I've long believed that piracy is largely a business model problem not a human behavior problem.
-Fred Wilson
I couldn't have put it better. Fred was complaining that he couldn't get Knicks games on Time Warner Cable as it no longer provides the MSG network. He gives TWC plenty of money for their services and it's not like he's getting rid of his cable. Cable got rid of the Knicks. Can't watch the Knicks through the NBA's pass as they block out New York. In his frustration, he tweeted. He immediately got back replies on where to watch it. He became a reluctant pirate, hence the above quote. If you give consumers what they want and price it fairly, they will pay.
If you're on Twitter, here's his hashtag #screwcable
Showing posts with label Fred Wilson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fred Wilson. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Music Leaders Surrendering To Their Management Team
In Fred Wilson's blog today, he talks about 360 Reviews for CEOs. He says they should be done regardless of whether you have 10 or 1000 employees. I have never heard of a music company attempting one.
A 360 review is a great way for the senior management team to anonymously evaluate the CEO, President, etc of the company. More times than not, this person is usually isolated from day-to-day happenings. Many times employees won't share certain information for fear of losing their jobs or being put on the sh*t list. This information would, in the majority of cases, strengthen the CEO as well as the company.
Fred suggests that the CEO should be present when results are revealed and therefore, can explain his/her self. It's helpful if you have a management coach run the proceedings. For a small sum, don't you think a company like Sony Music, Live Nation or Universal Music would benefit from hiring a management coach to conduct such a review? I'm guessing that unless the board mandates it, no one in upper management will suggest conducting such an inquiry of his or herself. What does this say about those in charge? Has anyone heard of a music company conducting a 360 Review?
A 360 review is a great way for the senior management team to anonymously evaluate the CEO, President, etc of the company. More times than not, this person is usually isolated from day-to-day happenings. Many times employees won't share certain information for fear of losing their jobs or being put on the sh*t list. This information would, in the majority of cases, strengthen the CEO as well as the company.
Fred suggests that the CEO should be present when results are revealed and therefore, can explain his/her self. It's helpful if you have a management coach run the proceedings. For a small sum, don't you think a company like Sony Music, Live Nation or Universal Music would benefit from hiring a management coach to conduct such a review? I'm guessing that unless the board mandates it, no one in upper management will suggest conducting such an inquiry of his or herself. What does this say about those in charge? Has anyone heard of a music company conducting a 360 Review?
Friday, February 25, 2011
Fred Wilson Says Don't Market Your Startup
He does and he doesn't say that. In his blog this morning he got things stirring. My interpretation: don't set aside a big budget for marketing your start up. You are the best marketer for your company/product and be the evangelist. He goes on to say that most of the companies he's invested in have not had an initial marketing budget.
When applying this to a new band/music artist, I must agree. In my experience, most acts that hire marketing companies come away with mediocre results and a lot less money in their pockets. The act's manager (and the band) is still struggling to pay the bills (she/he gets paid a commission on money earned) but the marketers have made their monthly fee and usually get it for a minimum of three months, which they say is necessary to launch a project.
Times have changed so drastically over the past 10 years, that an artist can build their own marketing machine using existing free tools, which is what Fred recommends. If you're engaging in your Twitter, blog and Facebook posts, you can begin to gain an audience. Obviously your music has to be good. It's been proven that word of mouth endorsements will trump any promotional scheme a marketing company can come up with (see the Grateful Dead). I've seen the results of hiring marketing companies. I've never come away from an experience where I've just wanted to tell everyone to hire that company. I've seen some nice awareness building campaigns and I've seen marketers do exactly the opposite of how you'd like to see your artist promoted. I've never had a home run or even a triple.
Kudos Fred. You got it. If you're a musician, take control of your marketing. If down the road it gets to be too much for you to handle, then hire someone who clearly knows your vision and will stick to it. At that point, you're probably making money and things are rolling along.
When applying this to a new band/music artist, I must agree. In my experience, most acts that hire marketing companies come away with mediocre results and a lot less money in their pockets. The act's manager (and the band) is still struggling to pay the bills (she/he gets paid a commission on money earned) but the marketers have made their monthly fee and usually get it for a minimum of three months, which they say is necessary to launch a project.
Times have changed so drastically over the past 10 years, that an artist can build their own marketing machine using existing free tools, which is what Fred recommends. If you're engaging in your Twitter, blog and Facebook posts, you can begin to gain an audience. Obviously your music has to be good. It's been proven that word of mouth endorsements will trump any promotional scheme a marketing company can come up with (see the Grateful Dead). I've seen the results of hiring marketing companies. I've never come away from an experience where I've just wanted to tell everyone to hire that company. I've seen some nice awareness building campaigns and I've seen marketers do exactly the opposite of how you'd like to see your artist promoted. I've never had a home run or even a triple.
Kudos Fred. You got it. If you're a musician, take control of your marketing. If down the road it gets to be too much for you to handle, then hire someone who clearly knows your vision and will stick to it. At that point, you're probably making money and things are rolling along.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Vevo: Music Video Content All In One Place?
Monday, June 15, 2009
Nanomedia: Can It Create Viable Stars
In Fred Wilson's blog, avc.com, he talks about his Internet radio station, fredwilson.fm. Each day he adds one song that means something to him at that moment. Today it's What Is The Life by George Harrison, which reminds me that I still need to get All Things Must Pass. He figures he has about 60 listeners per day, which amounts to 1300 visitors per month. This is nanomedia. He points out that HypeMachine put all these nano sites, including music blogs, together and what you have is one big, huge hunk of media and lots of listeners/readers.
The numbers don't lie, but what we don't have is a filter for finding the site that works best for you. This is something that I've argued the record labels were good for. Finding new music now isn't hard. There is just so much of it available that you want to find the good stuff. If you find a blogger who has the same taste as you, you're in luck. All of this media is a great thing for diversity, but it's probably not going to let us discover the next U2, Dave Matthews Band or even the next Weezer. How can you capitalize on all this media for one act? Whoever answers that will have written the next chapter in the music business.
The numbers don't lie, but what we don't have is a filter for finding the site that works best for you. This is something that I've argued the record labels were good for. Finding new music now isn't hard. There is just so much of it available that you want to find the good stuff. If you find a blogger who has the same taste as you, you're in luck. All of this media is a great thing for diversity, but it's probably not going to let us discover the next U2, Dave Matthews Band or even the next Weezer. How can you capitalize on all this media for one act? Whoever answers that will have written the next chapter in the music business.
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