Here is my second installment of my new regular feature -- "Pete's Picks" -- my favorite new music, artists of the week. Think of me as your music discovery engine.
(1) Band -- Smith Westerns. Song -- "Varsity."
(2) Band -- Vampire Weekend. Song -- "Diane Young" -- (as in, dyin' young -- just listen to the lyrics).
(3) Band -- St. Lucia. Song -- "All Eyes on You" -- (something different from me -- electronica).
Okay, I sent you my picks. Send me yours.
And, remember, Coachella is only a few weeks away. Let me know if you want to meet up.
Rabu, 27 Maret 2013
Selasa, 26 Maret 2013
My Guest Posts in Huffington Post & TechCrunch -- Updated
As many of my long-time readers know, I just passed the 1,200 post milestone.
I also frequently write for leading blogs The Huffington Post and TechCrunch, perhaps the two most widely read media and digital media blogs.
Here are my guest posts in The Huffington Post:
And, these are my guest posts in TechCrunch:
Check them out.
Kamis, 21 Maret 2013
Looks Like Yahoo! Took My Advice to Heart -- Focus On Video!
Almost exactly one month ago, I wrote a post about Yahoo! titled, "What's Yahoo! To Do? Here's What -- Disrupt Video!" And, my argument -- piggy-backing on an extremely insightful blog post by LA-based business accelerated MuckerLab -- was that a focus on video could unlock tremendous value for Marissa Mayer and her team.
Well, it seems like Marissa and her team have taken that advice to heart (I won't give myself all the credit after all). Just yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Yahoo! was in advanced talks to take a controlling interest in YouTube-esque online video company Dailymotion (which apparently is valued at about $300 million).
This would be Mayer's first major acquisition since coming on board to steer the Yahoo! ship away from the ice-berg.
And, without comment on the price itself -- or the specific target -- I certainly like the general direction this type of bold move would signify.
Well, it seems like Marissa and her team have taken that advice to heart (I won't give myself all the credit after all). Just yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Yahoo! was in advanced talks to take a controlling interest in YouTube-esque online video company Dailymotion (which apparently is valued at about $300 million).
This would be Mayer's first major acquisition since coming on board to steer the Yahoo! ship away from the ice-berg.
And, without comment on the price itself -- or the specific target -- I certainly like the general direction this type of bold move would signify.
Rabu, 20 Maret 2013
My 1200th Post! Ivi's Fate Encapsulates the Myriad Themes That Are "Digital Media"
This marks my 1,200th post. That's a lot of early mornings. That's a lot of cups of coffee. And, that's a lot of writing. If you lined up the words I have written over the past 6.5 years (I started this blog back on October 11, 2006 -- here is post #1), they would stretch from here to the moon and back 3 times. (Okay, you probably figured out that that can't be true, but I felt it was time to make some kind of dramatic statement to memorialize this auspicious event -- this personal milestone).
Perhaps I should write something profound. But, I won't try.
Instead, here's a digital media news headline from today that kind of summarizes the myriad issues of "the day" in this digital media world -- this era in which media and technology are converging, disrupting, and (hopefully) creating new business models ... all right before our eyes and without a map.
Here it is -- and I'll explain why it is a note-worthy digital media case.
The U.S. Supreme Court just declined to hear the appeal of a small little Seattle-based digital media company called "Ivi" that was in the game of rebroadcasting TV programming over the Internet. Ivi had appealed the U.S. Court of Appeal's refusal to reverse the trial court's grant of a preliminary injunction prohibiting Ivi from "doing it's thing." The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to act actually acted as the death knell to Ivi. Ivi shall be no more. Ivi lost. Major media (the plaintiffs in the case) -- including ABC, Disney, CBS NBC, Telemundo, Cox Media and a host of others -- won.
And, this case may have significant repercussions against others, including Barry Diller's Aereo service that has been in the cross-hairs of major media from the very beginning for similar reasons -- for being in the game of rebroadcasting "TV" over the internet without having the content licensing deals that those media companies argue it must have.
So, this story alone is noteworthy in the digital media world.
But, for me -- and for my 1,200th post -- it also nicely encapsulates some broad themes I/we all face in this brave new world of media and technology (aka "digital media"). Here are some that come to mind:
(1) "Digital media" is a constantly-evolving landscape filled with uncertainty. Technology outpaces the legal frameworks that try to contain it.
(2) The resulting legal resolutions by the courts frequently are a patchwork of after-the-fact justifications and rationalizations, rather than truly well-thought out and intellectually honest analyses.
