Just launched today -- from the same dedicated team that brought you social impact movement Purpose -- new "Share Economy" organization Peers.org. Grass-roots. Dedicated. Informative. Motivating. Impactful.
Check it out. Love what they are doing -- and what it represents.
I spent time with founding member James Slezak yesterday in their New York office. The place was alive with positive "can do" energy. Grass-roots all the way. And, very very real. This is how change happens ...
Rabu, 31 Juli 2013
Senin, 29 Juli 2013
Forever Festival -- Earth's First Live Digital Music Festival -- Streams to You August 4-11
The “Forever Festival – Sound + Vision” – I am proud to be part of it. It is something entirely new. And very very cool.
On August 7, as part of the "Forever Festival" held from August 4th-11th, leading live concert streaming service IROCKEand LiveDMA will present this first-of-its kind blockbuster evening that features more than 150 pioneers of the live digital music industry. That means music legends (like Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead), digital music star artists (a major name surprise, and I won’t ruin it here), artist managers, and digital music entrepreneurs and innovators. I guess I fall into the ladder category … proudly. This event will stream live as part of Forever Festival programming at 4evrfest.com.
Want more proof that this is the real deal and ground-breaking? Then check this out – Marc Scarpa will direct the event – and he has some experience here. He is the first to have ever directed a major music festival streamed live over the Internet – the 1996 Tibetan Freedom Concerts in San Francisco organized by The Beastie Boys and featuring Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Beck and Sonic Youth.
It’s an insanely amazing group of people with whom I will be gathered and speak on a panel, including: Bob Weir, Roger McNamee (Elevation Partners), Jay Samit (former head of digital music for Sony and EMI), Evan Lowenstein (StageIt), Steve Rennie (Incubus’s manager), John Petrocelli (co-founder Bulldog Digital Media), Freddy Fletcher (partner/head of production of Stageside Production at Austin City Limits LIVE), and many many others.
All of this will stream live from the great Saint Rocke live music venue in Hermosa Beach, California.
For anyone even remotely interested in the digital music scene – and the current music business in general – this is a “must watch” live streaming event.
Kamis, 25 Juli 2013
What Is Digital Media? Why Does It Matter? My Presentation -- Via Video, Powerpoint -- to the California Capital Summit
This past Friday, Lindsay Conner (Co-Chair of Manatt's Entertainment & Media group and a giant in the motion picture business world) and I (representing Manatt Digital Media Ventures) gave a presentation in LA to about 100 members of the California Capital Summit -- titled, "The Digital Media Revolution: What It Is & Why It Matters to Business ... Any Business ... YOUR Business." This was not a group of digital media experts -- accordingly, this was intended to be a high level overview that was both practical and thought-provoking. Essentially, to get everyone's head "in the game" -- i.e., that every single person needs to understand the media/marketing/engagement forces around them and either harness them (or not) at their peril. We began the presentation with this great video below, which itself is an amazingly effective piece of social/viral marketing, and we used this slide deck to underscore our points -- click here to access it (you can access the accompanying audio from our presentation by clicking this separate link):
Immediately after showing this video (which is, by the way, a great way to warm up a crowd!), I asked the audience -- by a show of hands -- whether they felt the video was compelling. Literally every single hand went into the air! Every single one.
THAT, my friends, is the power of video. THAT is the power of social media/marketing done right (I found that video online, shared it with 100 in the room, made it available to several who requested it, and they told two friends ... and so on ... and so on ....). Not a bad result for the video producer and publisher who created it to demonstrate how immersed our lives are in digital media -- but also, of course, to promote his book and business. THAT is effective marketing in this new age. Very ....
Once again, you can hear our entire talk -- and view the corresponding powerpoint slide deck -- by clicking to this link.
Immediately after showing this video (which is, by the way, a great way to warm up a crowd!), I asked the audience -- by a show of hands -- whether they felt the video was compelling. Literally every single hand went into the air! Every single one.
THAT, my friends, is the power of video. THAT is the power of social media/marketing done right (I found that video online, shared it with 100 in the room, made it available to several who requested it, and they told two friends ... and so on ... and so on ....). Not a bad result for the video producer and publisher who created it to demonstrate how immersed our lives are in digital media -- but also, of course, to promote his book and business. THAT is effective marketing in this new age. Very ....
