GEMA 2007: Crazy reminisence of my college days… April 19, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, Gadgets, Malaysian music scene, Rants, events, music.1 comment so far
I received a call from Nitrus’ manager informing that a few bands will be performing in MMU on the 18th of April in conjunction with the university’s talentime competition. I was feeling kinda excited as I havent watched any bands performing live for quite a while now. So yesterday, after work, I drove all the way to Cyberjaya for the gig. The bands that were scheduled for performance was 6ixth Sense, Nitrus and Butterfingers.
I arrived quite late, as I was feeling a bit tired and hungry, I paid the cover ( RM 8 ) and slowly walked into the hall and grabbed the best seat possible, which was quite close to the stage and adjacent to a projection screen. The show had already started with lucky draws and bad stand up jokes to kill time before the actual band performances. It really reminded me of my good ol’ university days, the vibe, the girls, the adrenaline and the funky smell.
The first band, 6ixth sense went up stage after a great performance of some local college band ( great, by my definition of some band that is not professional artists…)
I have never seen them perform live before and I should say that their performance was oozing with raw energy, I really think that they’ve managed to capture the crowd. The vocalist was an Indonesian, and his accent wowed the girls, as usual.
Nitrus came up on stage and performed three songs, one of them was a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s. Verdict: Chicks dig rockstars no matter how they sound or look like.
I sneaked in backstage, meeting the rest of the bands and crew. I missed Butterfingers though, ah, I’ve seen them countless times and I still think they’re awesome.
The night ended with happy thoughts, even though I cant remember where I actually parked my car, this is worrying, as it happens to me many times and I am not on any funky substances. I finally found my car after tiring “campus excursions”, ans as soon as I know it, I was already snoring the rest of the night away…Wait, how did I know that I was snoring?
Youtube goes mobile March 29, 2007
Posted by ashz in Gadgets, Mobile content, Music 2.0, Video content, downloads, music business, technology, web 2.0.add a comment
GigaOm reported that Youtube will go mobile in June 2007, one the exclusivity clause on the company’s mobile video deal with Verizon Wireless expires. The service will be available for European users in May. Youtube has already been working closely with mobile carriers and Nokia in providing 800 “editorial picks” videos. The end goal would be a true mobile access to Youtube’s gargantuan video catalog.
This move will open up updated video streaming and other endless possibilities.
I see this as a great potential for artists to promote their work and content and would definitely have a wider audience once youtube is “mobilized”. I can definitely foresee active mobile content and artist advertising and promotion activities in the very near future. Perhaps, strategic brand partnerships between record labels and big brands would be a reality. I also think that it could well be a great marketing tool for record companies and new artists to test their product to the masses. However, it is yet to be implemented and effects of this move is yet to be observed. I would definitely be one of them…
Mspot: The answer to mobile music streaming….well, other than the Iphone March 13, 2007
Posted by ashz in Gadgets, Mobile content, Music 2.0, mp3, music, music business, technology, technopreneur, web 2.0.1 comment so far
Mspot, a new app for mobile phones, enables users to stream music from a PC to any mobile devices. It consists of a PC music management app and a mobile client. When a user hits ‘play’ on the handset client, Remix starts streaming a song, while downloading the full track – and the rest of the playlist – in the background.
Tracks are encoded to a manageable file size while keeping users happy with the audio fidelity. The technology is entirely software based and was inspired by the Iphone. Mspot believes that the introduction of another media product in the market will definitely offer more choices to the existing mobile consumer.
Mspot aims to expand the capacity of its features by offering abilities to stream video and general mobile content as well. Partnerships are inevitable and the future is bright for this Palo Alto based company. I hope that this technology will be available in Asia in the not so near future.
Check them out here
Music stuff to watch out for this year! February 23, 2007
Posted by ashz in DRM, Dj Gear, Gadgets, Mobile content, Music 2.0, dj, downloads, mp3, music, music business, technology, web 2.0.3 comments
I think this year will be a great year for digital music development, the fact that many music 2.0 companies has brought some change in how we experience, use and view music is a bold statement that digital music is here to stay, so ive listed some stuff to watch out for.