(3) These realities should be of interest to all of us in the media game -- and that means just about everyone in the world of distributing content of any kind via any platform in this multi-screen world (which means just about all of us).
(4) They certainly are interesting to me, since I began my career as a media/entertainment/IP attorney "back in the day" -- and I have continuously benefitted from that training throughout my career (both as general counsel of a major operating division of Universal Studios in the 1990s, and throughout the 2000s and into running my 4th digital media company).
(5) Traditional media business models -- both on the content creation and distribution side -- are constantly under threat. I personally witnessed tremendous disruption and dislocation in the world of music as President & COO of Musicmatch in the early 90's, and I continue to see it almost daily in the wonderful world of online video (including both online distribution of motion pictures and television).
To wit -- Ivi.
To me, all of this is incredibly cool. I feel extremely fortunate to be directly in the midst of all of this revolutionary change -- to be part of it -- to drive it one way or another in my own small way. And, I feel fortunate to have been living my career in this way from the very beginning. With lots of opportunity. Lots of uncertainty. Lots of risk.
And, lots of fun.
Whether you are a long-time reader. Whether this is the first post of mine that you have read. Or whether it is the last. Thanks for allowing my myriad musings leave my keypad and enter your consciousness. Hopefully they offered an occasional insight ... or at least an occasional chuckle.
It is good to know that all of that caffeine over the years was not all for naught.
Perhaps I should write something profound. But, I won't try.
Instead, here's a digital media news headline from today that kind of summarizes the myriad issues of "the day" in this digital media world -- this era in which media and technology are converging, disrupting, and (hopefully) creating new business models ... all right before our eyes and without a map.
Here it is -- and I'll explain why it is a note-worthy digital media case.
The U.S. Supreme Court just declined to hear the appeal of a small little Seattle-based digital media company called "Ivi" that was in the game of rebroadcasting TV programming over the Internet. Ivi had appealed the U.S. Court of Appeal's refusal to reverse the trial court's grant of a preliminary injunction prohibiting Ivi from "doing it's thing." The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to act actually acted as the death knell to Ivi. Ivi shall be no more. Ivi lost. Major media (the plaintiffs in the case) -- including ABC, Disney, CBS NBC, Telemundo, Cox Media and a host of others -- won.
And, this case may have significant repercussions against others, including Barry Diller's Aereo service that has been in the cross-hairs of major media from the very beginning for similar reasons -- for being in the game of rebroadcasting "TV" over the internet without having the content licensing deals that those media companies argue it must have.
So, this story alone is noteworthy in the digital media world.
But, for me -- and for my 1,200th post -- it also nicely encapsulates some broad themes I/we all face in this brave new world of media and technology (aka "digital media"). Here are some that come to mind:
(1) "Digital media" is a constantly-evolving landscape filled with uncertainty. Technology outpaces the legal frameworks that try to contain it.
(2) The resulting legal resolutions by the courts frequently are a patchwork of after-the-fact justifications and rationalizations, rather than truly well-thought out and intellectually honest analyses.
(3) These realities should be of interest to all of us in the media game -- and that means just about everyone in the world of distributing content of any kind via any platform in this multi-screen world (which means just about all of us).
(4) They certainly are interesting to me, since I began my career as a media/entertainment/IP attorney "back in the day" -- and I have continuously benefitted from that training throughout my career (both as general counsel of a major operating division of Universal Studios in the 1990s, and throughout the 2000s and into running my 4th digital media company).
(5) Traditional media business models -- both on the content creation and distribution side -- are constantly under threat. I personally witnessed tremendous disruption and dislocation in the world of music as President & COO of Musicmatch in the early 90's, and I continue to see it almost daily in the wonderful world of online video (including both online distribution of motion pictures and television).
To wit -- Ivi.
To me, all of this is incredibly cool. I feel extremely fortunate to be directly in the midst of all of this revolutionary change -- to be part of it -- to drive it one way or another in my own small way. And, I feel fortunate to have been living my career in this way from the very beginning. With lots of opportunity. Lots of uncertainty. Lots of risk.
And, lots of fun.
Whether you are a long-time reader. Whether this is the first post of mine that you have read. Or whether it is the last. Thanks for allowing my myriad musings leave my keypad and enter your consciousness. Hopefully they offered an occasional insight ... or at least an occasional chuckle.
It is good to know that all of that caffeine over the years was not all for naught.
Selasa, 19 Maret 2013
Sorenson Media -- Major Product Launch at NAB
The annual media rite of passage known as NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) is nearly here, kicking off on April 8th.
