetz has posted a guest article from Julia L. Rogers with advice on how to approach music journalists.

Indie Record Stores Protest Jay-Z & Kayne West iTunes, Best Buy Exclusives

The Throne, Jay-Z and Kanye West's collaborative project, will be released digitally on iTunes August 8th with a physical release on August 12. Best Buy has also been given the exclusive on a deluxe edition of the CD for first 10 days, and indie record stores are crying foul. "We believe this is a short-sighted strategy, and that your decisions will be doing great damage to over 1,700 independent record stores - stores that have supported you and your music for years," read the open letter signed by dozens of top independent music stores. The full letter:

AM News: RIAA CEO Ready To Drive Away, Winehouse Inspires Debate, Twitter Ads, & More

Mitch Bainwol, CEO and chairman of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), is in advanced talks to head up an auto-industry trade group.(CNET)

• Do record labels have a duty of care? Amy Winehouse's tragic death has opened up an old music industry debate: how much responsibility should labels and managers accept for keeping artists on the straight and narrow? (Guardian)
• Twitter Pumps Up Its Ads Today With “Promoted Tweets to Followers” (AllThingsD)

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Spotify Sued For Patent Infringement In U.S. Court

Just weeks after launching in the U.S., Spotify has fallen victim to a uniquely American phenomenon: an out-of-the-blue patent infringement lawsuit. A corporate decedent of PacketVideo, a forgotten mobile video streaming platform, filed the lawsuit over U.S.Patent 5,636,276: “Device for the distribution of music information in digital form”. If that's sounds vague, it's just like thousands of other patent U.S. lawsuits filed in recent years.  More plus Full Court Filing:

Music Marketing on StumbleUpon = Surfing the Web?

Though StumbleUpon is a major source of web traffic referrals it doesn't get the deluge of headline stories that other major social networks that refer lots of web traffic tend to get from music, tech and marketing blogs. Perhaps that's because the basic concept of StumbleUpon, discovering things on the web based on recommendations presented in a form that facilitates casual web surfing, is well-established.

OK Go, Pilobolus Dancers & Google Team For Interactive HTML5 Video

HTML5 is the new gold standard for online creation and Google is helping to show off the possibilities with a series of videos. "In All is Not Lost" is a collaboration between Google, the band OK Go and the dance troupe Pilobolus. Fans can embed their message in the video and have the band and dancers dance/spell it out. The band and Pilobolus dancers are filmed through a clear floor, making complex shapes, words and eventually messages. WATCH THE VIDEO:

Earbits Leverages Online Radio to Promote Local Concerts

Earbits, a commercial-free music streaming service masked as a music-marketing platform, has found a unique way to convert Internet radio listeners to potential concert attendees.

Recognizing that the live element is where most artists enjoy the bulk of their income, Earbits wisely focuses on getting fans to shows instead of pushing digital downloads.

Study: Global Digital Music Revenues To Almost Triple By 2015

Global digital music revenues will more than double from $7.4 billion in 2010 to 20.1 billion by 2015, according to the new Digital Music Market Outlook by Companies And Markets. That's a compound annual growth rate of 22.1% over the period. Subscriptions will be the fastest growing segment, growing at a 60.8% CAGR to 2015.

Bandmix Improves Musicians Classifieds

Bandmix is a fairly simple classifieds service featuring musicians seeking other musicians with which to play. While other features are offered, including an active forum section, the musicians listings seem to be the key focus.

Let's Talk About Google+ For Artists

Google+ has an estimated 18 million users after one month of existence with more people signing up everyday and a mobile app. What does Google+ offer for artists to connect with fans? On Music Think Tank, Scott Horton explains Google+ and its features that have potential to be added to a musician’s marketing arsenal.

Last Night's Riot In Hollywood: Is Electronic Dance Music The New Rock & Roll?

Last night, a DJ's single tweet caused a riot outside the premier of the Electronic Daisy Carnival Experience film in Hollywood.

The social significance of this is huge. This was no staged publicity stunt mustered up by Gaga’s backroom team to fake a seemingly out of control rebellion. This was kids on the street causing a commotion of their own accord.

