The decline of the record industry and how I’m feeling today July 19, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, DRM, General, Malaysian music scene, Music 2.0, downloads, mp3, music, music business, music piracy.4 comments
I woke up this morning feeling inspirational. When I was driving to work, I had some serious thought on what should be done to make the music Industry better. It was the longest drive to work ever. I’m starting to feel angry at myself for not finding any answers. The more I blog and research, the more my head starts to fill itself with anger and negativity. My blog has turned into something very negative for the past few months and I strongly feel that this is not healthy. I realized that if I don’t put a stop to this, death threats will fill up my junk box.
So…..
I’m going to turn this around and start offering insights and solutions from now onwards on possible angles that we can tackle in order to up the local music industry, before I begin, please study this diagram:
…And here are some facts on the worldwide music industry now:
1- Tower records has went out of business, and followed by 2,699 other record stores in the US alone
2- Even sales from digital music can’t recoup the losses from plunging CD sales
3- More than 5000 record company employees have been laid-off since 2000 and the remaining suffer from an “existiantial crisis”
4- The Majors killed the industry and themselves when they decided to sue Napster, costing them unrecoverable US billions
5- Like it or not, but the Industry’s fate is hanging onto iTunes, EMI took the move of lifting off DRM to make way for Apple’s Fairplay
6- The Majors are fighting a losing battle with….the internet users
7- Music CD sales in 2000 were being saved by Nsync, like it or not, boybands were the true heroes
8-…Eminem followed in 2002, but CD sales were starting to plunge
9-When Starbucks signed Paul McCartney and Video game companies are starting a label, you know that there is something really really wrong somewhere
10-Music now has no real economic value, just emotional value
11-On a local tip, word has it that Sandy Monteiro is leaving for Indonesia. There goes another forward thinker in our Industry..eh, what industry?
There you have it, the current scenario of our industry, so in days and weeks to come, I shall try to give some suggestions on how we can help and ascertain the future of malaysian music…crossing fingers
Oh, you can read the full article of my summary here
An impressive collection of cool music sites July 18, 2007
Posted by ashz in General, Mobile content, Music 2.0, downloads, mp3, music, music business, startups, technology, technopreneur, web 2.0.add a comment
My first Industry experiment is finally here! July 16, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, General, Malaysian music scene, Mobile content, Music 2.0, downloads, events, mp3, music, music business.add a comment
Phew! After 4 months of extreme planning and brainstorming, finally, the launch of my first band was a success. The event was in Planet Hollywood, Kuala Lumpur last Friday (13th July 2007) and was considered a milestone in the history of the Malaysian music industry. It was really a big statement as the band was and still is the first band to be digitally released and backed by a reputable Telco. The evening was packed with journalists and everyone who is anyone in the media field. It was a rainy Friday but the event went smoothly nevertheless. My mates from Maxis was there and they couldn’t help smiling, well, not only they were part of the history but because all the fiasco was finally over.
This band of mine shall be my first industry experiment, a band which will feature mobile downloads as the main distribution channel and music discovery for all local music lovers. I strongly believe that the band will be a classic industry example for others to follow. Events and showcases are being lined up so as to push the band further. Oh, did I mention that their Video clip will be available for download soon via Hotlink’s music unlimited music portal?
I was interviewed by national television that day asking me on what will the future hold for this new business model, I gladly filled them with the juice of this venture.
So watch this space as more updates will be coming soon!
Reasons on why you should go INDIE July 12, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, Malaysian music scene, Music 2.0, downloads, mp3, music, music business, technopreneur.1 comment so far
The music industry is like an Octopus, dangling tentacles trying to grab every single aspect of the business, and in the end, losing out on many aspects of the game. This is were you see all of the resources are drained. This is the level of focus that the big labels have. This is ‘THE’ Industry…
Facts:
1- EMI Malaysia has stop signing new artists and has imposed major cutbacks on production costs
2- Repackaged albums are the latest frenzy, or so the Major labels over here thinks
3- Major label distributors are an embarrassment
4- Major labels think revenues are ONLY based on music volume as per copies
5- With the advent of the internet, self-promotion is the way to go
…..And these were nicked from various resources
1. Even if an artist is unfortunate enough to get signed, the label is not required to produce him.
2. If an artist is produced, the label is not required to release the recording.
3. If the recording is released, the label is not required to promote it.
4. Just because a major promotes a release label, does not guarantee its success.
5. If you are even “unlucky” enough to reach the 4th step, with its above result, where do you believe you will be shortly after your release’s failure? If this does occur, you should consider yourself “lucky.”