My company, Sorenson Media, will be there, as always -- showcasing our full award-winning product suite in an actual suite at the Wynn Hotel (near the Las Vegas Convention Center).
This year, we have a special surprise -- a major new product launch in conjunction with the Show.
Read more about that -- and all of our NAB-related plans -- by reading the official Sorenson Media blog and the press release we just issued today.
My company, Sorenson Media, will be there, as always -- showcasing our full award-winning product suite in an actual suite at the Wynn Hotel (near the Las Vegas Convention Center).
This year, we have a special surprise -- a major new product launch in conjunction with the Show.
Read more about that -- and all of our NAB-related plans -- by reading the official Sorenson Media blog and the press release we just issued today.
Kamis, 14 Maret 2013
New Feature -- "Pete's Picks" -- MUST CHECK Out New Bands/Music
My long-time readers know that I am a passionate music fan. I listen to music 24/7 (just about). And, I frequently write about some of my favorite bands. Music reviews. Concert reviews. I also frequently Tweet some of my favorite new music.
Now, I plan to formalize it a bit. Every now and then -- no schedule, just simply when warranted -- I will throw out my favorite new bands and music via this new "Pete's Picks" feature.
Here are my first three MUST CHECK OUT picks:
(1) Band -- Kodaline. Song -- "All I Want". STUNNINGLY beautiful with a vintage U2 vibe.
(2) Band -- Icky Blossoms. Song -- "Babes". Couldn't be more different than Kodaline and "All I Want." Cheeky.
(3) Band -- New Politics. Song -- "Harlem" (not to be confused with the very different "Harlem Shuffle", which most definitely is not a "Pete's Pick."
(4) Band -- Widowspeak. Song -- "Dyed in the Wool". Haunting band, with a David Lynch-ian "Twin Peaks" vibe (and a heavy dose of Stevie Nicks). I've liked this band for a long time. And, they just dropped their new album "Almanac" (in fact, speaking of Stevie Nicks, check out the album cover for "Almanac" -- VERY Fleetwood Mac-ian).
Pandora & Spotify -- 1 More Goliath Coming Your Way -- How Can You Win?
Last week I wrote about goliaths Google and Apple widely reported to be soon starting their own music subscription/streaming services to compete directly with Pandora, Spotify and the host of other "Davids."
Well, that ain't all. Yesterday, just after Pandora and Spotify had wiped off the sweat from their collective brows and recovered from that news, it was reported that Twitter too likes music -- and plans to enter the fray, Tweet-style.
How can much smaller players like Pandora and Spotify "win" against this coming onslaught?
First, they must offer a significantly better and differentiated customer experience. Their service simply must be the best.
Second, they must use every effort to optimize their economics as compared with the goliaths. Most significantly, they must reduce overall COGS -- and that means, primarily, to minimize overall music licensing costs. Here, the fact that these players are "smaller" should help them. No music/content company wants to see Apple, Google or Twitter corner the subscription market a la Apple via iTune downloads.
Third, each must think outside of the (Pandora) box to offer a differentiated "experience" and differentiated customer engagement. One example here is to bring their customer engagement into the physical/offline world -- "Outbox" music festivals for Pandora is just one such possibility (I wrote about this in my recent Huffington Post article titled "8 Ways to Maximize Live Sports & Music Revenues").
Sounds easy? It ain't. But, urgency creates opportunity ....
Well, that ain't all. Yesterday, just after Pandora and Spotify had wiped off the sweat from their collective brows and recovered from that news, it was reported that Twitter too likes music -- and plans to enter the fray, Tweet-style.
How can much smaller players like Pandora and Spotify "win" against this coming onslaught?
First, they must offer a significantly better and differentiated customer experience. Their service simply must be the best.
Second, they must use every effort to optimize their economics as compared with the goliaths. Most significantly, they must reduce overall COGS -- and that means, primarily, to minimize overall music licensing costs. Here, the fact that these players are "smaller" should help them. No music/content company wants to see Apple, Google or Twitter corner the subscription market a la Apple via iTune downloads.
Third, each must think outside of the (Pandora) box to offer a differentiated "experience" and differentiated customer engagement. One example here is to bring their customer engagement into the physical/offline world -- "Outbox" music festivals for Pandora is just one such possibility (I wrote about this in my recent Huffington Post article titled "8 Ways to Maximize Live Sports & Music Revenues").
Sounds easy? It ain't. But, urgency creates opportunity ....
CityBot -- I Predicted Its "Love" at SXSW
I am a mentor of The Founder Institute. Over one year ago, I judged a "pitch-fest" in the San Diego chapter, hearing about 10 entrepreneurial spiels. The winner -- hands down -- was innovative travel guide CityBot. I wrote about the company/service at the time.
