Looking at this little ad on MSN Messenger, I think Microsoft needs to consider hiring someone who knows English grammer.
read more...
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Monday, April 2, 2007
Long Live DRM Free Media
I want it. I want DRM Free Media. Why? Probably not for the reason you may think. Its not because I want there to be wide spread pirating; that already happens. I want it because it will push media companies out of the plastic age and into the mobile age.
Here's the deal. Few people buy CDa anymore. The reduction in CD sales isn't all pirating. It also has to do with the fact you can buy just about any type of media, be it music or video, digitally and put it on your mobile media device. I mean come on, Verizon and Cingular have basically adopted a marketing plan that says "buy our cellular phone media device, download content from us, and you'll never be without it." Digital media, on the go, anywhere, anytime. You may not like that, but it's reality.
I'm not going to write something that says "if media companies stopped selling their products on disc, the world would be a better place." because it won't be. Why doesn't anyone care about VHS piracy? Because no one watches VHS anymore? Yet companies still produce movies on VHS. Why aren't major record labels trying to keep independents from distributing electronic versions of their albums DRM free instead of on disc?
There has to be a better way; and that way is to increase the actual value of music beyond the song. Here is a thought; HP practically gives away their color laser printers, but charges 3 times the printer cost for toner replacements. They know if you buy a printer, you will need to replace the toner, more often than the printer. How can labels, artists and fans take advantage of that business model? Here's another thought; maybe the song itself has become a commodity. Actors who are smart take a smaller upfront payment for making a moving in exchange for sales of licensed items. If they want more, provide more. I'm not saying this is the answer, but thinking in terms of beyond the song are what I think will push the media industry to the next evolution.
[updated: great article from Engadget here.]
read more...
Here's the deal. Few people buy CDa anymore. The reduction in CD sales isn't all pirating. It also has to do with the fact you can buy just about any type of media, be it music or video, digitally and put it on your mobile media device. I mean come on, Verizon and Cingular have basically adopted a marketing plan that says "buy our cellular phone media device, download content from us, and you'll never be without it." Digital media, on the go, anywhere, anytime. You may not like that, but it's reality.
I'm not going to write something that says "if media companies stopped selling their products on disc, the world would be a better place." because it won't be. Why doesn't anyone care about VHS piracy? Because no one watches VHS anymore? Yet companies still produce movies on VHS. Why aren't major record labels trying to keep independents from distributing electronic versions of their albums DRM free instead of on disc?
There has to be a better way; and that way is to increase the actual value of music beyond the song. Here is a thought; HP practically gives away their color laser printers, but charges 3 times the printer cost for toner replacements. They know if you buy a printer, you will need to replace the toner, more often than the printer. How can labels, artists and fans take advantage of that business model? Here's another thought; maybe the song itself has become a commodity. Actors who are smart take a smaller upfront payment for making a moving in exchange for sales of licensed items. If they want more, provide more. I'm not saying this is the answer, but thinking in terms of beyond the song are what I think will push the media industry to the next evolution.
[updated: great article from Engadget here.]
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Album Art Used To Rock
I was at a dance competition yesterday and they guy providing music played some classic rock (Molly Hatchet, Journey, Foghat and so on) while we were waiting for things to begin. I decided that when I got home I was going to break out my classic rock CD's and find some good music to listen too. As I was looking at the disk I was surprised at how cool the album art used to be.
I remember back in high school trying to imitate some cool albums. I mean the album art was almost as important as the music in the sleeve. There was creativity. It told a story. It wasn't all about the bling, or some random photo session. It was art. And most of the time the musicians created the art themselves. Remember, these were Albums, so the size was very different from a CD. That could be some of the reason bands have abandoned the practice. As an example, I bought the Styx album Paradise Theater. I was so excited, it was a great album and after I had ripped the wrapper off, carefully slipped the black disk out of the sleeve, I was surprised to find a laser etched image of the album over right on the record. It was so cool I almost didn't want to the play it.
I read a great post today from Mark Cuban on the future of music. I have to agree. We have to move beyond selling music on discs. It doesn't mean anything today. Buyers and fans want more. More than you can stick on a CD. I love sets where there is a music disc plus a disk with say music videos, pictures, concert footage. Give me a reason to buy the whole compilation or I will continue to buy one offs from iTunes.
Here are a couple examples of album art I just love. Please comment with your favorite album art and maybe a link to the image. Share it.
read more...
I remember back in high school trying to imitate some cool albums. I mean the album art was almost as important as the music in the sleeve. There was creativity. It told a story. It wasn't all about the bling, or some random photo session. It was art. And most of the time the musicians created the art themselves. Remember, these were Albums, so the size was very different from a CD. That could be some of the reason bands have abandoned the practice. As an example, I bought the Styx album Paradise Theater. I was so excited, it was a great album and after I had ripped the wrapper off, carefully slipped the black disk out of the sleeve, I was surprised to find a laser etched image of the album over right on the record. It was so cool I almost didn't want to the play it.
