Headed to Gulf Shores after work both at Music Row during the day and my paper grading job at night (which I look forward to posting about later!), back Monday night late. Hope everyone has a great weekend and I'll catch up with you later.
Birmingham people, I might be back in town one of the next two weekends, lets plan something.
bradley
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Sunday, June 15, 2003
I post on a music industry message board from time to time, and I recently posted this 'thesis' of a post this past weekend. I thought I would repost it here...hope everyone is having a good weekend!
Bradley
The Power Of Collection
What is it that seems to separate music from other forms of entertainment in our culture?
After all, on some root level, CDs are the same as DVDs, which are the same as video games, which are the same as books...all have value as forms of entertainment for people to pass time.
The genius of American marketing has added another aspect to American consumption of entertainment, though...The Power Of Collection.
When you purchase a book for yourself, you read ('consume') it. But when you're done, guess what? It still has value!
You take it and add it to your "library", and the book takes on its new purpose of being part of your collection.
DVDs have begun to capture this "collector's" appeal. In advertising, you'll hear "Add Terminator 2, Special Edition, to YOUR COLLECTION TODAY!" And guess what, you will.
Pokemon...Beanie Babies...baseball cards...bobble-heads...The Power Of Collection dominates our culture, thanks to marketing that tells us we are losers if we don't conform.
Yet, the music industry has lost its connection with this key aspect of American consumerism.
Clearly, this didn't always used to be the case. Baby boomers everywhere either talk about their vinyl collection, or how they sold them all and really wish they still had them today.
Kazaa and the advent of widespread piracy of music has stripped CDs of their "collection" aspect, for good, and given it to the proprietary MP3 format.
Without this power of collection behind it, no wonder CD sales have slowed steadily.
The people who go to buy a CD as a gift don't pick one up for themselves anymore. The people who go to buy the new release by an established artist don't pick up a catalog title. And the people who go to buy an album from the best band in their favorite genre don't pick up the new release by a new band in the genre.
In short, the loss of the collection appeal has brought "impulse buys" of CDs to a standstill.
Had the phenomenon of CD price inflation not existed, CDs could have given MP3s a battle over which format would best support the American NEED to collect.
But a variety of pricing factors made it easy for Americans to turn their back on CDs. Now, as a result, we have a culture that has, by and large, shifted its music consumption to the computer.
For the music industry to again generate massive profits, and get back to where it should be, the full exploitation of the American desire to collect will have to occur in this new computer medium.
Combine these developments with the exponential increase in average storage space on American personal computers, and you can see where this is headed.
The music industry has to:
1) Get every single song ever recorded onto one central database (accessible to iTunes or whichever of its competitive offspring manages to defeat it, for licensing.)
2) Don't shut out indies or amateurs to this database. It is impossible to shut out competition over the Internet, so failure to include anyone who makes music who wants to be part of this service will stall American consumer acceptance.
Attempting anything else would "run against the grain", would go against the very spirit of the Internet.
3) Appeal, via deliberate marketing efforts, to the desire of consumers in the digital age to have as many songs as possible in one place.
The collection aspect will have users getting on iTunes to download one song that they happened to hear on the radio or in a friend's house, and then they'll end up downloading 50 songs simply because they get caught up in downloading song after song because they "need" them.
The Power Of Collection is going to be what puts a lot of money in the pockets of music industry executives - and artists! - in as little as a year. Its already managed to do it on a smaller scale with Mac users via iTunes, and its just the beginning.
Related notes:
1) 99 cents per song (the current iTunes pricing) is bad for two reasons. One, its too high. Second, pricing all songs the same is damaging to the promotion and marketing of new artists.
Who's going to pay for the mp3s of a new rock act when U2, The Eagles, and Fleetwood Mac have all their songs for 99 cents?
Is a new band's mp3 worth as much as "With or Without You"? Hell no! Pricing all mp3s the same is not only counter-intuitive, but counter-productive as well. And this is just one situation where equal pricing becomes a problem.
As for why 99 cents is too high, my reason is that its too much of a jump from free. But whoever ends up pricing mp3s is going to have some pretty interesting numerical analysis to do.
2) MP3 downloads MUST be on a permanent basis. None of this "the file deletes itself after 30 days" business, because no one's going to be able to "collect" something that magically disintegrates after a month.