AM News: New Electric Daisy Riot, Rdio Family Plan, Sundance Adds DTF, Spotify, UMG's Digster & More

A riot broke out outside the Hollywood premier of the debut of the Electric Daisy Festival concert film.  (Hollywood Reporter) Robin Davey asks: Is Electronic Dance Music The New Rock & Roll?

• Music streamer Rdio announced it will be adding a new subscription plan called “Unlimited Family” that allows consumers to share an account with multiple people at a discounted rate.
• Label Executive On Warner Music Acquisition: "This Thing Ends Painfully" (Metronome)

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Music Marketing on Google+?!? Resistance is Futile!

I'm trying to get used to Google+ because I consider it an inevitable part of my future. In fact, Google+ will eventually have to be a part of most music marketing schemes and the platform's significance for content sharing will be key to such endeavors. Since business accounts may not be available for a couple more months, now is the time to score an individual account and get a basic sense of the platform.

Seth Godin: Interesting & Interested

Interesting & Interested
... it helps to be both. These are the two ways you earn attention.
If it's so obvious, why is it so difficult?

How Social Media Is Hurting Your Ability To Obtain New Fans

(UPDATED) This guest post comes from Eric Hebert, a web strategist who helps artists understand marketing on the web. You can learn more about his work at evolvor.com

I know what you’re thinking. “Wait, isn’t Eric one of those music marketing guys who is always talking about social media HELPING musicians and what not?!”

Yes, that’s me. I’ve been yapping about Facebook and Twitter and blogs all and that other crap since they first launched. And they are invaluable tools for anyone trying to market any kind of product or service. That is, they provide value if you’re using them properly, as in sharing relevant messages and providing excellent content, in addition to interacting with your users in a way that makes them fall in love with you. Otherwise, social media is, well, crap.

Hits, Hot Dogs and Spotify

When you enter a movie theatre, you are at their mercy when it comes to purchasing the products they have to offer. With high mark ups and cheap production costs, selling snacks is how movie theaters survive. Just as with airports and amusement parks, they have you cornered in their environment and can get get away with scandalous pricing, simply because there is no competition.

If you are faced with the same priced hot dogs at your local supermarket you would balk at such costs. The mass produced, nutrition-less morsels simply don't hold enough quality to warrant parting with $5, or even $1 for that matter.

LOSING CONTROL

7 Ways to Bring Back the Physical Album Experience in Digital Music

Digital music is a popular way to experience music, but there are certain things that are missing from digital music when compared to physical albums. With physical albums, you get creative album artwork and liner notes. On Music Think Tank, Chris Bracco has ways to bring the physical album experience to digital music.

“Believe it or not, there are ways that artists can bring some of the physical album experience to digital music. Some of it is common sense, and some of it takes a little “out of the box” thinking, but it is indeed possible.” (Read On)

Lessons from a Street-Wise Professor: From Music Student to Entrepreneur

Ramon Ricker's book Lessons From a Street-Wise Professor: What You Won't Learn At Most Music Schools seeks to fill the void in professional music programs related to not just surviving but thriving in the world beyond academia.

Many of the issues addressed are the same for musicians who don't attend music school and provides common ground in the understanding that one has to take charge of one's career and treat it as a business.

More News: Amazon Up 51%, Indies #1, Orchard + Sharesquare, Rumblefish Hits 4M & Opens API

Amazon announced second quarter sales up 51% to $9.91 billion, It's the first quarter since added enhancements to Amazon Cloud Drive and Cloud Player including storage plans with unlimited space for music, free storage for all Amazon MP3 purchases and Cloud Player for Web, now on iPad.

• Billboard Unveils New Market Share Statistics: Indie Labels Are Number 1 (A2IM)
• Pandora #1 Once Again In July Internet Radio Rankings (FMQB)

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71% Of Adults Online Use Video Sharing Sites

Online video is soaring. 71% of online Americans now use video-sharing sites such as YouTube and Vimeo, up from 66% a year earlier, according to a new Pew Internet survey. The use of video-sharing sites on any given day also jumped 5% from 23% in May 2010 to 28% in May 2011.