Some random thoughts and ideas on music 2.0 November 7, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, DRM, Malaysian music scene, Mobile content, Music 2.0, downloads, mp3, music, music business, music piracy, technology, technopreneur, web 2.0.4 comments
1- Bands should go Indie, and treat their music as water, yeah a resource which should be managed and marketed in volume, not per copies, bundling and cross selling their products as an “experience” is the way to go
2- Telcos and brands should start exploring the dance community as another untapped market, the demographics are just right for aggressive product cross selling
3- Mobile advertising is an interesting idea to explore
4- A flat music subscription fee for unlimited music downloads is another solution against music piracy in Asia
5- According to Gerd Leonhard, mobile devices are the new Internet platform, companies should harness this new territory NOW!
6- I strongly urge Major labels to work together to develop a competitor portal to itunes, this time, instead of developing another ipod, venture into mobile devices and interoperability
7- I think there is no passion in the music business anymore, well, at least in Malaysia. The executives don’t even know what the band sounds like, its just dollars and cents talk. So angry.
8- Events and concerts should start selling mobile content of their featured artist and bundle it with other merchandise. My personal case study on this is with the recent Global Gathering. 1146 ring back tone downloads in 2 days is not bad at all..
9- Mr. Sandy Monteiro, thank you for the new RBT model, now THAT new model really makes sense. I apologize for the bashing, I received info from very bad sources. As for Maxis, this new model makes more sense and on behalf of the music industry, I totally support it. I can only publish the new business mode after it is made public. Just watch out for this space!
*This is subject to changes from Maxis
** I might be removing this info if Maxis feels that it is inappropriate for me to publish this
10- I think Maliq & D’Essentials’ new album is totally AWESOME!!
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
Celldorado.com- A cool mobile content website which lacks lustre August 29, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, Malaysian music scene, Mobile content, Music 2.0, downloads, music, music business, technology, web 2.0.16 comments
I stumbled upon Celldorado.com a few days ago. It is a company specializing in mobile content which operates globally. Exploring the site was painless and the design is pleasant to the eye. I wanted to blog about these guys for quite some time now but I forgot all about them…Until I received a newsletter from them. I have to admit that the newsletter was brilliant!
The newsletter enables users to directly download the mobile content by typing in their mobile number. This concept, I ultimately feel is very effective in capitalizing on consumer’s impulse buying habits, but hey, the content sold by Celldorado themselves are top-notched! They offer standard subscription models via local Telcos using their own 3 series short code. The newsletters are professionally designed and has a minimal feel to it. Something which I long for in newsletters, as compared to boxy cluttered designs.
However….
I really feel that Celdorado needs to inject some cool factors in it, such as a company blog, an option to subscribe to their newsletters which I think is the main driving force for them, probably some insights of the people behind the company. A podcast streaming their global content probably, and how about providing a complete catalogue instead of just listing down your previous newsletters? how about some free downloads to entice users to experience your content? I would also like to suggest a dedicated section for media relations, an ability to download a PDF of your press release would be good for us bloggers. Instead of putting all those country flags at the bottom of the site (I know you guys are trying to highlight your presence in different countries) Why don’t you have an option function to select which country users reside in? It would be more clutter free. The fonts, omigod, the fonts, change the fonts! And one final but most important thing, an FAQ section. No doubt the website is functional but I believe people like you and I would appreciate more if we could ‘Experience’ rather than just browsing through. Don’t get me wrong, I love what you guys are doing, it just needs the ’sticky’ factor to ensure repeated visits.
Kudos guys!!
p/s: I think I know who is behind this…If you are reading this, congratulations! 
Will digital music downloads affect CD sales?- Some people just dont get it! August 9, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, DRM, General, Malaysian music scene, Mobile content, Music 2.0, downloads, mp3, music, music business, technology, web 2.0.add a comment
I read an article in Berita Harian covering the effects of digital music on CD sales. The article mentioned Metadome Sdn Bhd as the pioneer CP that embarked on releasing our very first digital release band. The article also interviewed Mr Sandy Monteiro on his take regarding digital music and his views on the plunge of CD sales in Malaysia. According to the article, he mentioned that CD sales is not and will not be affected by the advent of digital releases and new technologies which should be embraced as part of our consumer lifestyle on how we should view music. Big ups to him for highlighting the effects of blogs as a formidable marketing tool and that veterans in the industry should step down thus giving way for new blood to run the business. This is the first article from Malaysia that suggests to embrace technology rather that going against it.