Well, call me prescient. Laptop Magazine just named CityBot one of the "10 Best Apps and Gadgets from SXSW 2013."
Congratulations to CEO/Founder Greg Solovyev and the entire CityBot team. And, check it out.
Well, call me prescient. Laptop Magazine just named CityBot one of the "10 Best Apps and Gadgets from SXSW 2013."
Congratulations to CEO/Founder Greg Solovyev and the entire CityBot team. And, check it out.
Rabu, 13 Maret 2013
My Q&A About Our New Sony Partnership
Last week, we here at Sorenson Media announced our new strategic partnership with Sony.
Yesterday, leading video industry publication Broadcast Newsroom published its Q&A with me about this new partnership -- "5 Questions for Sorenson On New Relationship."
Worthy of a read for those following our business -- the business of our new partner, Sony -- or the world of video and media in general (which are a lot of you).
Yesterday, leading video industry publication Broadcast Newsroom published its Q&A with me about this new partnership -- "5 Questions for Sorenson On New Relationship."
Worthy of a read for those following our business -- the business of our new partner, Sony -- or the world of video and media in general (which are a lot of you).
Senin, 11 Maret 2013
MUSE Tix $75 -- Going With Mom, Priceless ...
I flew back to Minneapolis (my home town) this weekend, primarily to take my mom and sister to the MUSE concert. The band is outstanding live -- and my mom loves the band's music (pretty cool for a mom, eh? .... by the way, "eh" is the right way to say things back in Minneapolis).
In any event, as always, the band "delivered." Outstanding show -- actually San Diego's paled in comparison (I think bands kind of feel bad for those who live in the frozen tundra and want to give those frozen folks something to remember).
Here we are at the show.
Kamis, 07 Maret 2013
MUSE Tonight -- Minneapolis Style!
Tonight I take my mom and sister to the MUSE concert in Minneapolis, amidst the snow and flurry. This will be the 5th time seeing the band live in the past 4 years.
Late January, I took my wife and two kids to MUSE's U.S. tour kick-off. Here is my video of how they started the show with "Unsustainable."
MUSE. Not just a concert. An experience.
Brilliant!
Late January, I took my wife and two kids to MUSE's U.S. tour kick-off. Here is my video of how they started the show with "Unsustainable."
MUSE. Not just a concert. An experience.
Brilliant!
Rabu, 06 Maret 2013
Watch Out Pandora & Spotify, Giants Coming Your Way
Online music leaders Pandora & Spotify -- already challenged by tough licensing economics (which just recently caused Pandora to change/limit some of its terms of service) -- may have an even more daunting threat on their hands soon.
TechCrunch reports today two major developments in the online music world: (1) Goliath YouTube plans to launch its own music subscription service soon (i.e., not ad-driven); and (2) Beats Electronics (you know, the Dr. Dre headphone guys backed my music industry giants like Jimmy Iovine) just spun out its music subscription service "Daisy" into a separate company (after having raised a cool $60 million), and Apple's CEO Tim Cook recently met with Beats/Daisy about that service (and is rumored to be launching its own online music subscription service this year).
Now those are spicy meatballs ...
TechCrunch reports today two major developments in the online music world: (1) Goliath YouTube plans to launch its own music subscription service soon (i.e., not ad-driven); and (2) Beats Electronics (you know, the Dr. Dre headphone guys backed my music industry giants like Jimmy Iovine) just spun out its music subscription service "Daisy" into a separate company (after having raised a cool $60 million), and Apple's CEO Tim Cook recently met with Beats/Daisy about that service (and is rumored to be launching its own online music subscription service this year).
Now those are spicy meatballs ...
Senin, 04 Maret 2013
Welcome Sony -- Sorenson Media's New Partner
I am pleased to report that Sony and Sorenson Media are now officially partners. You are reading this first here, since the news formally breaks only tomorrow morning at 6 am PT (consider this just one more added bonus for reading my blog).
Sony -- a world-class brand and professional media powerhouse -- is another new addition to our great family of global partners at Sorenson Media. In this initial Phase 1 of our partnership, Sony is already selling our award-winning Sorenson Squeeze product in its online store. Phase 2 will be even more strategic and will lead to further product integration and bundles.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Sorenson Media Announces Partnership with Sony Creative Software, Launches Squeeze Desktop Software in Sony Online Store
SAN DIEGO (March 5, 2013) – Sorenson Media today announced a new partnership with Sony Creative Software, a leading global provider of professional editing and authoring applications. The partnership provides Sony customers access to the award-winning Sorenson Squeeze video encoding application through the Sony Online Store (www.sonycreativesoftware.com/partners/video ). The two companies are also exploring further integration and future bundles.
