Spotify - Genius or end of the music business?

I think when making this argument I should declare my huge appreciation (even love) for Spotify. It's like going to your mates house, but not discovering a few albums you really like. But instead discovering every album ever produced since music production began! 

Now this is a brilliant thing. However....it's dangerous. As, as it stands, it is going to be very unlikely you are going to find any new music on Spotify. That is, music you don't already like. I have very much enjoyed listening to loads of albums that I would never have any desire to buy. However they are all bands/artists I have already heard of and liked. So if this trend is to continue, where is all the new music going to come from? Where are people going to find their next favorite band?

Then again...It is much easier to introduce friends to new music if they and the band are both on Spotify. It's as easy as one button or an e-mail. There is no need for the "oh I will bring the CD in." or "I will make you a tape". Sites like ShareMyPlaylist (www.sharemyplaylist.com) are offering site visitors the opportunity to create their own spotify playlists and then share them with friends. This is certainly one way that people will discover new songs/artists they may like. 

I think that with the advent of "free" music. Well advertising funded. People will actually be able to listen to more music, and therefore as a record label it is vitally important to build a network of friends, fans, and advocates of any up and coming band. If stupid videos and vouchers for pizza hut can "go viral" and be sent to 000's of others. Then I don't see any reason why good, interesting, different, bands cannot do the same. Then new fans can instantly listen to them on Spotify. 

There may be more bands than there have ever been, there may be more channels than there have ever been, but I think that it has never been easier for good music to receive a following. Suddenly bands don't need a big label to make it big. Suddenly bands don't need a label at all. 

If Spotify sounds the death toll of the traditional music industry, what is likely to rise in it's place is a much more democratic, social, and quite possible better music industry. There will be less money in it certainly. But any band who really goes into the music industry wanting to be a millionaire is better putting their talents to banking.....then again. 

     

Download it here......100% free.

www.spotify.com

Cadbury - Fair Trade Blog

Cadbury have recently launced their own fair trade blog. Promoting the fact that their Daily Milk brand is going fairtrade in October. This is a brilliant step forward and goes a long way to redressing the balance between "western" products and "developing" countries manufacturing. Something I am not going to claim to be knowledgeable to talk about - today anyway.
What is great is that rather than launching with a large advertising campaign. They have started a blog. To open the debate and answer questions customers may have. They know this is not going to let everyone know. However it is giving those who are interested the opportunity to engage and find out more - before anyone else.

To take this one step further, Cadbury went out and asked people two simple questions.
1.) What do you think of FairTrade.
2.) How do you feel about the fact Cadbury is going Fairtrade?

Again a small thing, but a very inclusive ones, and is an example of Cadbury taking a softly softly approach to this huge change in their product. Lets hope they are just the start and we will soon be seeing such open engagment from other big corporations.

(and maybe I will get some free fairtrade chocolate from Cadburys.)

European Elections - Social Network Voting?

The big story from the European and council elections was clearly the election of 2 BNP candidates. The fact they polled lower than the greens AND less votes than last time didn't seem to matter. However not wanting to give them any more publicity that is all I am going to say on the matter.

There was however, on some ballot sheets, and situation in the (other smaller parties) on the bbc site a group who are calling themselves YD. (Your Decision). They propose that if one of their members get elected they will put, on their website, the next vote that MP, MEP or councilor, has to make, and allow members to vote on what decision they want. What a bloody brilliant idea. Disregarding for a moment the problems around fraud and vote-rigging. Imagine if every MP allowed their constituents to vote on every issues. That's democracy. No longer would MPs be tied to the outdated party political system. Instead they would be tied to what the people who voted for them actually wanted. Politics for the many rather than the few.

The comparison is always made between the number of voters for reality TV shows vs. political parties. The reason is quite simple. People know their vote will count. They are being asked who they think is the better singer, dancer, Big brother um.....person. Imagine if politics worked the same way. People who drink a lot would be really interested in voting on alcohol tax. Parents would be actively engaged in discussing education, students would be really interested in the arguments around student loans. Everyone would have the ability to speak, vote for and be engaged in the areas of policy that would actively effect them. And not every 4 years, but every week, month, and year.


That is how to get people engaged in anything, asking their opinion and make it known that their opinion is valid and listened too. If Simon Cowell can understand this, why cannot the government?

Old Media Vs. New Media

I had the privilege recently of meeting one of the UK's most respected political bloggers. He runs the blog Guido Fawkes (www.order-order.com). This site have broken some of the major political stories of the past few years, and been keeping people reading the Telegraph as they release day after day more stories of MPs expenses. This is the blog that has in no small way been responsible for the downfall of over 5 government ministers. If that doesn't show the power of new media, i'm not sure what does. This blog isn't part of a major news corporation, it is funded by a huge corporation. The blog is independently run, again proving that in a digital age, small really is powerful.

In fact it is examples of sits such as this that really show that the media new order is, if not dead, but crumbling. Not since the Gutenberg press could one talk to so many so cheaply. Suddenly you don't need to be given permission from a major publisher to speak to people, it's now up to consumers to decide if they want to listen. And given the Guido Fawkes example, they are listening, in their thousands.

It is no good anymore for big advertisers to out shout and out spend their competitors (although there is no point in ignoring the fact that it helps). They also have to out think and out create them too. An example of this is Innocent drinks (An overused but still high interesting example). Innocent drinks were not backed by a large corporation (Although tragically they are now after Coca-Cola brought a share in the business). Innocent drinks used a good product, an inclusive tone of voice, and rather than seeing the relationship as product/consumer. They saw it as friend talking to friend. They offered free tasting, held their own festival, covered their delivery cars in flowers and much more besides.

Innocent understood it's not how loud you should, it's how much people listen. It's not about talking to as many people as possible, as much as possible. It's about talking to many fewer people, all the time, in a way that they actually want to here. It's about having more conversations, and actually listening to the responses. If you can connect and interest people, in something as a company you believe and find interesting, then you don't need to worry too much about marketing at all, you customers will do it for you, for free, willingly. And if you need an example of how powerful that it you only need to try and find an advert for Google.