I have a feeling that the reporter (Farihad Shalla Mahmud) didn’t really understand what he was writing about and it showed his lack of research of digital music and the advent of this new industry buzzword. One of his questions was whether digital music will directly contribute to the “death” of physical releases. I strongly feel the he still thinks digital music as a threat rather then an advancement. Bollocks.
Another “interesting” question from Farihad: How would the masses respond to digital music?
Blardy har har. He failed to grasp the concept of what digital music is all about. Its not a genre or a product, it’s a delivery format. This is so embarrassing coming from a so called entertainment reporter.
Mr. Sandy, if you are reading this, even if there are still demand for cassettes or CDs like you mentioned, then why on earth did Tower records has already went out of business in the States? You mentioned that the digital music format can co-exist with Cds and Cassettes, but don’t you think in less than 10 years time, CDs and Cassettes would be as dead as Vinyl records or hey, remember the cartridge format? My view on this is that digital releases wont “kill” the latter format, it’s what you call evolution of the way consumers consume, view, discover, and experience music.
So here are my queries and suggestions:
1- Why haven’t major labels setup an online music store? This would balance the competition with Steve jobs…heh
2- When will the major labels offer music subscription services?
3- If CD sales are still promising, then why on earth is Eminem suing Apple?
4- Mr. Sandy, RM29.90 for a CD is still expensive. I have an idea for you, if you still feel that CD sales are the way to go, then lets do this: A store which offers consumers to pick and choose their own tracks which is priced according to song popularity or market demand, and on the spot burning facilities. Users will then may have the option to choose how many tracks they want on their CD, design their own cover art, or print the album cover complete with tracklistings, lyrics, images and probably other customization services. Its simply similar to a buffet style store selling music. Perhaps you might want to consider selling on the spot mobile content as well, bla bla bla…My 2 cents
What do the rest of you think?
6ixth sense- Top Download on Musicunlimited.com.my! August 6, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, General, Malaysian music scene, Mobile content, Music 2.0, downloads, mp3, music, music business, technology, web 2.0.2 comments
This is some good news! remember my industry experiment with a band called 6ixth sense? Well, I basically just discovered that they are one of the top most downloaded band on musicunlimited.com.my! Horrayy!
So…
Will this be the dawn of music marketing in Malaysia/Asia? We shall see. More updates coming. Watch this space!
A software that can calculate your song’s hit potential…Alien technology at it’s best! August 6, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, General, Malaysian music scene, Music 2.0, downloads, mp3, music, music business, technology, technopreneur, web 2.0.1 comment so far
I know it sounds crazy, but Hit Song Science or HSS for short, which was featured at London Calling this year has caused considerable buzz among industry experts. The software was developed through extensive mathematical research on other hit songs. Complex algorithms will be used to compare between your uploaded song with other hit songs similar to your song’s algorithms. A score will be give as in a scale of 1-10, if your song scores 7.5 and above, then, according to the software, would be an instant hit and would require minimum marketing initiatives to launch the song. Of your song scores below 7.5, then your song might need more marketing initiatives to launch the song to become a hit. Crazy, I know.
Your song will then be put among clusters in a “universe” of songs. If your song happens to be among the “hit” cluster of similar sounding songs, then your song is considered worthy as a hit. This is again based on the algorithms.
‘The HSS software compares the sonic characteristics of a new piece of music with a database of the analyzed data of music that has demonstrated commercial success in the past, either through record sales, digital downloads or radio airplay.’
A report will be produced once the analysis is completed and the report will contain your score, and a list of songs in proximity with your song.
The software, or should I say service is targeted to A&R executives or record companies to gauge the potential of the song before it is released to the market. Success stories of the software includes Norah Jones, Mika and Ben Novak. They claimed that they’ve predicted the hit potential of songs by the artists even before it was released for airplay.
At the moment, the service is being offered free for public use, but the reports given wouldn’t be as detailed as in the paid version. There is even an affiliate program for other online music portals.
Generally, I have some issues.
1- Can the software analyze a song based on it’s lyrics? Song songs have minimal musical elements but is driven more by its lyrics. Can it analyze rap music?
2- Will it ultimately make all songs sound the same? Or rather, do all hit songs sound the same?
