5 Reasons Jay Z's Tidal Has A Shot (at the Title?)

Jay Z and his crashing waves of super-friends just launched Tidal -- the long-anticipated mobile-focused music streaming service.  Hot or not?  Will Tidal "matter"?  Can it?  Isn't the much-maligned world of music streaming services over-saturated and under-performing financially as it is (with twin giants Spotify and Pandora still nowhere near profitability under their stand-alone business model)?

Not so fast in this very special case.  Here are ...

5 REASONS WHY TIDAL IS BOTH UNIQUE -- AND A FORCE TO BE RECOGNIZED -- FROM DAY 1:

(1) Jay Z -- period, full stop.  HE is a force.  The force is with him.  And just look at his Jedi mind tricks ... his ability to assemble the star power (from all major music genres) on the stage with him at Monday's launch.  Imagine the logistics of doing just that alone with all the touring, recording, globe-trotting ... even Madge was there! ... which takes me to reason 2,

(2) United Artists.  Remember that iconic major movie company?  Hollywood legends Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, among others, financed and birthed that movie company nearly 100 years ago for the same fundamental reason launching the Tidal wave (had to say it at least once) -- i.e., control.   Star power drove United Artists' success back then.  And, imagine the potential power of the stars here, one century later, to drive magnified success in this new golden age of social media and with their individual mega-massive social followings?  Millions upon tens of millions upon hundreds of millions of frenzied followers banded together -- and for the same music "cause."  The United Artist precedent and potential is here.  And, the artists here are invested (literally!) in Tidal's success and will gladly feed Tidal with exclusive, differentiated content (music, videos, fan interaction, real-world non-virtual and tangible fan experiences) -- content not available anyplace else -- in a case of what Jack Black called "stick-it-to-the-man" in the movie School of Rock.  They will also push "the man" (the labels) hard for more artist-friendly economics (and likely share those friendlier economics with all participating artists) ... which takes me to reason 3,

(3) Differentiated User Content & Experience.  Think of the story here -- and think of the word "experience" as I lay it out (because consumers pay for "experiences").  First, you have a slick UI (I have played with the mobile version, which immediately reminded me of the look, ease and simplicity that I immediately saw when I first tried Vessel -- another new digital media iconoclast that is focused on video and hell-bent on disrupting YouTube much in the same way that Tidal is dead set on disrupting Spotify).  Second, you have (or will have) a deep pool of differentiated exclusive content (as I write in Reason (2) above).  And -- contrary to the thinking of some more tech-driven streaming services (Spotify calls itself a technology-first company) -- content (and artist relationships) matter, especially to super-fans.  They may not necessarily pay more just to access the same music they can find elsewhere.  BUT (and this is a critical "but"), they absolutely will pay to get closer to Jay Z and other artists that matter to them individually -- and for the chance to share in experiences not available anyplace else.  THAT too is content my friends!  It's just a broader definition of it.  Third, you have the much ballyhooed high fidelity experience -- which is both real -- and a great marketing story for both users and artists (Neil Young anyone?).  A critical mass of consumers will pay more for quality (Apple products, anyone?) ... which takes me to reason 4,

(4) Tidal Is Beats-ing Apple at Its Own Game. (I kinda' smirk as I write that caption ... forgive me, but one must enjoy simple pleasures!).  As I wrote previously when Apple first bought Beats for $3 billion, two key reasons were Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine (and the deep artist cred and relationships they brought to Apple, which is still fundamentally a hardware/tech DNA-based company despite its media trappings).  It is that artist visibility, cred, stamp of approval, and overall "cool" that immediately differentiated Apple's coming-soon Beats Music service from the other streaming behemoths.  Well, lookie lookie here.  Jay-Z paid $56 million for Tidal's "Aspire" platform -- and certainly millions more to spruce it up -- but its star power shines significantly more brightly right here right now.  Cupertino is cringing.  It's not quite the Dre Day that the good Dr. hoped for ... which brings me to reason 5,

