Giving Up Control

I received a call from a colleague recently who pondered why music companies don’t release new albums along with concert tickets at the same time. That way, fans can download the music or buy it at a store along with tickets to the upcoming shows. He went on to wonder if there is concern about free downloading of music and movie torrents, why don’t studios simply release the film and DVD on the same day?

What? And Give Up Control?

Old model thinking is you can control the marketplace, behavior and spending. It is a fantasy. If you owned restaurant and people quickly found out that Thursdays are free food nights, how big would your line up be on Friday? Sure some would come back because you offered great food at a great price point, but could you control that?

Collusion vs. Solution

I have been in media and marketing for a long time. I know it doesn’t work this way. It’s not a simple solution but is it not a worthy discussion? The Ticketmaster/LiveNation merger has created a lot of heat because of the collusion ramifications, so merging a distributor with a concert company and a music label will create even more.

But let’s focus for a moment on behavior.

We all know stealing music is wrong, downloading movies is illegal, taking something that isn’t ours is improper and our moms taught us that years ago. But has that changed behavior?

If you found $1,000 in an unmarked envelope on the ground, what would you do? If I told you that you could download as much music as your heart desired without any consequence, what would you do? If you found a loophole to avoid paying income tax, what would you do?

Is it wrong or is it reality?

The topic of free is a big one right now. If you can get the same service or product for less money – or even free – is that your preference? Now flip it around and tell me you will offer me your service or product for less money or free.

The music labels are in trouble, that’s well documented but as one who adores music and wants it to continue to thrive, let’s look at solutions rather than trying to cram more genies in to more bottles.

How does this apply to your work? How can you better understand customer and human behavior in order to better meld your business plans with reality?

@knealemann

photo credit: rdhelectronicsinfo.com

E-Books: Free For The Learning

One of my true passions is music. I fought for artists and publishers in the music industry for more than a decade. This was not some clueless struggle against technology or progress but rather a discovery of how the music industry could remain healthy while giving music fans what they want - and were now taking for free.

At the core of any venture is the need to be good at it. Music downloading did not create better musicians and not everyone in the industry is out to steal from artists. But if you let people know the food on the menu is free every Thursday, the line-up will be quite a bit shorter on Friday.

I have all the data from the "I only download some music" group and the "they already make enough money" group but we can save that for another time.

Download Books for Free?

One of the coolest trends lately is e-books. These are tightly packed 30-40 page manuals jammed with information that can help you. E-books offer practical information for your business, industry and career.

E-books are easy to read and re-read and re-read again. If you want to write your own, you can!

Books Are Cool

While the publishing industry evolves, the web has allowed anyone to self-publish. You won’t make money from writing an e-book but it allows you the opportunity to share some information and most importantly give readers a better chance to get to know you.

Plus, writing an e-book can lead to business for your company in the future. But, like with music downloading your e-book must actually have substance and something people want to read.

Can You Be Trusted?

Trust is one of the biggest topics these days so if you can gain trust through sharing information, the chances of building better business relationships will increase.

As one who has a renewed interest in the publishing industry, we must look at the changes in the music industry throughout the last decade. It is imperative that the creators are compensated and protected.

Some samples

If you travel in the world of media, social networking, marketing, publishing or entertainment, here are some gems that may help you.

Download, digest and do.

Blink: A Social Media Guide from The Edge
Todd Defren
It is refreshing to read Todd’s work. Defren is a principal with Shift Communications – a PR agency with offices in San Francisco and Boston.

Blink is crammed with nothing but meat. Todd mentions in the opening that he is not going to waste a lot of time getting to real useable information and he keeps that promise. I would say there is a lot of common sense here but as I’ve previously posted, that too is rare. You may find yourself nodding your head a lot but your next step is to create action in your own life with this information. This is a fantastic book.

Unleashing The Ideavirus
Seth Godin
This is a classic! Seth wrote this in 2000 and it’s still ahead of it’s time today. If you are even marginally in the marketing industry, you have heard of Seth. His work, his energy, his mind, and his contribution to the industry is well documented.

If you haven’t read “Unleashing The Ideavirus” or it’s been a while – it’s worth a re-read. Congrats to Seth for publishing his 3,000th blog post this week. And check out his TEDTalk on sliced bread.

