I am 168 hours Nicotine free and I am losing my mind!! November 19, 2007
Posted by ashz in General, Rants, Video content, web 2.0.1 comment so far
Hi! How are you guys doing? I have not been blogging for a long time as you can tell as I was recovering from very extreme side effects of trying to quit smoking ( I have stopped for 7 days now, and I still have the withdrawals) and loads of pending paperwork and media planning. Seriously. More things are piling up and I really think that I should chill for a moment to ease my brains…So to start things slow, I am just going to share some videos that I amused me over the past few days:
The Air Guitarist:
Check out the Hello Kitty breast plate and the pants, was he really tearing it up or was he scratching his…well you get the idea.
Now check out this one, a classic Indonesian Dangdut song:
The hair and the pants are mindblowing!
But the winner of my weekly brains blender video award goes to:
Please…Just check out the lyrics!
So now we know where Michael Jackson ripped the song from!
Must…Not…Think…of….Cigarettes….
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!!
Parkdrive and I- A very special trip to Jakarta November 2, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, Dj Gear, General, Music 2.0, Rants, music, web 2.0.3 comments
Remember Parkdrive that I blogged about awhile ago? No? Let me refresh your mind, I discovered this band a couple of months ago by accident. I was blown away with their production quality and sound that I decided to contact them via Myspace (Yeah I know, that was so cliche’ and pathetic…) and we remained in contact.
Lo and Behold! God works in very very mysterious ways. Juno, the main man behind the band and the Managing Director of Gowamusic, was somehow stranded in KL while he was on his way to Melbourne, so he called me and we hooked up. I was kinda nervous at first, knowing that we have never met before, but hey, it’s natural selection, we became buds in no time at all. He was in tears when I told him that I was going to bring him for a ‘Teh Tarik’ and ‘Nasi lemak’ session, ( Note for the clueless: Teh Tarik is frothy milk tea and Nasi lemak is rice cooked with coconut milk served with very hot anchovy chilli paste. Mindblowing!)
So we chat and he came to my office the next day before flying to Melbourne.
I was in Jakarta sooner that I knew it, I called him at the airport and we met up later that night at his office. He returned the local delicacy favour thing by bringing me to a ‘Nasi Padang’ restaurant ( Nasi padang is a local Indonesian delicacy. You cannot miss it if you are in Indonesia, it is rice served with various accompaniments, the thing that amuses me that you may have like 20 accompaniments on the table but you only pay for which dish you eat, cool stuff!)
Indulgence….
I hung out at his studio the next day and he was very passionate about his music and equipment. Something which I long for in musicians, no disrespect! so here you go, some snippets I took from our session:
And here is part 2:
Notice that he uses a software called ‘Ableton Live!’ religiously, I strongly think that Live! have changed the way musicians from around the world play, compose and perform, its stable as hell and very easy to use, I got some tips from him on how to play Live!, tweaking your kick drum and a whole lot of good advice.
So here are some of ‘Parkdrive’s’ video clips, just in case you want some action hah!:
Really really cool stuff!
I went back to KL thinking about how you just can meet people, no, good friends in the weirdest of places and situations…
I’m missing jakarta already….
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! 
6ixth Sense Video Clip- Tak Bisa Memilihmu…Who said we cant do a cool Vid with a very low budget? August 21, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, General, Malaysian music scene, Music 2.0, Rants, music, music business, web 2.0.24 comments
The first single of the band’s second single entitled ‘Tak Bisa Memilihmu’. The video was shot in one day and the whole video was done in one shot, hence, the “floating effect”. No, I’m not kidding.
The models are As and Zizi, two upcoming models which were very close friends of Krol, the director of the video. When asked on what he feels of the outcome of the vid, he just ran and banged his head on the concrete wall. Again, I’m not kidding. He wanted to create a classy feel to the song which explains the piano and the black and white setting of the whole video.
Can you guys guess the budget of the whole production?
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’s the making of the album video on youtube August 8, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, Malaysian music scene, Mobile content, Music 2.0, mp3, music, music business, web 2.0.add a comment
For all of you who has been wondering what has been happening behind Metadome’s closed doors has been pretty crazy with the launch of this band. To be honest with you, this band is my company’s pet project and I was the one hired to manage the entire production. Super crazy when you had to do everything by yourself. I’ve learned alot in the process and I discovered that to really launch a band is pretty hard indeed, the preparations, planning bla bla bla, but it has been worthwhile. I wish I could post up more behind the scene videos but truthfully, this video is the result of the best shots and candids compiled into one. Hopefully this is my first step to virally infect the masses.
The video for their hit single ‘Tak Bisa Memilihmu’ will be up soon! So stay tuned!
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.
Celcom Channel X- Possibly one of the worst mobile content site August 5, 2007
Posted by ashz in Asian Music Scene, Malaysian music scene, Mobile content, Music 2.0, downloads, mp3, music, music business, web 2.0.add a comment
I was excited and curious when Celcom announced they’re very own mobile download portal, and with expensive looking TV adverts, one might believe that the portal will deliver its promises. O btw, I’m only reviewing the music section and not the other categories, as my expertise doesn’t cover mobile games and overly ambitious products.
One look at the portal and one might think that the bombastic looking graphics will mask the bad categorization of the sidebar. Why does music and other audio related products are separated? You will see other audio related content such as ‘Fun talk’,and ‘Call me tones’ lost in the clutter of the list. I personally feel that they should categorize the other 2 products under ‘Audio’. I understand that they are trying to highlight the products but the cluttered hierarchy would definitely put people off. I click on ‘Call me tones’ and the site redirected me to another embedded page, and further exploring reveals that some sub categories are either not working or some products are still not available for purchases. One tip: If you still decide to keep the empty categories, you are simply saying its not available and oh, we don’t know when it going to be uploaded…At least provide a date for users to come back.
Ok, so now click on music, and Lo and Behold! the list is not even in alphabetical order, further exploration and you will find a dropdown button which is not labeled, further clicks and you shall notice more empty categories. Tsk Tsk Tsk! Another glaring and unforgivable flaw is that the content is mixed with artists songs and movie soundtracks! HELLOOOO!!!
The categorized content are also wrongly put, if Christina Aguilera is in Dance/Techno then you get the picture. I understand that the errors may come from external CPs but don’t you guys check before it was approved?
I believe that it would really help to have a special section on the header in each product section describing about each product and perhaps clear downloading instructions. The only “descriptions” on each header was very “advertisy”. To be honest with you, most 50 year olds don’t really care about how cool your product is, I just want to know how the heck can I get that Broery Marantika tune my golf mate downloaded on his PDA!
I strongly feel that these guys are assuming that the consumers already know what they want and looking for. That explains why the site is fashioned in such a way that it functions more like a treasure hunt rather than a friendly, logical and functional store. What I really hate is the FAQ section is non-functional, and no customer care contact details. This really shows how they treat their existing and potential customers. I think the people handling the project don’t really understand Web 2.0 and new age marketing, hence no affiliate programs, no RSS feeds, no news section, no down-loadable banners, no suggestive feeds, no newsletter subscription function (Do they even have a newsletter?) what more a company blog. Typical corporate thinking.
I am disappointed that the guys at Channel X aren’t really serious in their product. Just so you know that your campaign could really hit it off if done properly and with extensive research. It’s a really glossy mobile content store, but without the essence to really shine. Tsk Tsk Tsk and Tsk again.
For a taste of incompetence: Celcom Channel X
P/S: Next on my review- Hotlink’s Music unlimited…Stay Tuned!