(5) Other Mega-Mobile Players Will Stand Up, Take Notice & Partner with Tidal.  Apple has Beats Music.  Its business model is to deploy Beats Music as the Trojan Horse to drive incremental and primarily mobile hardware sales (iPhones and iPads) -- its leviathan revenue stream.  Countless other mega-companies -- who live in Apple's mobile "space" (and compete directly with the Apple machine) -- need to play that same "music-as-Trojan-Horse" game to fuel their own decidedly non-media core business models.  And, that means significant and global distribution partnerships await to propagate Tidal's wave (okay, I said it twice!).  Sprint is only the first.  Stay tuned for more -- including both wireless operators (like Sprint) and hardware/handset companies (like Samsung, ultimately in lieu of Milk Music?) -- who become smitten by Tidal's sexy story.

To be clear, I am not saying that Tidal will sweep over and drown the competition -- or even "win" and be profitable as a stand-alone business (although many other definitions of "winning" come into play for artists with Tidal, as I allude to above).  Other massive players already exist -- Spotify, Pandora, and Apple's coming re-imagined Beats Music.

But, let's be clear.  I am saying this (and I ain't April "foo foo foo foolin'" when I say it).

Tidal is real.

Tidal is changing the game.

Tidal is damn interesting ....

MCNs No More, "MPN" Please"! (or, What's In A "P"?)

As you readers know, I write continuously about MCNs (multi-channel networks).  And, recently, I have been writing about escalating challenges to YouTube.  So, where do the "'twain" meet?  At the nexus of the overall OTT video lexicon, that's where.

You see, several of the leading digital-first video networks formerly known as "MCNs" no longer answer to that name/acronym.  They prefer (justifiably) the new significantly expanded label "MPN" -- as in, multi-platform network.

What's in a name?

In this case, a lot!  "MPN" connotes mass distribution of videos across multiple distribution platforms -- not just YouTube.  While these mobile/millennial-focused new media companies initially birthed and aggregated their videos as channels on YouTube only (hence, the moniker "multi-channel" networks), now YouTube is only one of many (to be sure, still the most critical "one").  The new MPN game for most is to now initially build mass audiences on YouTube, but then take those audiences -- and monetize them -- off YouTube.  That's why these MPNs seek the widest spray of their video programming across the widest array of distribution platforms (including the likes of Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Vessel, Xbox -- just to name a few) to create a non-55/45 revenue story.  They just can't drive 55! (a musical reference that is likely lost on several of you ...).

Call it simple evolution in the OTT video world.  Just like Webster's continuously expands to meet the changing language of the times, the OTT video and digital media/tech dictionary expands to more accurately reflect movement in the overall space.

And, significant meaning in that movement there is ....

YouTube's Challengers Mount ... Are Real ... And Are Scary

YouTube -- the 800 pound King Kong video gorilla -- is increasingly under attack at every turn as it struggles to climb to further heights (here is my previous "must read" post, analysis and scorecard of the growing list of challengers).  And, since the last time I wrote at length -- less than 2 months ago -- those challengers mount and become evermore formidable.

Most significantly, Facebook, which is now part of every conversation.  Though focusing in earnest on video only a short time ago, Facebook already now drives more than 3 billion views daily (65% of which are on mobile devices)!  To put a further exclamation point on this eye-popping fact, white-hot "much-more-than-MCN" digital media company Jukin' Media tells me that, "it took 3 months to achieve the same scale on Facebook that took 3 years on YouTube" for its video content.  Just chew on that one a bit ....

And, to fuel continued mass adoption, Facebook just this past week erased one of its leading inhibitors -- its lack of an embeddable video player.  Now check that box -- Facebook has that too.  Make no mistake, Facebook also is fully immersed in the premium video content game, also just announcing major new partnerships with A+ Hollywood players including the likes of ESPN and mega-director JJ Abrams.

But, Facebook is not the only mega-social media threat to YouTube.  Try on both Snapchat and Twitter for size.