Once again, you can hear our entire talk -- and view the corresponding powerpoint slide deck -- by clicking to this link.
Senin, 22 Juli 2013
My LinkedIn Profile -- Evolved -- Social Impact & Artists
I just made substantial changes to my LinkedIn profile (the first in a long time) -- which mirror substantial changes in my life. Yes, of course, I am now CEO of Manatt Digital Media Ventures (my new gig for 2+ months) and feature that in my headline. But, my new headline also underscores my deep involvement with artists and social impact organizations -- two areas of deepening passion for me.
Based on that passion, I now frequently counsel indie filmmakers and musicians, particularly about evolving modes of demand generation and direct distribution and engagement. I am now also closely aligned with like-minded individuals at high-profile social impact organizations and "triple bottom line" companies (including the new wave of social impact start-ups).
My wife, Luisa, and I are also particularly passionate about driving our own youth and family-focused social impact -- both within our home and into our communities from "the inside out" (as my wife would say). Check out her amazing non-profit The Giving Tree Movement.
And, I am working on my own stealth music festival featuring world-class artists, but also steeped in youth-focused empowerment. This is a labor of love based on both (1) establishing a holistic overall experience steeped in music, but also going deeper and (2) harnessing the energy tapped at that music festival experience to make a difference and drive positive individual and social change that goes well beyond the weekend itself. All I'll say about it for now is "FM3 Experience" (FM3 XP) -- November 8-9, 2014 -- San Diego.
Based on that passion, I now frequently counsel indie filmmakers and musicians, particularly about evolving modes of demand generation and direct distribution and engagement. I am now also closely aligned with like-minded individuals at high-profile social impact organizations and "triple bottom line" companies (including the new wave of social impact start-ups).
My wife, Luisa, and I are also particularly passionate about driving our own youth and family-focused social impact -- both within our home and into our communities from "the inside out" (as my wife would say). Check out her amazing non-profit The Giving Tree Movement.
And, I am working on my own stealth music festival featuring world-class artists, but also steeped in youth-focused empowerment. This is a labor of love based on both (1) establishing a holistic overall experience steeped in music, but also going deeper and (2) harnessing the energy tapped at that music festival experience to make a difference and drive positive individual and social change that goes well beyond the weekend itself. All I'll say about it for now is "FM3 Experience" (FM3 XP) -- November 8-9, 2014 -- San Diego.
Rabu, 17 Juli 2013
REPORT -- Piracy Substantially Down -- Compelling Paid Alternatives to Blame
Important development reported in today's TechCrunch -- media piracy is substantially (and, I mean substantially) down as a result of compelling paid alternatives (primarily subscription streaming services like Netflix and Pandora).
"Back in the day," I served as President of online music pioneer Musicmatch (ultimately acquired by Yahoo!). We were amongst the first to offer paid streaming subscriptions (10 years ago!). I always believed that the best defense against piracy was a good offense -- i.e., beat back pirate sites by offering the best customer/user experiences. Most were skeptical about this strategy -- and most doubted that subscription services would ever catch on. After all, consumers want to "own" content, right?
Well, it took a while, but subscription services are now mainstream -- and consumers realize that access to the content they want (and the compelling user experience they need) is tantamount to ownership. If your content is always available to you -- anytime, anywhere -- why does "ownership" really matter?
"Back in the day," I served as President of online music pioneer Musicmatch (ultimately acquired by Yahoo!). We were amongst the first to offer paid streaming subscriptions (10 years ago!). I always believed that the best defense against piracy was a good offense -- i.e., beat back pirate sites by offering the best customer/user experiences. Most were skeptical about this strategy -- and most doubted that subscription services would ever catch on. After all, consumers want to "own" content, right?
Well, it took a while, but subscription services are now mainstream -- and consumers realize that access to the content they want (and the compelling user experience they need) is tantamount to ownership. If your content is always available to you -- anytime, anywhere -- why does "ownership" really matter?
