6th Street.
Where it all goes down. After hours at least.
And as the week goes on, the busier it gets, and the better looking the people get. And the younger they get.
It starts to feel more alive.
People get better looking, younger and thinner.
The music lot have started to arrive
There are two types of badge holders.
Those with music and those without.
When you speak to a local and you say you’re leaving before the music begins they give you a look and ask you if you’re joking.
It swells in size and energy when the music kicks off.
Now panel talks are interesting (they’re not really, go to solo sessions).
But there was a lot of drivel at the interactive conference. There was plenty of inspiring stuff, and interesting talks, but there was a lot of “social content is your currency” , “service is your product” nonsense from snake oil salesmen.
But I started to get the sense I was at the wrong party.
However, there was plenty of talks, start-ups and trade stall stands where interactive and music met.
This is what I found out.
The quote that inspired this talk (sort of) was…
“More money is spent every year in Macau than is spent on music.”
This probably tells us as much about how much the Chinese like to gamble as it does about the health of the music industry, but its an arresting stat nonetheless.
Spotify’s Chief content officer, Ken Parks. Overseeing Spotify’s expansion in the US.
They gave $250mn to the industry in Q1 2012.
That is incremental revenue. It didn’t exist before they created it.
It is social because it is in bed with Facebook. It is not social by design. The awkwardness of the social interaction within spotify itself is testament to this.
Turntable.fm.
The start-up that could go either way.
Login via Facebook as per Spotify.
Emphasis is on playing music together. Social by design rather than an add-on.
Built around “Rooms”. Either with your friends or randoms.
Every room has 5 DJs. Songs rotate between DJs.
Chat with other people in the room. DJs score points – “Awesome” or “Lame”. Get more points, get better avatars. These become signs that you are a series DJ.
Music discovery with in built scores to surface credible “curators”.
Download cards.
You enter a code to get a track from the web.
That code is on the card.
I thought it was a joke.
Evidence that there is a lot of shite at SXSW that thinks it is good.
Taste Maker X. Launched at SXSW.
“Gamifying” what music you listen to.
Muso Stock Market. Currently in private beta.
Fantasy sports for music.
40m play 20mins a day of fantasy sport.
Data driven on artists who are trending.
Most important bands that come out of music.
“I was into that first/early”. Quantifying culture.
45 sound.
Creates fan videos that have perfect audio.
Requires Band to record their track while they play.
Collaborative rather than a barrier.
Artist signal.
Every 90 days top artists gets $25k to jumpstart their career
Vinyl recorder.
Cut your digital music onto vinyl.
Vinyl sales growing.
Digital doesn’t necessarily replace the old ways of doing things. Particularly if they have a value beyond their consumption. Which Vinyl does, but a CD does not.
Rexly
Connect iTunes. Share what you’re listening to with community/FB friends/approved individuals.
Layer for platforms that aren’t social – e.g. Apple and Ping.
Soundtracking.
Add sounds/music to moments in your life.
Adds location/music/photo/text and allows you to publish.
Social networks are new.
We are impressed by their mechanics rather than by what they are. Pinterest isn’t the only image bookmarking network, it is just the one that achieved critical mass.
Will the next “big thing” be a music network.
Netwoks will get niche. Music will play a role.
What will catch on are simple apps that are layers on your music experience, not ones that try and own the whole thing.
Brand’s need to think not what music can do for them, but what they can do for music.
We must move beyond badging exercises, it creates very low affinity.
As music is going through a fundamental shift in both how it makes money and how it is consumed, forward thinking brands have an opportunity to be progressive and get “value” from a music marketing strategy that goes beyond sponsoring a few shows or arenas. #
Create products, layers, experiences. Don’t think about LIVE as the only way in, but see interactive as the medium through which to bring this to life.
