Comments on: Music startups aren’t dead — they’re just changing

By: ario

ario — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 21:53:09 +0000

music startups follow the same blue print and the space is heavily crowded. youtube is the best option to watch not only music but much more than music. radio and on demand streaming are 2 buckets but features are same. there are ample service provides like echonest and their charges are very high too ( per stream of the song….!) Rara.com is struggling…dont know how long spotify will sustain now that dolby pulse format is out there is no value for spotify’s p2p patent

By: Michele Forte

Michele Forte — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 00:30:55 +0000

D. Pakman testified the truth actually. The B2C sales of music is not a dead business… it was simply never born. There’s some money for those who distribute and market ( and thanks God they exist), some below minimum wage for the average artist and some significative for the next great undiscovered talent, enough for a few global stores whose core business is selling other goods that needs music to operate or music fans attention. Majors gets a slice of the pie and couldn’t today survive without those revenues. The community wouldn’t benefit in any form from Majors lowering rates…not because you open up a successfull store, consumers increases, only in theory they do but in the real world, one digital store would be enough to cover the consuners mass and they just shift from one to another. You are not proposing to the Majors rights owner to increase the reach of the market. That said, the only viable, global business I do believe make sense for a Vc looking for a global, scalable opportunity in music is 1-old skool direct mobile and web mktg of giving music away for free 2-using email to develop a commercial relation that will be monetized through sales of good others than music… from cars to toothpaste. Adapt goods offer monitoring global trends and you are done over time…This cannot happen in a garage…you unfortunately needs a stockpile of cash to set it up, a few top companies ready to follow you in the initial phase and give you favourable affiliation rates, a custom made tracking system smarter than the average one and… the most difficult part, the music but will i. e. Lucian Grainge look at you differently if u say ” this year using the new Gaga.. I will sell to one music enthusiast or to a member of his/her family/social enviroment, a Toyota, 100 can of cola and a Gap jacket … I’ll give you a cut of it, an option to buy company shares and yes I wont be selling music to stores so no cannibalization here+because he’s going to ask for, a guaranteed marketing expenditure to build the initial list”. Music was very important in the 70′s, a commodity after Napster, to me today is a “Trojan Horse” to Upsell. Let me add on this long comment ( hey bandwith is next to free), that as a music passionate professional , I’m “terrified” by a VCl declaring “we are not interested in investing in the music business in its current form”…this people usually runs when money to be made is there .We should devote a larger portion of our time to find, if any , a way to be newly attractive for investors. Particularly those that are at the top should as I’m Mr Nobody and can do very little. Cmon..launch it Gangnam style ! !

By: tekinsuleyman

tekinsuleyman — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 17:11:53 +0000

Great article, thanks.

By: Robert Hurst

Robert Hurst — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 18:29:10 +0000

Agreed the Market for innovative music companies is very much alive

At Audio Network we have enjoyed 12 years of high double digit growth as technology opens up new Market opportunities for innovative and creative music companies

http://www.audionetwork.com

By: Fred Han

Fred Han — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 18:18:12 +0000

Great insights, Matthew. At Pulselocker, we are innovating in niche that is one of the fastest growing categories in music – the EDM space.

In addition to our on-demand streaming service (a la Spotify/Rdio), we are the first company that lets Djs “borrow” music by downloading songs into a digital locker (on their laptop) and DJ those songs on the most popular applications — without the need to pay for the track (it’s part of the subscription).

Because our model pays an escalating royalty each time a song is streamed, downloaded and DJ’d from their laptop, and bought outright, we have secured the rights (and support) with most of the world’s largest independent aggregators.

Feel free to email me at fred@pulselocker.com if you’d like to learn more.

By: Taylor Trask

Taylor Trask — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 17:09:04 +0000

I look at sites like TheSixtyOne.com who provide a brilliant interface for streaming independent music, and I’m compelled to think streaming startups can do just fine without major label content.

By: Giliane Gomez-Montpeyroux

Giliane Gomez-Montpeyroux — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 16:50:10 +0000

I see a serious issue coming up, when the “music people”, who are only in it for the money and not for the love of music, become visible… Its going to show when music lovers in the industry, begin making choices for the music, rather then for the “Bling”. Giving up traditional ways the industry was run, will be a hard habit to break for some producers enjoying their cuts, as A&R control of artists will begin to blemish and finally vanish. Musicians can do it themselves now a days with technological tools accessible to them, and do not need the entertainment machinery anymore as they have the power to gain complete autonomy over their work. Live concerts, defusing their own music, branding mergers if they like, from fan clubs to followings, advertise and spread the sound….There, where many thought live music was dying out, need to know that, what was to be an “Exit stage left”, was indeed only an “Encore”!

By: Giliane Gomez-Montpeyroux

Giliane Gomez-Montpeyroux — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 16:22:48 +0000

Congratulations! Finally someone who get’s it! Now to the hardest part…getting the companies and executives to act upon it.

By: Peter Kafka

Peter Kafka — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 13:18:34 +0000

Hi Matthew, nice piece. But you misstated the thesis of my post: I was specifically talking about streaming music services, which still can’t afford to pay for the music they are selling or giving away.

By: Sébastien Flury

Sébastien Flury — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 11:07:15 +0000

Many thanks for this 360° analysis of digital music and its future… I couldn’t stop nodding! At Coteries, we build an orginal solution for the future of digital music and I’m sure you’d love it. Please don’t hesitate to contact me (seb@coteries.com)!