Bradley
The Power Of Collection
What is it that seems to separate music from other forms of entertainment in our culture?
After all, on some root level, CDs are the same as DVDs, which are the same as video games, which are the same as books...all have value as forms of entertainment for people to pass time.
The genius of American marketing has added another aspect to American consumption of entertainment, though...The Power Of Collection.
When you purchase a book for yourself, you read ('consume') it. But when you're done, guess what? It still has value!
You take it and add it to your "library", and the book takes on its new purpose of being part of your collection.
DVDs have begun to capture this "collector's" appeal. In advertising, you'll hear "Add Terminator 2, Special Edition, to YOUR COLLECTION TODAY!" And guess what, you will.
Pokemon...Beanie Babies...baseball cards...bobble-heads...The Power Of Collection dominates our culture, thanks to marketing that tells us we are losers if we don't conform.
Yet, the music industry has lost its connection with this key aspect of American consumerism.
Clearly, this didn't always used to be the case. Baby boomers everywhere either talk about their vinyl collection, or how they sold them all and really wish they still had them today.
Kazaa and the advent of widespread piracy of music has stripped CDs of their "collection" aspect, for good, and given it to the proprietary MP3 format.
Without this power of collection behind it, no wonder CD sales have slowed steadily.
The people who go to buy a CD as a gift don't pick one up for themselves anymore. The people who go to buy the new release by an established artist don't pick up a catalog title. And the people who go to buy an album from the best band in their favorite genre don't pick up the new release by a new band in the genre.
In short, the loss of the collection appeal has brought "impulse buys" of CDs to a standstill.
Had the phenomenon of CD price inflation not existed, CDs could have given MP3s a battle over which format would best support the American NEED to collect.
But a variety of pricing factors made it easy for Americans to turn their back on CDs. Now, as a result, we have a culture that has, by and large, shifted its music consumption to the computer.
For the music industry to again generate massive profits, and get back to where it should be, the full exploitation of the American desire to collect will have to occur in this new computer medium.
Combine these developments with the exponential increase in average storage space on American personal computers, and you can see where this is headed.
The music industry has to:
1) Get every single song ever recorded onto one central database (accessible to iTunes or whichever of its competitive offspring manages to defeat it, for licensing.)
2) Don't shut out indies or amateurs to this database. It is impossible to shut out competition over the Internet, so failure to include anyone who makes music who wants to be part of this service will stall American consumer acceptance.
Attempting anything else would "run against the grain", would go against the very spirit of the Internet.
3) Appeal, via deliberate marketing efforts, to the desire of consumers in the digital age to have as many songs as possible in one place.
The collection aspect will have users getting on iTunes to download one song that they happened to hear on the radio or in a friend's house, and then they'll end up downloading 50 songs simply because they get caught up in downloading song after song because they "need" them.
The Power Of Collection is going to be what puts a lot of money in the pockets of music industry executives - and artists! - in as little as a year. Its already managed to do it on a smaller scale with Mac users via iTunes, and its just the beginning.
Related notes:
1) 99 cents per song (the current iTunes pricing) is bad for two reasons. One, its too high. Second, pricing all songs the same is damaging to the promotion and marketing of new artists.
Who's going to pay for the mp3s of a new rock act when U2, The Eagles, and Fleetwood Mac have all their songs for 99 cents?
Is a new band's mp3 worth as much as "With or Without You"? Hell no! Pricing all mp3s the same is not only counter-intuitive, but counter-productive as well. And this is just one situation where equal pricing becomes a problem.
As for why 99 cents is too high, my reason is that its too much of a jump from free. But whoever ends up pricing mp3s is going to have some pretty interesting numerical analysis to do.
2) MP3 downloads MUST be on a permanent basis. None of this "the file deletes itself after 30 days" business, because no one's going to be able to "collect" something that magically disintegrates after a month.
Thursday, June 12, 2003
At work today, I put on the new Radiohead disc ("Hail To The Thief") and listened to it as I went about my internesque duties.
All of a sudden, Jason (Universal A&R guy) walks out of his office and barks "what the hell is that?"
I explain its Radiohead's new CD, and how I'm not a particularly rabid fan, but I think the band makes interesting music. "They're just weird, dude. I know a lot of people like them, but I just don't get it."
