Archive for the This Business Of Music Category
In our monopolistic world of online music, it seems bound to happen every time: just as another consumer-friendly strategy begins to take root, that strategy gets swallowed into oblivion through an acquisition. Such may be the confounding case of the little-known music retailer Lala, a company whose strategies and efforts I’ve long been a fan of personally. Apple, the New York Times reported on Friday, has agreed to purchase online music retailer Lala in what some analysts will see as a game-changing strategy on the part of Apple.
Are you a die-hard music fan? Â Are you the most dedicated to a core of independent artists, many of whom you feel you have developed a “personal” connection with thanks to social networks like Twitter, Facebook or MySpace? Â As the models for artist survival in the music industry widen and mutate, there’s a growing focus on fans just like you — the hard core, or the uber-fan, if you will. Â For fans like you, the world of music is yours to inherit and enjoy because, as you’ve already discovered, artists are starting to offer more and different ways to get and keep your attention — and your financial support.
But what if you’re just a casual music fan — one whose lifestyle is such that you don’t devote huge amounts of time and/or money with building relationships to the artists you enjoy?
This morning, Ryan Catbird alerted us to a fascinating and insightful piece over at Fingertips Commentary which examines the loss of  the casual music fan in what is referred to as “future of music” schemes being developed by, or on behalf of, independent artists.
Taking it’s cue from the conversations held during the recent Future Of Music Summit in Washington, D.C., and a keen glimpse at Kevin Kelly’s thought-provoking (and widely read piece) “1000 True Fans“, Fingertips searches for what has happened to casual music fans in the current series of fan engagement methods on the part of the artist. Fingertips points out that to artists searching for sustainability in a market place that looks so bleak, artists have taken their focus to the people they know are most willing to pony up for access to them or their music — the question is, however, at what cost to the rest of their fan base?
It may take you a while to read through, but I highly suggest you head over to Fingertips (by clicking here) and read this fascinating commentary. Â We want to know what you think, too, so please share your comments on this article with us here.
We’ve never been a fan of the Burnlounge v.1.0 or 2.0 (aka the “pyramid scheme” versions in which “store owners” were bilked of hundreds of thousands of dollars that they’ve never recouped). We’ve been infiltrated by Kool-aid sippers repeatedly defending the illicit financial practices of the once-notorious (and we thought dismantled) pyramid scheme, several of whose “store owners” were the subject of successful lawsuits filed by the Federal Trade Commission. Their CEO resigned in disgrace. Their website has been down for months now and most people figured that was that. So what does Burnlounge have up their sleeve now? I guess we’ll have to wait and see when Burnlounge 3.0 is unveiled.
Uhh…what the hell? No other information is available right now.
We sure can’t wait to hear this one.
I don’t normally post these but this record actually isn’t too bad. I mean I probably wouldn’t buy it personally but you’ll probably dig it, right? I think Creaky Boards Coldplay have a fairly original take on music from time to time.
Click Here To Listen To Coldplay’s Viva La Vida.
Click Here to buy Viva La Vida [cd|mp3] from Amazon.
COLDPLAY – “VIVA LA VIDA” NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
(all dates are subject to change)
Date City Venue Public On Sale Date
7/14 Los Angeles, CA The Forum SOLD OUT
7/15 Los Angeles, CA The Forum SOLD OUT
7/18 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion 6/14
7/19 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena on sale now
7/23 Chicago, IL United Center 6/14
7/25 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center on sale now
7/27 Pemberton, BC Pemberton Festival on sale now
7/29 Montreal, QC Bell Centre 6/14
7/30 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre 6/14
8/2 Hartford, CT XL Center on sale now
8/3 Washington, DC Verizon Center on sale now
8/4 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden 6/14
10/20 Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place TBA
10/21 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena on sale now
10/26 East Rutherford, NJ Izod Center TBA
11/3 Detroit, MI The Palace of Auburn Hills on sale now
11/7 Orlando, FL Amway Arena TBA
11/9 Sunrise, FL BankAtlantic Center TBA
11/11 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena TBA
11/13 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center on sale now
11/14 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center on sale now
11/16 Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center on sale now
11/18 Houston, TX Toyota Center TBA
11/19 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center TBA
11/21 Denver, CO Pepsi Center Arena TBA
11/22 Salt Lake City, UT Energy Solutions Arena TBA
11/26 Phoenix, AZ Jobing.com Arena on sale now
Someone at EMI is probably asking themselves right now, “What are we going to do?” That’s because their big cash cow, yet another hotly-anticipated Coldplay album entitled Viva La Vida has leaked well ahead of its June 17th release date. Undoubtedly scrambling to figure out what has created this chaos, the stockholders of EMI and their gaggle of employees probably wish to hell this hadn’t happened. As with the previous Coldplay album, sales of this record were (and still are) intended to boost EMI’s third-quarter 2008 profits sufficiently to maintain (or, as they would hope, grow) the company’s stock price.
No word on from whence the leak came or whether anyone at EMI is actually freaking out. However, the thought of dozens of stockholders simultaneously requesting a clean pair of underpants after hearing the news is equally repulsive and hilarious.
HEY! if you came here looking for a download link for the album, I can’t oblige you or encourage you. I can tell you I’ve heard the album, it’s worth waiting a couple of weeks to go and buy it. Since you’re already here, why not take a minute to browse through the other music and content of my site and download some legal mp3’s from other bands?