Selasa, 16 Juli 2013
My New HuffPo(st) -- For Family Videos, YES Is More
My most recent Huffington Post guest article was posted yesterday -- titled "For Family Videos, Less Is, Well Less: Welcome to the Age of Video Snippets." In it, I discuss the "experiential" differences between camcorder shot videos (slices of life) of yesteryear compared with today's smart phone captured videos (snippets of life). And, I argue that -- for your personal family video memories -- you want the longer-form slices, not ADD-style snippets.
What led me to this realization? Transferring 70 of my MiniDV tapes online -- tapes that had been languishing in a plastic bin in my garage for the past umpteen years. A company called YesVideo -- that promises to "Bring your home movies to life" -- made that all possible. I packed them all up. Shipped them out. And, 30 days later, voila! They are now online for viewing.
Magical viewing. Viewing of our memories. Viewing of our slices of life.
Do you want to view your precious family memories? YES you can! It is a service that I recommend ... highly. And, do it before those near-forgotten videos (MiniDVs, VHS, 8 mm, Super 8) degrade. Priceless.
The one risk to be aware of when using any kind of cloud-based service (like YesVideo) is the possibility that the service ultimately goes out of business. If that were to happen, what happens to all of those precious memories? The company is not an 800 pound gorilla (yet) after all. And, this risk isn't theoretical. Remember the famous Flip cam and its companion cloud-based storage and streaming service? It was massive at one point -- and then shuttered -- AFTER 800 pound gorilla Cisco had acquired it! Flip users -- who had uploaded all of their Flip videos -- were essentially told by Cisco to fend for themselves.
So, to protect yourself from this possibility, I recommend that you order physical DVDs from YesVideo, in addition to transferring those videos online. Then you have the back-up you need -- and the peace of mind you want.
The one risk to be aware of when using any kind of cloud-based service (like YesVideo) is the possibility that the service ultimately goes out of business. If that were to happen, what happens to all of those precious memories? The company is not an 800 pound gorilla (yet) after all. And, this risk isn't theoretical. Remember the famous Flip cam and its companion cloud-based storage and streaming service? It was massive at one point -- and then shuttered -- AFTER 800 pound gorilla Cisco had acquired it! Flip users -- who had uploaded all of their Flip videos -- were essentially told by Cisco to fend for themselves.
So, to protect yourself from this possibility, I recommend that you order physical DVDs from YesVideo, in addition to transferring those videos online. Then you have the back-up you need -- and the peace of mind you want.
Kamis, 11 Juli 2013
Apple's E-Book Loss -- Why It Matters to ALL Media (Not Just Books)
As you already likely know -- in the much-watched e-book anti-trust court case that pitted Amazon's wholesale $9.99 pricing model against Apple's "agency" model -- a federal district court judge just ruled against Apple, finding that Apple engaged in illegal "price-fixing" in its dealings with publishers.
But, make no mistake. This isn't just about e-books. The court's decision has potentially profound implications on all forms of media, including premium online video distribution and pricing (motion pictures and television). So, listen up all you digital media executives -- you should be watching this all very closely ... very closely.
Here are three significant themes resulting from the court's validation of Amazon's "wholesale" pricing model, pursuant to which the retailer -- not the publisher -- sets e-book pricing:
(1) "Pure play" online media distributors should be troubled. Amazon -- and Apple for that matter -- are unique animals. Most importantly, both Amazon and Apple have their own particular strategic reasons to sell e-books and other forms of media content. For Amazon, yes, it is to sell hardware (Kindles), but even more importantly e-books and other content are the bait to attract consumers into its e-commerce world of huge sales volume at extremely low margins. For Apple, e-books and other forms of content are the bait to sell more hardware (iPads, iPhones). The point is that both Amazon and Apple can afford to sell e-books, movies, television, music, and games at low, low prices (potentially even at a loss), because their primary motivation is to sell "other things."
Pure-play online content distributors (think Netflix, think Hulu and myriad others), on the other hand, have no such luxury. They have no "other things" to sell. They MUST make money by distributing the content/media itself. So, they may believe that their very existence is threatened by Amazon and others as they continue to drive down pricing to meet their broader strategic goals.
