Blog
"The phone is at the forefront of the future"
The biggest and most hyped music news of July 2013 seems to be the new alliance between Jay-Z and Samsung. This deal is very good for Jay-Z as Samsung has bought 1 million copies of Jay-Z's new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail. (Warning - Magna Carta Holy Grail begins with Justin Timberlake singing. And he's singing in a very high register. This is a hip hop album? A hip hop album that does not begin with a skit?) Jay-Z received $5 million for the 1 million copies. Magna Carta Holy Grail will be free for the first 1 million Samsung phone users who download the app.Articles about the Jay-Z/Samsung alliance are found in...
State of the Music Industry - My Tweets from 2013 NMS
On Monday, June 10, 2013, I attended the first full day of the 2013 New Music Seminar. I brought my iPhone 5 and my iPad. I had not planned on tweeting the event or even one panel but things changed and I started to tweet...I have a strong bias toward the non-music companies and how they use and promote music as well as how they better engage with their customers via music, video and mobile. Music conferences need to have a strong non-music component. In fact, the non-music companies shouldn't really be called "non-music," should they?
Watching Me Walk Around Naked
Directv has created and is airing a sticky - to be more concise, "ICKY" - television commercial that only succeeds at showing a young couple in their loveless relationship. And the "zinger" line, aired by the male, is mean spirited and aimed at demeaning the woman. It suggests danger, discomfort and intimidation, not exactly positive qualities to connote by means of a television commercial. When I first saw this commercial, I was shocked and thought, "he didn't just say that, did he? Yikes, this is one ugly and disturbing commercial."