So if you still think that your life will be sorted by signing to the Major labels, think again, the fact is, and they dont want you to know it, is that they are really scrambling to find the next best business model to sustain their business, things like revenue drawdowns, “Advertising and Promotions”, marketing and all that crap worries them. Ultimately, lets just try to look at the bigger picture: They are not selling your music, they are trying to maximize the sales of a plastic disc containing YOUR data to the masses.
This is why I strongly believe that there is NO EXCUSE for you ‘NOT’ to self promote and further sell content directly. Things are faster these days, but I’m sure you know about that.
Note to the Major labels:
In the digital world, the language is MB and GIG, so why don’t we start thinking in that language eh? *hint* In the real world, do we charge water bills to the consumers as per usage or per volume?
A new music business model for Asia is finally here! July 11, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, DRM, General, Malaysian music scene, Mobile content, Music 2.0, downloads, mp3, music, music business, technopreneur.add a comment
Note to self…
Ive been toying with a lot of new music business models lately and eventually, after many hours of rethinking new strategies and approaches, I think that its finally here. Here are my objectives:
1- To think outside of the box or/and recreating the box
2- To fuse traditional music management and new media strategies
3- To re-brand music as an intangible asset, taking digital to its fullest sense
4- To associate the artist/band with Telco marketing initiatives
Action plan:
Metadome discovered a band that we believe can be pushed to their highest possible potential, invested in them and marketed them as the first full digitally released product to the masses, we created buzz among the Telcos and managed to push them as artist of the month. This move will be paralleled with our media marketing plans to further push the band. The big picture is to maximize mobile downloads and NOT concentrating on their physical releases. This classic model is based on artists such as Tila Tequila and of course, the beloved Crazy frog (The crazy frog franchise is owned by Warner music in Malaysia). Viral marketing will be explored fully, thus, bringing the potential market closer to the artists. This in turn will attract sponsors, which they have. Revenue will be generated from mobile downloads and this will result in NO participation from 3rd party distributors, heck, WE shall become the distributor, hence, minimizing the length of the revenue chain.
Impacts:
1- Minimizes piracy due from content control
2- Tapping into the Telco’s resources
3- No DRM, thus, all the consequences from this crippling technology can be avoided
4- 100% resources can be channeled to the bands development and creativity
5- Closer ties with the media
1,000,000- Reviving the Industry
I wont disclose more as this trade secret will become our recipe for success!
I shall reveal more on the band next week! Until then, stay tuned for this FIRST ever industry experiment
BLA BLA BLA BLA..
Major Labels pull out content from Maxis- The act of utter stupidity July 3, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, General, Malaysian music scene, Mobile content, Music 2.0, Rants, downloads, mp3, music, music business.add a comment
Current situation: As of 3oth June onwards, all music content from all major labels under Maxis is pulled down. Word has it that Sandy Monteiro sent an open letter as a representative from all major labels threatening to pull down all music content if Maxis were to refuse to share their existing user subscription. What a piece of work this guy. As a consequence, Maxis saw this as an unfair “offer” and refused to renegotiate any new terms with RIM.
The Major labels fail to see that new media is actually value added services and does not relate to user subscriptions. If they were to pull out, it would mean death to the labels, not the Telco. Hah!
Dont you think that if it werent for Maxis, music sales would definitely suffer anyway? Imagine the amount of losses…The major contributor for music revenue in Malaysia at the moment is from mobile content…And what were these guys from the labels were doing before that? Repackaging old releases and munching doughnuts in the office.
I totally see this as an opportunity for Indie labels to flourish and expand. Done are the days when major labels rule the market (by not doing anything). This scenario is a classic case of greed, and biting the hand that feeds you will not do any good!