And, content creators and owners should care about this ... a lot. As I wrote in TechCrunch, content creators/owners want more distributors for their content, not less.
(2) Publishers, writers and all content creators will see this decision as a potential further degrading of the value of their content in the minds of consumers. In an ironic twist of fate (about which I wrote about earlier), Apple essentially was fighting for a higher price point for e-books in a battle to break Amazon's first-mover grip in the e-book market. Whereas Apple was the one that implemented a $9.99 price point in the music world (for albums) 10 years ago -- evoking the ire of music execs and artists everywhere -- Apple was now seen by many publishers as being a godsend in the e-book market in its fight against Amazon's $9.99 price point that many publishers feel degrades the value of that content in the minds of consumers. The court's decision will only add fuel to this fire -- and to the age old question, "how much is content worth?" Let's not forget, content creators must be incentivized to make money. Inspiration does not come from inspiration alone. A writer needs to pay the bills!
(3) There is no reason why the rationale behind the court's decision about wholesale pricing shouldn't apply equally to other forms of media. But, let's face it, motion pictures, television and music are increasingly streamed via subscription models -- and there also is more pricing precedent in those realms).
So, watch closely ... very. And, don't forget, this was only one battle in the ultimate war on this e-book pricing issue. This was a decision by a single federal court judge. Apple's teams of lawyers are no doubt frantically drafting their appeal as we speak.
Didn't some writer somewhere write the inspired line "it ain't over 'til it's over?"
But, make no mistake. This isn't just about e-books. The court's decision has potentially profound implications on all forms of media, including premium online video distribution and pricing (motion pictures and television). So, listen up all you digital media executives -- you should be watching this all very closely ... very closely.
Here are three significant themes resulting from the court's validation of Amazon's "wholesale" pricing model, pursuant to which the retailer -- not the publisher -- sets e-book pricing:
(1) "Pure play" online media distributors should be troubled. Amazon -- and Apple for that matter -- are unique animals. Most importantly, both Amazon and Apple have their own particular strategic reasons to sell e-books and other forms of media content. For Amazon, yes, it is to sell hardware (Kindles), but even more importantly e-books and other content are the bait to attract consumers into its e-commerce world of huge sales volume at extremely low margins. For Apple, e-books and other forms of content are the bait to sell more hardware (iPads, iPhones). The point is that both Amazon and Apple can afford to sell e-books, movies, television, music, and games at low, low prices (potentially even at a loss), because their primary motivation is to sell "other things."
Pure-play online content distributors (think Netflix, think Hulu and myriad others), on the other hand, have no such luxury. They have no "other things" to sell. They MUST make money by distributing the content/media itself. So, they may believe that their very existence is threatened by Amazon and others as they continue to drive down pricing to meet their broader strategic goals.
And, content creators and owners should care about this ... a lot. As I wrote in TechCrunch, content creators/owners want more distributors for their content, not less.
(2) Publishers, writers and all content creators will see this decision as a potential further degrading of the value of their content in the minds of consumers. In an ironic twist of fate (about which I wrote about earlier), Apple essentially was fighting for a higher price point for e-books in a battle to break Amazon's first-mover grip in the e-book market. Whereas Apple was the one that implemented a $9.99 price point in the music world (for albums) 10 years ago -- evoking the ire of music execs and artists everywhere -- Apple was now seen by many publishers as being a godsend in the e-book market in its fight against Amazon's $9.99 price point that many publishers feel degrades the value of that content in the minds of consumers. The court's decision will only add fuel to this fire -- and to the age old question, "how much is content worth?" Let's not forget, content creators must be incentivized to make money. Inspiration does not come from inspiration alone. A writer needs to pay the bills!
(3) There is no reason why the rationale behind the court's decision about wholesale pricing shouldn't apply equally to other forms of media. But, let's face it, motion pictures, television and music are increasingly streamed via subscription models -- and there also is more pricing precedent in those realms).
So, watch closely ... very. And, don't forget, this was only one battle in the ultimate war on this e-book pricing issue. This was a decision by a single federal court judge. Apple's teams of lawyers are no doubt frantically drafting their appeal as we speak.
Didn't some writer somewhere write the inspired line "it ain't over 'til it's over?"
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