Fish Where The Fish Are
Using The Social Web to Find Work
Branding for the Business Professional
Chris Brogan
If you are even a casual social media participant, you have heard of Chris. He is the president of New Marketing Labs with partners Justin Levy and Colin Browning. Chris travels the world giving presentations to businesses that include practical applications for marketing and social networking. I had the pleasure of spending some time with him at PodCamp Toronto. If you did the same, you know he is the real deal.

Word of Mouth Manual
Dave Balter
With all the tools and tricks and data at our disposal, word of mouth still holds true as an extremely powerful way for people to find out about you and your business. It can work in your favor or work against you. Building positive word of mouth can take time but negative news travels quickly. Dave is the founder and CEO of BzzAgents – a word of mouth marketing and media network so he knows of what he writes.

Trust Economies
Julien Smith & Chris Brogan
Julien Smith was an early adopter to the social space through In Over Your Head which began in November 2004. He is a writer, designer and entrepreneur. He is also one of six contributors to a new initiative called Media Hacks hosted by Mitch Joel with Hugh McGuire, Brogan, CC Chapman, and Christopher S. Penn.

Along with Brogan, Smith has co-authored “Trust Agents” which will be released in August. He is wicked smart and very funny. He has more energy than an NFL franchise and a warning: he will in fact tell you the truth.

Have you written or have you ever thought about writing an e-book?

@knealemann

Sleeping Satellites

Is this the beginning of the end?

This is not news, this is not even shocking, and this has been on the way long before the economic downturn that is being used as the reason for all faltering businesses these days.

Bad business plans, crushing expenditures and time constraints will affect any company during any economic climate.

Satellite radio – as we know it – may be on the way out

This is bad news for investors and customers. Sirius and XM have spent millions attempting to beat terrestrial radio at their own game. They have done countless radio and television campaigns, purchased major sponsorship affiliations; hired Howard Stern for $100M U.S. a year, while offering hundreds of crystal clear “commercial free” radio choices.

The now merged venture is drowning in debt.

It was announced yesterday that Sirius XM is going to file for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday. The fingers are pointing in all directions on this mess.

This was not a newsflash for company officials this week. They have known the costs and timeline since inception. The price tag on a satellite is $1.5 to 2 Billion and building hundreds of audio entertainment choices then market them is an enormously costly endeavor.

To believe that Sirius XM management wasn’t aware is like saying that the people running AIG didn’t know about the problems until they were 80 Billion in debt. Wouldn't alarms go off at around (say) the 10-15 Billion mark?

A quote here from Business Week:
The few poor souls who still hold Sirius XM (SIRI) stock may get poorer still. "I'll lose $1 million," says Michael Hartleib, a longtime activist shareholder. "They completely destroyed a perfectly viable company." Shares of the company closed at 11.39¢ on Feb. 10 after The New York Times said the company is preparing for a possible filing for Chapter 11 protection from creditors. Sirius declined to comment on the report.

I have given the radio industry over two decades of my life, and it is one of my true loves. Radio can be immediate, can react quickly and can create magic.

But if you start a business with no money, convince a bank to lend you some, then rack up your line of credit miles past your company’s ability to see the top of the pile, it is doubtful that you will be able to build quickly enough to write black ink.

Sirius XM have balloon payments due this year in the millions - and there just isn't the money to pay them.

Subscription based radio remains a foreign idea to most people and the offering has to be sweeter. Tell me why I need to buy gear and pay a monthly fee. Apple seems to have found a way to do that.

Add to that, the troubles in the auto industry which is where a significant number of pre-installed units were giving listeners an introduction to the services. Less cars sold, less new listeners.

Other issues for radio include: dwindling younger demos listening to satellite or terrestrial radio as well as consistent and better content. A morning show and music all day isn't enough. And there is a large percentage of people under 20 whose lives don't include radio. Younger becomes older and older becomes the target audience very quickly.

More from the Business Week article:
A bankruptcy filing by Sirius XM would have widespread implications not just for holders of the satellite radio company's debt and shares, but also for millions of listeners and for the celebrities like Howard Stern whose fat paychecks have made it harder for the company to pay its other bills.

A lot has been said about the Stern contract and the price of satellites in the atmosphere and the debt load. At the core of the issue are the discussions that took place at that first meeting when the idea began.

Too often companies attempt to retro blame some unforeseen factor. Satellite radio is a cool idea, but not an overnight fix or quick money grab. Anyone who claims they didn’t know that is not being completely honest with themselves.

What are your thoughts about satellite radio? Tried it? Like it?

Do you want Sirius XM to survive?

km