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Notwithstanding my point regarding convergence, the existing powers-that-be in the Music Establishment still don't seem to “get it”.
As reported in the NY Times today, MySpace and three of the four major labels [Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, and Warner Music Group – with EMI likely to follow] announced their long anticipated deal with MySpace to set up a joint venture to start a music web-site on the MySpace platform. According to the NY Times article:
In the latest effort by the ailing music industry to bolster its declining prospects, three of the industry’s four major companies have struck a deal with the social networking site MySpace to start a music Web site… The music companies are expected to make their entire digital music catalogs available for listening and downloading on the new site, which will be introduced later this year…But first MySpace will have to prove that it can actually sell music. Though the company earns $70 million a month in advertising for the News Corporation, according to estimates by Pali Capital, it has never successfully sold products on a wide scale. A download service for independent music, begun in 2006 with Snocap, a music start-up, was considered a disappointment.
I suggest that the hook-up between MySpace and the major labels poses an added challenge for the 8 million or so artists already signed up on MySpace who will need to overcome not only the noise that comes from the existing mix of indie musicians clamoring for attention but now the need to compete against the marketing push and muscle of the major labels and MySpace promoting the "favored few".
This frenzy of M & A activity among the social networking sites and “joint venture” deals does not address the larger issues of:
1. Convergence and how artists will be able to establish their own Identity and Voice on the web, when technical advances and increasingly open platforms result in the de facto convergence of all of these sites into the big motha. Artists had better get ready for this eventuality.
2. The Economics of Free and how artists will have to deal with the inevitability that “music that wants to be become free, will become free.” Like it or not, the world of ”freeconomics” has arrived and is here to stay. Artists need to develop new business models to generate revenues in conjunction with their art [if that is their objective out of necessity or ambition].
These are interesting times indeed.
With regard to my point about the coming convergence Look at the goodie that DifferentStars and SomeVapourTrails have come up with. Songbird. The fuzz folk will have to figure out how to "integrate" this onto this platform, while at the same time, keep the unique indie voice and "touch and feel" that seems to be developing here.
As for the technical points, as someone who only recently was introduced to the web, blogging, and online social communities, I find myself in the ridiculous position of still climbing a steep learning curve about web basics [BB code, HTML, XML, etc.] while jumping ahead to sort through the implications of the dream of the semantic web that the futurists discuss. I'm operating with a severe handicap here - as I suspect most artists are - the vast majority of us are clue-less about how to use the web [but we are fast learners]. We just know intuitively that all of this will have a powerful impact on our lives.
To introduce Songbird to the fuzz community. I hope you or Clif can translate some of this information for practical application by the computer-challenged [like moi].
It would be helpful if Clif can introduce Songbird into the evolving and iterative Fuzz Tips And Tricks. Of course, I am aware that a seamless application would only be possible as the fuzz folks themselves start to open up the fuzz platform to deal with initiatives like this. They tell me [us] that they want to avoid the chaos of the OtherSpace by "judiciously" opening up this site to the programmers and computer-literate. But, it is happening anyway.
Like it or not, initiatives like Songbird are multiplying fast and furious and music sites that ignore the coming convergence of all music social networks will be swept into the "dustbin of history".
Songbird as a mixture of being a browser and media player is a not new idea. Winamp offers these features already. BUT! Songbird is promising because the concept allows the user to decide how to use it. It's all about the user and not about record labels! Songbird offer music fans plenty of tuning options and seems to be made to be used for better browsing experiences on music sites and communities. Nevertheless I suggest those who are no computer wizards to wait before deinstalling winamp or other media players. Songbird still is a bit buggy. I will write a manual as soon as I am aware of enough pros to make browsing the fuzz site more comfortable.
Here another thing about how online communities and independent artist may still gain even more attention. In my opinion fuzz should really add streaming stats options to the site. It would help to attract users who are interested to discover music by checking out the listening habits of users with similar taste. Furthermore it would help artists to get to know if users, who download (or buy) available songs, listen to these tracks on a regular basis. The more (voluntarily given) information artists can get the better they will be able to focus on and specify their target audience.
About MySpace: I consider it a good idea that (especially lesser known artists) have a well-known platform where they can offer songs, clips to alot of users and deliver information like biographies. This new deal worries me too and I totally agree with your point of view about the side-effects for smaller labels. Isn't it a pity that those who ballyhoo the most are successful everywhere. On TV, in the press and even on the internet. In the end only two things count for an artist to be successful: Money for marketing and an aggressive attitude (T&A)!
By the way: Continue to write enlightening journals like this one, I really enjoy them.
As for streaming stats, the artists already have quite a bit of information that is useful on their artists' dashboard that you may not be aware of as a "non-musician" without access to this feature available to artists. However, I agree that more public info about song plays, etc. would be useful [for example, whether song A is more often played than Song B, most played this week, etc.]. Right now only total plays is provided. I recall an earlier version had this feature. Let's keep this "more stats" request in front of the fuzz folks to move up on their "to do" list.
One of the main tools to counter the mega-trends of (1.) Convergence into one bit motha, and (2.) the economics of free is to create Iterative Content on your personal platform. By this I mean every artist or music fan who wishes to promote his or her favs should endeavor to constantly add-value to his/her personal pages on an iterative basis, similar to what is happening at Wikipedia where each topic gets more and more detailed [with additional content and links, you can pick any topic page at random such as this wiki-page on Bob Dylan to get the idea].
I will blog separately about Iterative Content and its importance to artists and fans/tastemakers because IMHO therein lies ultimate resolution of the age-old dichotomy between quantity and quality. The future of music depends upon artists and music fans who can ride above the tsunami of convergence and free by adding value [creating social capital] through systematic intervention.
Re: Clif, DifferentStars, and tibii's comments at the blog about the Next "Killer-App": Micro-Community-Based Iterative Content
I think DifferentStar's 22 user-groups [count 'em] - shown on her last.fm profile and on her Sub-Community Within A Community [of which I am a member] at last.fm are instructive of the coming convergence of all of the social music networks [being only one-click away from one another] and the need to develop Iterative Content in a centralized place for ultimate monetization by individual artists and, separately, by music fans and/or dedicated intermediaries on an indie-focused music site - one of the objectives of Cottage Industries 2.0.
And, of course, as usual tibii's point about getting back to basics is a valid point as well. We'd better all get messages over to the Goat with a Poke! about the necessary "blocking and tackling" that still remains to be done on the fuzz platform about stuff like disappearing screens before a music purchase can be completed.
As for Clif, well, he and I are de facto cohorts in developing, uh - you know, SocialBuxx™ to become, in time, the new social currency exchange. :=)