- Legal P2P networks (Snocap)
- Music widgets (Sonific)
- Playlists sharing
- Music softwares, new VSTis
- The fusion of DJ and VJ technologies
- Advanced content for mobile phones
- DRM free music
- Mergers
- Music social networking sites
- Podcasts, videocasts
- A new digital music business model (Still crossing my fingers!)
- Music communities
- Gadgets (Iphone)
Lets just wait and see how the year ends for the digital music business!
Mobile phone music piracy - A new wave in Asian music piracy? February 22, 2007
Posted by ashz in DRM, Gadgets, Mobile content, Music 2.0, downloads, music, music business, music piracy.add a comment
The hi-tech mobile phone that you just bought, bundled with never seen before features which enables users to download rich mobile content and full songs on your mobile phone might be the latest nightmare in the Asian music scene which sees a neverending battle in curbing music piracy in Asia.
According to a study of the global music market in 2006 released recently by IFPI, the industry body representing the recording industry worldwide, in some European countries and in Asia, mobile music is developing faster than online music services, boosted by higher penetration of phones compared to portable players or broadband, and by ease of payment.
The sheer size of the mobile market presents the music industry with enormous opportunities, particularly as handsets develop to fully incorporate music. Today there are over 1.5 billion mobile phone subscribers worldwide, a 50 percent increase since 2002.
“Asia leads the way, accounting for half of all mobile subscriptions in 2005,” the study said. “Penetration of music-capable phones in Asia is also the highest in the world, given consumers’ willingness to pay more for their phones.” In Japan, for example, mobile music revenues totaled $211 million (96 percent of digital music revenues) in the first nine months of 2005.
As impressive as the numbers may be, the number of online music piracy in Asia is soaring. More people are only willing to listen to music but are unwilling to buy them, depite efforts by Soundbuzz and music.bluehyppo to offer legitimate music to the Asian market. Soundbuzz, claiming to be the biggest Asian music download site, came up with a brilliant idea of using OMA 1.0 protection technologies which wraps restrictive data to downloaded songs on mobile phones which prohibits file transfers.
What I really think is that it is a very hard road in battling online music piracy, and with the emergence of new technologies, it only takes the concept further, despite efforts to fight music piracy. In Asia, the only way to minimize piracy is through strict legislations and education. Since we can never fight a concept with technology, we have to device another powerful concept, thus, gives us the edge in this neverending battle.
Humble suggestions - Cheaper prices, cheaper prices, cheaper prices….oh did I mention cheaper prices?
Attack of the killer Ipods! February 11, 2007
Posted by ashz in Gadgets, Music 2.0, mp3, music.add a comment
The Ipod revolution. It just gives an amusing meaning to the saying ‘Cant live with ‘em, cant live without ‘em’. Recent reports about people getting hit by incoming busses and vehicles have made New York in proposing a ban for Ipods while crossing the streets. Failure to do so might result in a $100 fine. According to CNN.com, this move is not an intrusion, but a social, citizenry protection. We might see ‘Ipod wearers crossing lanes’ soon.
In Australia, a teenager’s ipod went hiroshima on him when he tried to mend his ailing Ipod in his bedroom, a local fireman spokesperson told the press that the faulty device was due to the device being accidently washed in the washing machine by the teenager’s mother. The teenager was treated for minor injuries. Luckily the mother and the washing machine came out unharmed.
Digital music players might be the major cause for hearing loss in the future. According to experts, tens of thousands of people are causing serious damage to themselves, as cranking up volumes above the permissable limit may result in tinnitus and loss of hearing in later life. Studies showed that the Ipod is more dangerous than cigarettes. Future health campaigns with slogans like: ‘ Ipod may cause cancer’ may be visible in the near future.