"Providing our award-winning video encoding software, Sorenson Squeeze, within the Sony Online Store is an exciting first step towards a deeper partnership," said Peter Csathy, Sorenson Media's President and CEO. "Video professionals will immediately benefit from the combined workflow capabilities of Sorenson Squeeze and Sony Vegas Pro."
"Sorenson Squeeze provides our video professional customers with unmatched encoding performance and flexibility," said Dave Chaimson, Vice President Global Marketing for Sony Creative Software. "The combination of best-in-class editing and encoding tools combined with the Sorenson 360 online video platform provide significant value to our mutual customers." The partnership between Sorenson Media and Sony Creative Software combines industry-leading products designed for video professionals and content providers.
Sorenson Squeeze 8.5 provides high quality video encoding with professional features, including:
Single Output Acceleration: Squeeze 8.5 optimization for each of the major output formats, including MP4, QuickTime (MOV), WebM and Matroska (MKV). Parallel processing within the Squeeze engine enables the application to systematically break decoded, compressed video files into separate content chunks and partition these simultaneously across multiple CPUs for processing.
Intel Quick Sync Optimization: Sorenson Media collaborated with Intel engineers to optimize Squeeze 8.5 for Intel's Quick Sync platform and codec, including optimization for Intel's Second Generation (Sandy Bridge) and Third Generation (Ivy Bridge) processors on Windows machines.
Adaptive Bitrate Encoding: Squeeze provides optimized performance for all three leading adaptive bitrate streaming platforms: Adobe Dynamic Streaming; Apple HTTP Adaptive Streaming; and Microsoft Smooth Streaming. Squeeze also supports MPEG DASH, an emerging adaptive bitrate standard. The unique adaptive bitrate support automatically transcodes each individual video file into multiple, chunked segments in a full array of bitrates, organizes these segments into a folder, and delivers them to the specified destinations for playback on any device. This process simplifies and streamlines workflows by eliminating unnecessary tools and steps required by other applications.
Complete CPU Control: Squeeze 8.5 empowers Squeeze users to choose how to throttle CPU encoding via an intuitive slider bar – including devoting up to 100 percent of the user's system resources to a particular encode.
Free Sorenson 360 Account: Squeeze 8.5 is designed to make it easy to share and collaborate with encoded videos through fully automated processes within the user interface. Users also benefit from the ability to store, manage and distribute videos with the comprehensive Sorenson 360 online video platform (OVP). Squeeze 8.5 can also send video directly to unlimited publishing destinations, including Amazon, a CDN (Akamai and Limelight), and YouTube, or users can choose their own FTP, SFTP and folder destinations.
Pricing and Availability
Sorenson Squeeze is now available in the Sony Online Store:http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/sorensonsqueeze
Sorenson Media (www.sorensonmedia.com) is an award-winning provider of the highest quality differentiated video encoding and workflow solutions. With highly scalable cloud- and server-based transcoding solutions, desktop encoding applications, content management and delivery services, Sorenson Media empowers video professionals and businesses of all sizes to easily and cost-effectively encode, transcode, manage and deliver the highest-quality video — online and to mobile devices. Since 1995, Sorenson Media has been at the forefront of bringing online and mobile video into the economic and cultural mainstream. As video rapidly proliferates online, businesses and video professionals increasingly rely on Sorenson Media's innovative solutions and legacy of trust to meet their evolving needs.
About Sony Creative Software
Sony Creative Software inspires artistic expression with its award-winning line of products for digital video, audio, and music production, as well as industry-leading technology for DVD production and Blu-ray Disc™ authoring. Sound Forge™ Pro, ACID™ Pro, and Vegas™ Pro software have defined digital content creation for a generation of creative professionals. These signature product lines continue to advance media production by providing powerful, accessible tools. Today, there is a Sony Creative Software application for every level of expertise, including a full line of consumer software based on the company's professional applications. In addition, Sony Creative Software produces the extensive Sony® Sound Series collection of royalty-free loops and samples, Sony Pictures Sound Effects Series exclusive sound effects, and Vision Series video creation assets. Further, the company provides the industry-leading tools for enterprise-level Blu-ray Disc™ production: Blu-print®, DoStudio Authoring, and DoStudio Encoder software. The company's customers span the globe and include professionals in the film, television, video game, and recording industries, as well as students, educators, and hobbyists.
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