Posts Tagged ‘music’

Sellaband

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

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Best of the Month, John Cucka

What the band you just bought might look like...

What is it: Sellaband is a website that offers a way for crowds to fund a band’s first album. They’ve now expanded their service to include bands that are known, allowing fans to buy shares in the proceeds of an album, the money used to fund its production.

Why is it cool: Breaking the music industry monopoly on artists is only possible today with the relatively cheap availability of recording gear and the web’s ability to directly connect bands with their fans. Numerous artists have offered their albums directly for digital download in the past. But Sellaband expands that fan-band connection to include funding the projects as well. Eliminating the middle man of the music industry could have serious consequences, so expect PR and legal resistance from the corporations.

Where to find it: here!

Submitted by: John Cucka

Getting off the policing bandwagon

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

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Best of the Month, Linley Barden

Groove Armada

What is it: Rather than restricting song sharing in order to sell more tracks, Grove Armanda teamed up with Barcadi and offers incentives to those who spread their music the furthest. Fans can have the first track free of new album and can access the second track once they’ve shared the first with 20 friends. The third MP3 can be heard when the first has been shared 200 times, and the fourth when 2,000 ‘friends’ have hear the first track.

Why is it cool: If you can’t beat them …use them! This is a great WoM spin to bypass something that has been a threat to profits and using it to create a relationship with consumers and drive greater demand. It’s thinking outside the box and rather than controlling ‘uncontrollable’ forces, it’s understanding behavior and using it to advantage.

Where to find it: here!

Submitted by: Linley Barden

Building buzz in the battle against piracy

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

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Mandy Ayles

It's got a good beat, I can dance to it

What is it: Three articles describing different ways artists are trying to keep interest and excitement in the music industry (and combat internet leaks and piracy).

Why is it cool: Music is so easy to access these days it has started to lose its value. When buying a new CD used to be so exciting and something to treasure, you can now download it and listen without ever exchanging tangible goods (e.g. cash for disc) – or just get it off your mate for free. It’s good to see artists trying to do things a bit differently.

Where to find it: here, here and here!

Submitted by: Mandy Ayles

Geometric keyboard

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

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John Cucka

This is not your father's banjo or... piano or... harmonica... or...

What is it: C-Thru music has taken the idea of the piano keyboard and transformed it into a more intuitive key-based interface, they call the Geometric Keyboard. Laid out in a hexagonal grid, you can start with any note and use the same physical memory (or pattern) to play identical chords, scales or other progressions.

Paired with a MIDI interface that can simulate any instrument or sound source, making this is a truly generalisable all-in-one music-making tool that simplifies the learning to get you more quickly on the path to performing (or composing!).

Why is it cool: It demonstrates how technology offers myriad opportunities to think differently about everyday activities.

Where to find it: Blog post here! Keyboards here!

Submitted by: John Cucka

Music sponsorship

Monday, May 12th, 2008

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Mandy Ayles

Sponsor overload

What is it: An article on mobile and network involvement and sponsorship of music from festivals to downloads.

Why is it cool: There is in-depth info about who is doing what, with some interesting comments on the potential saturation in this market. With brand presence now down to the level of sponsoring songs, so the logo appears on the download, is there anything innovative left for sponsors to do to connect with the youth market in this space?

Where to find it: here!

Submitted by: Mandy Ayles