John Lennon for Citroën.
As always, click pause on the music player located in the side bar before playing the YouTube.
Sean Lennon, via his Twitter, says…
She did not do it for money. Has to do w hoping to keep dad in public consciousness. No new LPs, so TV ad is exposure to young
She meaning Yoko, I’m assuming, who surely doesn’t need the dough. But, is it a good idea?
An interesting take on the present situation from Digital Music News…
In the United States, the Census Bureau recently projected that the average American household will spend nearly $1,000 this year on entertainment-related subscriptions. The stuffed enchilada includes cable or satellite TV, gaming-related services like Xbox Live, and internet connectivity. The only problem is that ‘downstream’ applications and services like MySpace Music, LimeWire, and YouTube are then ‘free,’ and facing difficulty upgrading consumers into more premium relationships and transactions.
Suddenly, the battles between label groups and ISPs take on a new color. Viewed from the label perspective, ISPs are not only allowing piracy, they are also choking off consumer dollars. The access pot is massive, though the tollbooth is suddenly far upstream. On top of that, consumers are spending more time listening, discovering, and sharing music than ever before.
It’s more problematic than it appears on the surface. The labels could very well make a run for a bigger share of the “access pot”. But…every deal the labels have made so far “choke off” independent musicians from access and consumer dollars. So, even if the labels are successful in garnering more dollars, an act will still have to meet the label’s protocol in order to participate.
The music biz is in bad place and that’s not big news. Recent cracks in the hull include news that the number of people who actually pay for downloads is down considerably and Live Nation reporting a big decrease in concert revenue.
It looks like the future is the cloud and the herd is thinning down to two horses; Spotify and MOG.
Spotify is having trouble breaking in to the U.S. The ad supported model isn’t sitting well with the labels and hence, Spotify is hitting a wall on licensing the music.
MOG offers all you can listen for $5.00 a month, has all the majors on board (so, a huge catalog) and a slick, easy to use product.
Both have been attracting investors but MOG has surprised some folks with the news that they just raised another $9.5 million. From Digital Music News…
Like the last round, the current infusion was led by Menlo Ventures. This time around, Balderton Capital is joining the action, and Balderton partner Dharmash Mistry is joining the MOG board. The fresh financing will boost the development of mobile apps and enable relationships with consumer electronics companies, according to MOG. Additionally, MOG is slating an expansion into the United Kingdom by summer.
What else? MOG chief David Hyman pointed to “an incredible 17 percent user conversion from the free trial” since December, and efforts are being renewed to stoke premium uptake. Instead of a limited, one hour premium preview, MOG is now offering a three-day look.
A little turning of the tables there as MOG is planning to invade Spotify turf.
I can’t speak for Spotify but, the MOG player has become part of my daily routine. I cued up an hour of Terje Rypdal yesterday while getting my act together. Right now I’m listening to Tony Williams Lifetime (the stuff with Holdsworth! cool…).
Recent Comments