That basically captures the essence of Radiohead. Some people "get it", and hail the "genius" group as a modern-day Pink Floyd. The others just scratch their heads at both the music and the viciousness of the "holier-than-thou" indie rock mentality that the band represents.
To quickly review the band's recent history, they released a widely acclaimed concept album called Kid A, which depicted a lonely story of the beginning of human cloning. I loved the album.
Then they released Amnesiac, and unless you like a bunch of random noises in no particular order, you'd hate it just like I did. Much of the album is unlistenable, at least to me.
Which brings us to this latest work, Hail to the Thief, which witnesses the band merging some tried-and-true songwriting elements with the best of what Amnesiac had to offer, yielding a "pretty good" album. Lead singer Thom Yorke is still as hard to understand as ever, but the music this band makes is still interesting and should prove to be influential within the rock genre.
If Kid A gets a 9/10, then Hail To The Thief would get a 7/10 on Bradley's Completely and Totally Objective Scale (tm). Amnesiac would've received a 3. Some great moments, some weak ones, and overall a pretty good disc.
Some of the stronger tracks include the very cool "Backdrifts", the vintage Radiohead sounds of "2 + 2 = 5" and "Go To Sleep", as well the creepy "We Suck Young Blood".
Weaker tracks include Yorke's ode to parenting "Where I End And You Begin" and the flashback-to-Amnesiac "The Gloaming".
Maybe I'll see these guys play a show one of these days. Pick up the album if you have liked any of their previous work, cause you'll probably enjoy it.
I've been playing a good bit of Age of Mythology lately...this game is an absolute must-have if you enjoy the lusciousness that is modern computer gaming. We've been playing it frequently on our little apartment LAN we have set up...its well worth your while, so check that out too.
Seattle takes on the Braves this weekend after losing the previous series against the Expos, which are playing like a great team so far this year. Hopefully Seattle will win the final game tonight and not get swept, but even so, I want the Mariners to push the Braves around this weekend, since they are the more probable World Series opponent, should Seattle be so lucky to make it that far this October.
No work tomorrow means the weekend starts early. See you later!
All of a sudden, Jason (Universal A&R guy) walks out of his office and barks "what the hell is that?"
I explain its Radiohead's new CD, and how I'm not a particularly rabid fan, but I think the band makes interesting music. "They're just weird, dude. I know a lot of people like them, but I just don't get it."
That basically captures the essence of Radiohead. Some people "get it", and hail the "genius" group as a modern-day Pink Floyd. The others just scratch their heads at both the music and the viciousness of the "holier-than-thou" indie rock mentality that the band represents.
To quickly review the band's recent history, they released a widely acclaimed concept album called Kid A, which depicted a lonely story of the beginning of human cloning. I loved the album.
Then they released Amnesiac, and unless you like a bunch of random noises in no particular order, you'd hate it just like I did. Much of the album is unlistenable, at least to me.
Which brings us to this latest work, Hail to the Thief, which witnesses the band merging some tried-and-true songwriting elements with the best of what Amnesiac had to offer, yielding a "pretty good" album. Lead singer Thom Yorke is still as hard to understand as ever, but the music this band makes is still interesting and should prove to be influential within the rock genre.
If Kid A gets a 9/10, then Hail To The Thief would get a 7/10 on Bradley's Completely and Totally Objective Scale (tm). Amnesiac would've received a 3. Some great moments, some weak ones, and overall a pretty good disc.
Some of the stronger tracks include the very cool "Backdrifts", the vintage Radiohead sounds of "2 + 2 = 5" and "Go To Sleep", as well the creepy "We Suck Young Blood".
Weaker tracks include Yorke's ode to parenting "Where I End And You Begin" and the flashback-to-Amnesiac "The Gloaming".
Maybe I'll see these guys play a show one of these days. Pick up the album if you have liked any of their previous work, cause you'll probably enjoy it.
I've been playing a good bit of Age of Mythology lately...this game is an absolute must-have if you enjoy the lusciousness that is modern computer gaming. We've been playing it frequently on our little apartment LAN we have set up...its well worth your while, so check that out too.