I read a great post today from Mark Cuban on the future of music. I have to agree. We have to move beyond selling music on discs. It doesn't mean anything today. Buyers and fans want more. More than you can stick on a CD. I love sets where there is a music disc plus a disk with say music videos, pictures, concert footage. Give me a reason to buy the whole compilation or I will continue to buy one offs from iTunes.
Here are a couple examples of album art I just love. Please comment with your favorite album art and maybe a link to the image. Share it.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Finally taking this thing seriously
A few months ago I said I was going to take some time off, figure out what it is I really wanted to accomplish with blogging, podcasting, videocasting and so on. After years of messing around and tinkering I've finally got things figured out and will be bringing several new businesses and blogs online over the next few weeks. It's ok, I can talk about them now because I have already put the wheels in motion.
This blog, digitalthom.com, will refocus on digital media; podcasting, videos and music. I will move all of my personal items off this blog and over to thomallen.com which will act as my personal website.
My personal website, thomallen.com will have content about me; hobbies, interests, my family and the things they are doing. I hope to post a lot of photos and videos as we are out and about.
I will be porting all my current NASCAR entries and future entries to a new racing network I've put together. Using blogs and forums, my plan is to build a great racing community. I had been thinking about this type of site for some time. A comment made to me by a read explaining they knew nothing about NASCAR and what I was saying didn't make sense, caused me to accelerate putting the finishing touches on the site. So one of the things this new site will do is have an area dedicated to helping readers become racing fans
As most of you know I produce a Jazz music podcast. I've been doing it for nearly a year and I have enjoyed it very much. The show spotlights indie bands and their music. I wanted to find a way to get more of their music in listeners hands, and I am pretty sure I have. This is one new site I won't give too many details until its complete and online. But, if you're an indie band, of any type music, you will want to participate, send an email to indie @ digitalthom . com for more information.
A new site I have brought online is mobileCIO.com. This site has been the longest in the planning stage. I think it will have the biggest impact. There's a critical need for executive level IT direction in a lot of companies. mobileCIO fills that role by acting as a companies CIO/CTO either short or long term. Visit the site for more information.
And finally my real estate site, onehothome.com. I've been a licensed Realtor for about 15 years. My current website will undergo a face lift and add a lot of new media content such as podcasts, and videos. Adding market data, lice maps, virtual home shows, extensive searching, how-to's, interviews and a shopping area, will make this the one stop place for real estate needs.
So there, I've spilled the beans and have laid out a course of action. There are a few more business ideas to bring together including a new podcast. I'll be busy but it will be well worth it. Thanks for listening. Now back to the regularly scheduled programming.
read more...
This blog, digitalthom.com, will refocus on digital media; podcasting, videos and music. I will move all of my personal items off this blog and over to thomallen.com which will act as my personal website.
My personal website, thomallen.com will have content about me; hobbies, interests, my family and the things they are doing. I hope to post a lot of photos and videos as we are out and about.
I will be porting all my current NASCAR entries and future entries to a new racing network I've put together. Using blogs and forums, my plan is to build a great racing community. I had been thinking about this type of site for some time. A comment made to me by a read explaining they knew nothing about NASCAR and what I was saying didn't make sense, caused me to accelerate putting the finishing touches on the site. So one of the things this new site will do is have an area dedicated to helping readers become racing fans
As most of you know I produce a Jazz music podcast. I've been doing it for nearly a year and I have enjoyed it very much. The show spotlights indie bands and their music. I wanted to find a way to get more of their music in listeners hands, and I am pretty sure I have. This is one new site I won't give too many details until its complete and online. But, if you're an indie band, of any type music, you will want to participate, send an email to indie @ digitalthom . com for more information.
A new site I have brought online is mobileCIO.com. This site has been the longest in the planning stage. I think it will have the biggest impact. There's a critical need for executive level IT direction in a lot of companies. mobileCIO fills that role by acting as a companies CIO/CTO either short or long term. Visit the site for more information.
And finally my real estate site, onehothome.com. I've been a licensed Realtor for about 15 years. My current website will undergo a face lift and add a lot of new media content such as podcasts, and videos. Adding market data, lice maps, virtual home shows, extensive searching, how-to's, interviews and a shopping area, will make this the one stop place for real estate needs.
So there, I've spilled the beans and have laid out a course of action. There are a few more business ideas to bring together including a new podcast. I'll be busy but it will be well worth it. Thanks for listening. Now back to the regularly scheduled programming.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
The Jazz Show #23
Visit the website, jazz.thepodcastnetwork.com or stream it below.
[audio:http://jazz.thepodcastnetwork.com/audio/tpn_thejazzshow_20070329_23.mp3]
read more...
[audio:http://jazz.thepodcastnetwork.com/audio/tpn_thejazzshow_20070329_23.mp3]
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