3- Will we become too dependent on softwares to dictate our listening preferences and how WE define a hit?
4- Is everything in this world that mathematical?
It’s an intriguing piece of software nevertheless, I shall try it myself with some songs tonight and we shall see the outcome of this.
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
Never have I loved a music website so much until I found…. April 25, 2007
Posted by ashz in General, Music 2.0, mp3, music, music business, technology, web 2.0.5 comments
Musicovery!! The epitome of music discovery and quality ear wax! I discovered this nifty application/flash thingy, heck, I don’t know what to call it. Basically, it features a “tree” like visual representation of songs compiled by genre, by tempo, by mood (yes, by mood!) etc. One look at it and it reminds me of a TV remote control, it features a very simple interface and makes music browsing a breeze. Mind you, it doesn’t have the facility to browse individual music in a fixed playlist, so you wont know what sort of surprises you’re gonna get!
The selected music may be categorized by ‘Hit’, ‘Non-hit’ and ‘Discovery’. Checking the ‘Hit’ box will result in a “tree” of hit songs by genre. Checking on ‘Non-Hit’ will, well, feature a tree of non-hit songs, but worth listening, clicking on the ‘Discovery’ option ultimately will blow your mind away with hidden gems and obscure sounds. (Try checking all three options 
The concept is a sound palette of all sorts. The good thing about Musicovery is that users wont be restricted to listening to one genre only, which is a great way for self music discovery. The quality is in Lo-Fi, and users need to pay a reasonable amount for Hi-Fi quality streaming. I personally think that this is not a big issue, as it’s an online radio anyway, so as long as I get minimal streaming interruptions, I’m fine with it. I was using Winamp’s shoutcast online radio for quite sometime, and I have to say….The streaming sucks.
I have some issues on how they categorize tracks , (Michael Jackson-Scream, under ‘Funk’?) but ultimately, it aint so bad.
I feel that Musicovery has potential. So go ahead, mail the link to friends, digg it, blink it, whatever, if you love music and you have this constant hunger for more offerings, this is the place for you!
EMI’s DRM drop: An illusion April 4, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, DRM, General, Malaysian music scene, Mobile content, Music 2.0, downloads, mp3, music, music business, music piracy, technology.add a comment
So…EMI has finally decided to drop DRM. Should be good news eh? After much thought, I decided not to be too excited over this move. Since tunes will be 30 cents more, in return for “higher music quality” to the consumers, an illusion that Steve Apple thinks that this is a win-win deal. Truthfully speaking, I don’t think that we can actually tell the difference of the music quality, not to mention that this means more bandwith is needed to download the files (Broadband penetration in Malaysia for example is only 2%). Brilliant.The question is, is this move really beneficial to the Asian music industry? My take on this is that since it is already priced at RM5 for full track downloads, a further hike in the prices wouldn’t be very good news to the Asian music consumers. The issue now is not just dropping DRM, but I’m proposing suitable Asian prices as well. Ultimately, am I saying that EMI’s latest move is useless? I dont think so, but if we can carefully analyze the situation, not only we are back to square one, but damaging to the Asian music industry. *sigh*
Here are the key factors to be taken into consideration if we were to promote music consumerism in Asia (not limited to) :
1- Dropping DRM
2- Lowering the prices to suit Asian pricing models Vs Income per capita
3- Lowering revenue shares in mobile downloads to 55% (Currently, it is at 62%!)
EMI finally drops DRM!!! April 3, 2007
Posted by ashz in DRM, General, Music 2.0, downloads, mp3, music, music business, music piracy, technology.2 comments
I read this good news from gerd’s latest blog entry a couple of seconds ago and to tell you the truth, I’m delighted to read about this, but there is a catch, the DRM free music will cost 30 cents more than the 99 cents that they are accustomed to. EMI also claims that the newly priced files will be better in terms of aural quality. Steve Jobs sees this as a win win situation: the record labels gets a bit more money, and consumers get more convenience and better quality.
EMI CEO Eric Nicoli believes that by improving the product, he will persuade more music fans not to steal. At a press conference in London he said, “The best way to combat illegal traffic is to make legal content available at decent value, and conveniently.”
The other major labels however, are sitting back and watching the effects of this move, and according to Analyst James McQuivey, of Forrester Research, He says, “Six months from now, there will be proof as to whether this was the right idea or not.”