Seattle takes on the Braves this weekend after losing the previous series against the Expos, which are playing like a great team so far this year. Hopefully Seattle will win the final game tonight and not get swept, but even so, I want the Mariners to push the Braves around this weekend, since they are the more probable World Series opponent, should Seattle be so lucky to make it that far this October.
No work tomorrow means the weekend starts early. See you later!
Sunday, June 08, 2003
I've begun reading "Built To Last: Successful Habits Of Visionary Companies", and its really, really good. I recommend it to anybody interested in business...
It is remarkably similar to "A New Kind Of Science" by Stephen Wolfram, a massive book I read last summer in DC. That book was about the simple patterns that underlie every single component of our world, whether its science, math, psychology, sociology, computer science, economics, etc. Wolfram uses a host of computer tools to analyze these patterns...its worth reading but takes forever.
This business book I've just started reading takes a list of 18 "visionary" companies - companies that have survived multiple CEOs and multiple product cycles, and multiple successes and failures - and compares them to a list of comparable companies that weren't quite "visionary". Juxtaposing the "gold medal winners" with the "bronze and silver winners" in the business world causes simple patterns to emerge...the true reasons behind why some companies stay influential and at the forefront of their respective industries, across a long period of time.
I would tell you what these patterns are, but I've only read the first chapter of the book!
Regardless, the "simple patterns" discussed in the groundbreaking Wolfram book, as well as the "simple patterns" in this massive best-selling business book, seem to make a statement for the importance of simplicity, even on a personal level. And that's what I've been thinking about today.
Today is Lori and my 9 month anniversary! Because Mike is coming into town, we're going to wait til tomorrow to go back to Midtown Cafe, where we had our first date, and then watch some Laci Peterson thing on Dateline tomorrow night that she wants to watch.
Oh yeah, my fantasy team sucks. But the Mariners are on a roll...took both from the Mets today before heading back to Seattle to face the Expos and Braves. Freddy Garcia pitched his first complete game since May 2002, and seeing as how he's been the only weak link on the team, the M's are looking pretty dangerous right now! Lets hope it lasts.
It is remarkably similar to "A New Kind Of Science" by Stephen Wolfram, a massive book I read last summer in DC. That book was about the simple patterns that underlie every single component of our world, whether its science, math, psychology, sociology, computer science, economics, etc. Wolfram uses a host of computer tools to analyze these patterns...its worth reading but takes forever.
This business book I've just started reading takes a list of 18 "visionary" companies - companies that have survived multiple CEOs and multiple product cycles, and multiple successes and failures - and compares them to a list of comparable companies that weren't quite "visionary". Juxtaposing the "gold medal winners" with the "bronze and silver winners" in the business world causes simple patterns to emerge...the true reasons behind why some companies stay influential and at the forefront of their respective industries, across a long period of time.
I would tell you what these patterns are, but I've only read the first chapter of the book!
Regardless, the "simple patterns" discussed in the groundbreaking Wolfram book, as well as the "simple patterns" in this massive best-selling business book, seem to make a statement for the importance of simplicity, even on a personal level. And that's what I've been thinking about today.
Today is Lori and my 9 month anniversary! Because Mike is coming into town, we're going to wait til tomorrow to go back to Midtown Cafe, where we had our first date, and then watch some Laci Peterson thing on Dateline tomorrow night that she wants to watch.
Oh yeah, my fantasy team sucks. But the Mariners are on a roll...took both from the Mets today before heading back to Seattle to face the Expos and Braves. Freddy Garcia pitched his first complete game since May 2002, and seeing as how he's been the only weak link on the team, the M's are looking pretty dangerous right now! Lets hope it lasts.
Friday, June 06, 2003
Its proving to be difficult to get the band together to record the second half of the new album, so the first half (5 tracks) will be released in late September by themselves. The "Everything You Know Is Wrong" EP will go on sale exclusively on our webpage, www.jbf500.com, for $3.99.
The "One Day Soon" LP will remain at $6.99.
All Jimmy B and the Fortune 500 songs will become available on iTunes Music Store sometime this fall, so individual tracks can be downloaded for a fixed price, which will probably be $.99 apiece, as set by Apple. That being said, the band is definitely on hiatus for a while.
The "War Machine (remix)" music video is still in the works, and will most likely simply be released on our webpage for free this fall. More info on this later.
