New Paragon Media Research

According to Paragon Media Strategies, "14-24 year olds are actively designing radio that's not on the radio. The average (median) young adult has 500 songs on their computer, 400 songs on their MP3 player, and 50 CDs. 14-18 year-olds have more than double the number of songs that 19-24s have on their computers and MP3 players."  There's some good research available on the site and it seems to be free - if you sign up for an account.....

iTunes on DVD

I haven’t seen much chatter about this new value-add feature of buying a physical disc, but I’ve been a proponent of this ‘something extra’ strategy for years with regards to the music industry…(I’m glad to see the movie industry learning from the music industry’s mistakes…)

“Buy select DVDs and you get something extra free: an iTunes Digital Copy. Just pop the DVD into your computer and the iTunes version transfers to your iTunes library, ready to watch or sync to your iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV. Look for “iTunes Digital Copy” on the DVDs you buy, starting with the DVD release of Family Guy: Blue Harvest Special Edition.”

 

New COBY Video Content Partnership

Coby Electronics and WoozyFly.com (an online music media company devoted to independent music) recently announced a strategic digital content alliance that will deliver Coby MP3 players, MP4 and Portable Media players bundled with original WoozyFly.com music video content to Coby customers globally…Beginning this month, select Coby players will feature WoozyFly’s original videos from the leading artists on the indie music scene…

 

 

 

Quote For The Day

“We are not here in this world to find elegant solutions, pregnant with initiative, or to serve the ways and modes of profitable progress. No, we are here to provide for all those who are weaker and hungrier, more battered and crippled than ourselves. That is our only certain good and great purpose on earth, and if you ask me about those insoluble economic problems that may arise if the top is deprived of their initiative, I
would answer, To hell with them. The top is greedy and mean and will always find a way to take care of themselves. They always do.”

- Michael Foot

Yamaha's New Visible Music Interface: TENORI-ON

Some of you may have already heard about this, but Yamaha recently introduced a new digital musical instrument for the 21st century called TENORI-ON, which has been named among the 25 Most Innovative Products of the Year by PCWorld.com. The TENORI-ON is "an ‘Inspired and intuitive handheld instrument that redefines music-making and screams innovation,’ adding, ‘nothing else even comes close'."

So......in other words, it allows anyone and everyone to create and play music with no training or talent! Yamaha truly has created a new "visible music" interface, and if it catches any legs, get ready for even more user generated content online and perhaps even a new genre of music :-)

http://www.global.yamaha.com/tenori-on/

Also, here's a link to a 3 minute video on YouTube.

The RIAA Hits Below The Belt

Trouble is brewing this holiday season for all you CD rippers out there…“the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer…The basic principle in the law is that you have to distribute actual physical copies to be guilty of violating copyright. But recently, the industry has been going around saying that even a personal copy on your computer is a violation.”  What kind of democracy are we living in if we’re legally forced to buy additional digital copies just to be portable?

TV Watchers Also Watch Content on Alternative Devices...

“According to the recent release of The ChoiceStream 2007 Survey of Viewer Trends in TV and Online Video, 55% of connected consumers who watch TV watch some type of video on devices other than their TV sets, including their computers, mobile phones and digital media players (e.g., iPod). Not surprisingly, video-watching on these alternative devices is more popular among younger consumers (66%) than older ones (36%).”

 

New Open Source Internet Radio Recorder - RAIMARADIO

“Luckily, the open source community has been hard at work and what Screamer Radio leaves out, RaimaRadio is now bringing to the table. Raima Radio is a powerful freeware program that fuses features like wishlists, program scheduling, and video support with the traditional features of most stream ripping software. This combination turns a tremendous amount of power over to the consumer and will certainly have the RIAA taking extra heartburn medication (when they find out about it). If they didn’t like XM’s limited subscriber base having the ability to record satellite radio, then they’re going to hate this program… Anyone with a computer and an Internet connection now has the ability to time shift radio to an MP3 player.”  - Davis Freeberg

 

New DRM White Paper

Thanks to DRM Watch, I just found out about a new White Paper - DRM-protected Music Interoperability and eInnovation. According to Bill Rosenblatt, “This white paper, written by Urs Gasser of the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) Research Center for Information Law and John Palfrey of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard, is a watershed in serious multidisciplinary scholarship on DRM. It draws on research in economics, public policy, law, and security technology to examine approaches to and motivations for (and against) DRM interoperability.”

(I haven’t actually read it yet, but perhaps I can get to it on the plane ride to CES…..)

iPod touch is more than an iPhone without a phone

Here’s a great LINK to Apple’s Bill of materials (BOM) and direct conversion cost estimate for the Apple iPod touch (US$)

 

“On the outside, Apple's iPod touch looks a lot like its iPhone. On the inside, there's a strong resemblance too, but a dissection conducted by iSuppli's Teardown Analysis service reveals the touch sports a distinct design and unique advancements compared to the iPhone….”

 

Optical Zoom to become Standard Feature

Digitimes is reporting that Camera modules with an optical zoom will become a “standard feature” for handsets with a built-in 5-megapixel camera…

 

 

 

 

New Association of Downloadable Media Brings Standards to 'Podvertising'

HERE’s a good article about the newly formed ADM…“There is a misconception that one needs an MP3 player to tap into podcasts, and the explosion of the mobile industry can only benefit podcasting. ADM co-founder Chris MacDonald, EVP of Business Development and Operations at LibSyn reasons: "Podcasting and other downloadable media delivery mechanisms are uniquely positioned to exploit this growing area. We believe that while there is still a lot of desktop consumption occurring now and in the future, the new developments in rich media devices in the pocket present extremely exciting monetization opportunities. The trick will be to address the various needs of consumers, producers, advertisers and vested industries to come up with a reliable, consistent and replicable model from a business standpoint."

Piracy as a leading indicator of sales

I've been saying this for years, but here's another angle: "The hope is that distribution of content this way will lead to new viewers who wouldn't have been reached through traditional marketing means."

 

 

Microsoft Re-Brands PlaysForSure

Another silly idea from Seattle’s behemoth…”The licensing change to ‘Certified for Windows Vista’ is Microsoft's attempt to beat market leader Apple using a similar combination strategy of branding and DRM technology.”  When will the music/technology/media industries realize what consumers really want and then work towards that instead of the complete opposite direction?

LinkedIn Adds New Twist...

Here’s a great blog post by Anne over at Gigaom…..“The new partner relationship with BusinessWeek shows how LinkedIn might reach out to succeed. When you’re viewing a Business Week article with the new LinkedIn feature, you can hover over a company name and find out how you’re connected to the company via your professional contacts…This flips news personalization on its head. Usually, personalized news means a service recommends articles to you. In this version, articles you’re already reading are personalized by virtue of their association with your professional network.”