Global Gathering rocks! October 31, 2007
Posted by ashz in Uncategorized.add a comment
I arrived in Melaka at around 4 PM, and no, I didn’t manage to get a room in A Famosa as it was already jam packed after the 3rd week Global Gathering was announced. I brought some spare T-shirts and a lot of bottled water, as I received advice that one bottle costs around 12 bucks at the event. Crazy. So I went straight to the entrance and cleared myself in, in wasn’t too hard though, despite the strict security check, everything was good as fried chicken.
The weather was hot and icky, but the worst thing was the wet and muddy ground. I was lucky to bring a pair of flip-flops. People were starting to buzz around the area, inquisitive and very eager to party, but Lo! getting all excited under the hot sun is not a very good option. There were booths of all sorts, I was nearly in tears when I saw the ‘DjDownload’ and ‘Metamobile’ logo on all of the banners and buntings at the event. I heard that the flyers are going to be distributed in Don’t Panic! packs so I assume it’s sorted.
I went to the Global Arena first. Nothing. I believe that all the action is scheduled for the night. Godskitchen was quiet too. Only TQX, Freedom and the Foambar was alive. People were a bit curious about the foam bar. Tsk. The party is starting to warm up as inquisitive punters started jumping into the foam
Fast forward.
The event that night was really good I should say, watching The Shapeshifters and Sander Van Doorn was just mind-blowing, the only setback was the muddy ground and very stale tasting burgers which costs RM5. Dagnamit!
I ended up really sloshed and bugged the Don’t Panic! crew to offer me free shelter and some chocolate marshmallows at their tent. Hustling at it’s best! So we ended up chatting for a couple of hours and watching people getting drenched in mud, pissing off the authorities and looking at cigarette chicks in skimpy skirts. Ah well, I suppose everyone was having fun in their own way.
There were huge human catapults of some sort beside the other tents, watching em being shot to the sky really makes me nervous. Yeah, I have to admit, I am not a fan of extreme activities.
We headed back to KL around 3.30 AM. I was too tired to drive so I handed the wheel to my girl, and before I knew it, we arrived at my condo. Well, I dozed off, and my girl was kinda pissed..so yeah..
I dreamt of people looking like glow sticks. So scary.
p/s: Checkout the photos on my Flickr! Sidebar
DjDownload.com Mobile : First time ever in Asia! October 23, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, Malaysian music scene, Mobile content, Music 2.0, dj, downloads, events, mp3, music, music business, music piracy, technology.add a comment
Here ye, here ye!
I’m proud to present my latest project: djdownload.com Mobile.
Ok now for some brief history…
It all began when I found out that I had run out of stuff to play for my Dj sets…
I discovered DjDownload.com but the prices were quite painful for a once broke student like me, so I had a plan, to bring these guys available with prices adjusted to suit the local market, so there begins my journey
I’ve imagined Djdownload.com to come to our shores (Malaysia) 3 years ago and I have been emailing the guys from Djdownload for an exclusive Djdownload Asia site to be set up thus enabling us deprived Asians to buy Dance music at a cheaper “Asian” rate. Things were really slow as DjDownload felt that piracy was the utmost concerning factor, plus they didn’t see why they should lower down their prices, my angle was cheaper prices equals volume and the much cliche’ d ‘educating the public’ phrase written all over my plan. They requested tons and tons of marketing plans, business plans and sales forecasts, I was bashed up, but I soldiered on to convince those guys that there is still hope at the end of a very bleak tunnel.
Fast forward. The boom of mobile content in Asia marks a dawn of a new beginning to sales of music related products, Telcos were investing a lot in advertising, promotions and marketing initiatives, and the Major labels were still clueless as always. There! Thats my angle! I prepared a new marketing plan and proposed revenue shares between Maxis as the official Telco, DjDownload.com, Metadome as my mobile partner and myself as the consultant.
The rest is history….
So, I present you, my first pilot project with dance music, this time, with a partnership with Pervert designs for the Global Gathering event (Btw, the flyers will be distributed at the door of the event and mobile cards containing the download codes, so be a part of this history, you might never know whom you might charm at the event…HA!):
I want to believe that this is the first event in the world that features mobile content exclusively for a rave, well, at least in Asia. I don’t want to sound too excited, sheesh, I’m always excited with new stuff…To add more to my glee, Maxis is now offering DjDownload.com’s chillout selections for a new (well, not so new) product called ‘background music’, how cool is that!
O god, I need to stop this, my post is starting to sound like a marketing pitch!
p/s: Point to wap.musicunlimited.com.my on your phone’s browser and click on the music tab, you may not find naked photos of Angelina Jolie, but hey, gems come in all shapes, sizes, formats, bit rates, bla bla bla
Among some event highlights to watch out for this year! October 9, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, Malaysian music scene, Mobile content, Music 2.0, events, music, music business.2 comments
I’m working on some secret technological advancement with Kenneth from Pervert Designs as their official mobile partner, so yeah, it’s worth the mention that this event is going to push my baby, DjDownload.com mobile to the masses, owh did I tell you that DjDownload’s background music is already available on www.musicunlimited.com.my? Owh that is another story.
Anyway, Global Gathering this year will be held at A’Famosa, Melaka and expected turnout of 30,000 party goers. Not bad. This is an annual event not to be missed, one word of advice: Bring your own bottled water!
Register yourselves here for goodies:
Next up we have Live and Loud! Kuala Lumpur 2007,
The biggest music festival in South East Asia. Expect 10 days of music, seminars and various activities to participate in this much anticipated event. Among the artists scheduled to come are Whitney, KCI and JOJO, Kool and the gang, Shaggy, Elliot Yamin, Dionne Warwick and many many more. To be honest, I’m really looking forward to check out Maliq & D’Essentials during the jazz session which is going to be in Zouk. 80 bucks worth spending people! Owh and tickets are available on the 15th October onwards so book early to avoid disappointment!
I’m not gonna spoil the fun, check em out here:
I so need to lose myself….
A new business model for ringback tones in Malaysia will be unveiled soon! October 2, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, Malaysian music scene, Mobile content, Music 2.0, downloads, music, music business.1 comment so far
A new business model for ringback tones will be announced soon, word has it that 15th November is the official announcement to all record labels, content providers and the public. This is from a very heated and long negotiation between RIM and the local Telcos. The issue was subscription sharing of the service and hopefully, this should resolve some issues pertaining to the constant struggle of RIM to fight for a win win deal.
Initially, users would have to pay RM3.00 per ring back tone/ Caller ring tone and another RM3.00 for the subscription fee, regardless of how many ring back tones that users have purchased.
I heard that the prices of RBTs will drop to RM2 and users have to pay a subscription fee of RM1 for each subsequent song, so say you purchased 3 RBTs, u need to pay RM 4 per month. To be honest, I’m not really sure how far this is correct, but according to the Telcos this would ultimately mean a more steady revenue stream for content providers and record labels.
I shall keep you guys posted!