Well, even though the band will not be recording this summer, I will be hitting the recording studio to begin work on a solo album. This is going to mainly be a "piano" album, with simply the piano and vocals, as well as occasional synths thrown in, and certainly some guest appearances by friends. It will be released in November 2003.
There will be re-interpretations of JBF500 songs, such as an interesting new version of "Before The Day Is Done" that has lyrics changed to be about divorce, instead of the original version (which will appear on the EYKIW EP in the fall) which was about the war in Iraq. I plan for this to be a duet, but haven't contacted anyone about singing it yet. I got the idea after reading about Hillary Clinton's new book that's coming out...interesting stuff.
There will be about 4 or 5 new songs, about 4 or 5 "re-interpreted" JBF500 songs, and about 4-5 piano instrumentals, for a total of somewhere around 13 or 14 tracks. The disc will go on sale on the www.jbf500.com site, as well as a new as-yet-unveiled page, for $8.99. There will also be some sort of deal where purchase of my solo album or "One Day Soon" will get you the EP for free.
I've been thinking about titles for the solo album, but nothing definitive yet. Recording begins July 11 in Birmingham.
Work here in Nashville at Extreme Writers Group has been going great. They pitch songs to different country artists, and also manage several acts in different genres.
I will start a new job to raise some extra $ on weeknights, working for this company that grades elementary/middle/high school standardized tests from around the nation. I'll work at night, so weekends will still be free and my internship isn't affected.
Lori and I are still dating...she is working at Dillard's at Green Hills Mall. We will be going to Arlington to visit her family over July 4th weekend, that will be fun. We'll even get to see the Mariners destroy the pathetic Rangers in the process!
Current book: "Built To Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies"
Current album: Really not enjoying the latest Train disc very much, although "Calling All Angels" is just a great song
Current movie: Animatrix is incredible! Go get it!
I'll update this blog regularly throughout the summer as I have time. If you're coming through Nashville, let me know!!
Bradley
The "One Day Soon" LP will remain at $6.99.
All Jimmy B and the Fortune 500 songs will become available on iTunes Music Store sometime this fall, so individual tracks can be downloaded for a fixed price, which will probably be $.99 apiece, as set by Apple. That being said, the band is definitely on hiatus for a while.
The "War Machine (remix)" music video is still in the works, and will most likely simply be released on our webpage for free this fall. More info on this later.
Well, even though the band will not be recording this summer, I will be hitting the recording studio to begin work on a solo album. This is going to mainly be a "piano" album, with simply the piano and vocals, as well as occasional synths thrown in, and certainly some guest appearances by friends. It will be released in November 2003.
There will be re-interpretations of JBF500 songs, such as an interesting new version of "Before The Day Is Done" that has lyrics changed to be about divorce, instead of the original version (which will appear on the EYKIW EP in the fall) which was about the war in Iraq. I plan for this to be a duet, but haven't contacted anyone about singing it yet. I got the idea after reading about Hillary Clinton's new book that's coming out...interesting stuff.
There will be about 4 or 5 new songs, about 4 or 5 "re-interpreted" JBF500 songs, and about 4-5 piano instrumentals, for a total of somewhere around 13 or 14 tracks. The disc will go on sale on the www.jbf500.com site, as well as a new as-yet-unveiled page, for $8.99. There will also be some sort of deal where purchase of my solo album or "One Day Soon" will get you the EP for free.
I've been thinking about titles for the solo album, but nothing definitive yet. Recording begins July 11 in Birmingham.
Work here in Nashville at Extreme Writers Group has been going great. They pitch songs to different country artists, and also manage several acts in different genres.
I will start a new job to raise some extra $ on weeknights, working for this company that grades elementary/middle/high school standardized tests from around the nation. I'll work at night, so weekends will still be free and my internship isn't affected.
Lori and I are still dating...she is working at Dillard's at Green Hills Mall. We will be going to Arlington to visit her family over July 4th weekend, that will be fun. We'll even get to see the Mariners destroy the pathetic Rangers in the process!
Current book: "Built To Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies"
Current album: Really not enjoying the latest Train disc very much, although "Calling All Angels" is just a great song
Current movie: Animatrix is incredible! Go get it!
I'll update this blog regularly throughout the summer as I have time. If you're coming through Nashville, let me know!!
Bradley
