A Business Plan for Independent Labels

In “The Age of Free”, how can a company make any money? Especially without the resources of a corporate giant? Record sales in the major, and independent sectors have seen dramatic decreases in sales in the past several years. This decline is in part due to file sharing on the Internet, and also due to the convenience of individual song purchasing on iTunes. At a time when the masses feel entitled to free music, labels can either adapt or perish. No in between. I will try to use social media strategies, to create a new business approach for the independent record community. First, record labels will have to keep in mind the power of free entertainment. Free concerts via live streaming are one way to provide free goods. Companies must also take advantage of the convenience of Twitter and Facebook. Fans look forward to constant updates and insight into what is going on with bands or record labels, and these two mediums make it easier to do so. Current blog posts concerning tours and other matters will keep fans interested in the music community.
These Social Media techniques will be used to invite fans to become part of the independent record community, regardless of genre. The audience is shrinking, and mostly made up of people who are more than casual music fans. With independent music fans, it is not too much of an assumption that people will want to be involved; it just has to be made available. The goal is to make the music business about music, not business.

music for the soul

I just wanted to let people know what I have been listening to recently. Mostly some EastCoast mellow hip hop. Es ist sehr gut.

The Keys to a Better, Healthier Lifestyle

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48943511@N05/

The iPlant

this is the genius that is: iPlant

This is the iPlant application. Say you are out on a hike, or better yet; surviving in a deserted forest with only your iPhone.  When stumbling upon a questionable plant, be it potential food, or a potential rash, take a picture with the handy dandy camera. The image is sent to some database of some sort ( I know, I’m very technical), and matches it to the plant that it is. In a matter of seconds you will be able to tell if those mushrooms and berries are going to kill you or save you. Or, much more likely, you figure out you have been standing in poison oak for five minutes.

Tiger is Sorry, So am I

Tiger is back in the headlines. Maybe he never left the headlines. In one of the most intrusive cases of media “coverage”, we as fans have finally gotten the apology we deserve. To be honest, I don’t think an apology was necessary; at least not to the fans. We gladly played part exposing Tiger’s flaws as a husband/father, and completely exploited his private life. This begs the question: Where do we draw the line?
Tiger messed up big time, there is no question about it. He disappointed his fans, compromised his career and legacy, and failed his family. On the other hand, this was blown way out of proportion. This event, and the relating ones followed, got more headlines in U.S. papers, for a longer amount of time, than 9/11. That is sickening. That is all I can say.
I think we, as a people, have to learn from this event, and learn to mind the privacy of citizens.
Tiger is a public icon, there is no doubt about it. He has a responsibility to keep up a decent public image. He knows what he means to the sports world, but guess what?… HE’S HUMAN! So to all who took part in the media blitz: GET A LIFE!

Jobs vs. Gates

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Demigods in the geek world. Consumers seem to pick sides as if the two were political candidates. They have made their claim to fame through completely different means.
What’s next? That is what Jobs always wondered. Jobs is an innovator, constantly thinking about what the consumer is going to want in the future. He is a complete visionary, and somewhat of a closet capitalist. Though he doesn’t seem to be fueled by money, he still wants his product to be the best; hands-down.

Mac as a company is dominating the mp3 player market, cell phone market, and making an increasing dent in the computer market. They seperate themselves from the “feel good” work environments of Google or Facebook.  They work with eerie secrecy, with closed doors, and old fashioned work ethics.

It seems Jobs took more time considering what regular people are going to want/need in the future. Jobs has always been aggressive, and aspires for Apple to be the most cutting edge company. Other technology and computer companies can only try to keep up with him. They release similar products, without the sleek design. Jobs has found a away to create a true loyalty in his customers.

Gates was an innovator in his own right, but not the way Jobs has been. Gates imagined a world with more computers. When he took charge of windows, he aggressively broadened their range of products. In his later role at Microsoft, he took a less developmental role as Jobs did at Apple. He focused primarily on business. He was the manager and executive. I believe
The two technology titans had different ways of building computer empires, but the battle continues.

Microsoft  was once known as the faceless company. Workers slaving like ants, day and night, writing codes and god knows what. Due to changing times, they are in the process of changing their image. We will see how that turns out for them, but it seems Apple is taking an emergent amount of their customers.

Hello world!

This is my first post ever on a blog. I am yet to decide what, if anything, I will write about.  The only thing that specifically comes to mind right now is my recent conversion to vegetarianism (if that’s not a word, it is now). It has been three days, and I am already  going through withdrawals. OK, it’s not that bad, but I love me some dead animals. I am trying to stay meat free after seeing Food Inc. Not the best movie to watch while eating chicken, I might add. I’m trying to quit meat for awhile, and then have a limited amount in my diet in the future. I find it quite despicable the way companies intentionally keep us in the dark about the health consequences their food could have on us the consumers. We are the ones in control, and its time the food market went back to being about food, and not the maximazation of profits for a few greedy old farts.