Snapchat -- of all major social networks -- appeals the most (by far!) to the demographic that matters most to marketers.  The young and the restless.  71% of Snapchat's U.S. users are 18-34 (45% fall into the 18-24% range) (here's a "must see" chart from Re/Code that lays it all out graphically) -- and those factoids (and its youth-quake reality) don't even capture Snapchat users under the age of 18!  And, I know from personal experience (I am the father of a 15 and 12 year old, after all) that Snapchat -- together with Instagram -- are the social networks of choice.  My two kids -- and the entire population we see -- consume Snapchat feverishly (and increasingly for video).

And then there's Twitter, which increasingly focuses on video and, to that point, just released its own "Meerkat Killer" -- a live video streaming app called Periscope.  Live streaming has become a major new battleground in the video wars (and Meerkat -- a company you definitely should know -- isn't simply standing around as Twitter challenges its recent dominance).

So many other categories of companies -- and mega-players -- who hope to de-throne YouTube.  And, so much time (since we are still in the early innings of OTT video).  Best to review all them via my earlier detailed analysis.

YouTube certainly isn't going away anytime soon.  I fully expect it to be "here to stay" for the long haul and a continuing massive player in the overall wonderful world of video.  But, YouTube certainly isn't the only game in town anymore.

Much like the relentless stalking character in the new movie "It Follows" (which I hope to see later today), Facebook and some other players are closing in ... and are downright frightening ....

San Diego IndieFest -- Images From A Festival That Matters

Yesterday, my family and I attended our second San Diego IndieFest music festival - the 9th in a continuing annual series.  The festival -- with hot headlining indie band Bear Hands -- is a "labor of love" (literally) born by Alicia Champion (someone I have come to know and deeply respect) and spouse (and featured artist) Daneille Lopresti.  And it matters.  It matters to the community (this time City Heights, at the perfect intimate, open and family-friendly venue).  It matters to musicians and fans alike.  And it matters in terms of its message -- which is "Rock to Stop Violence."  Here are some scenes early in the day on another glorious San Diego day.

Images from top to bottom -- (1) my wife Luisa and I are captured at the festival's photo booth and asked to write "what matters" to us, (2) Luisa and festival co-creator Alicia Champion discuss the festival's roots and impact, (3) an image from early in the day, (4) my daughter, Hunter (with the braids) and her friend Izzy at the photo wall, (5) my son, Luca, at the art tent, and (6) Hunter and Izzy's photo of meaning (note the consistent theme of family and music ... and Hunter's "shout out" to indie band (and obsession) Warpaint, whom she has seen 3 times already and whom we will see again soon headlining Desert Daze in early May).

Steve Jobs Revisited - USA Today RADIO Tech Roundtable - My Thoughts

This past week, USA Today's resident guru of "all things tech" -- Jefferson Graham -- led a roundtable discussion revisiting the legacy of Steve Jobs in light of the new "kinder, gentler" image portrayed in the new biography "Becoming Steve Jobs" that is making the rounds. I was one of Jeff's "panelists" for this discussion -- and here is the full audio interview (below) in which I and others give our candid thoughts about the "man" (both professionally as a visionary, and as a man "wholly").

Apple v. Netflix & The LA Tech Scene - My Radio Interview with USA Today

NEVERMIND the picture, PLEASE! (I had nothing to do with it, believe me)!  Here below is my AUDIO interview with USA Today's leading tech expert Jefferson Graham (and posted by him) in which we discuss (1) Apple v. Netflix (and who will win the "cord cutting wars"), (2) the LA Tech Scene (and why I find it to be both vibrant and extremely gratifying), and (3) Manatt Digital Media (and why I think we can do what others cannot).  Jeff's a great guy -- and asks lots of good questions.  Hope you enjoy it.

Tastemade - Scenes From the MCN's Exclusive Event

Last night, leading food & travel MCN Tastemade (headquartered just down the street from us here at Manatt Digital Media in Santa Monica, CA) held an exclusive invite-only event announcing its new partnership with Apple TV (a big coup which gives the MCN great visibility and distribution).  As expected, great food.  Great drink.  And video creators all around.  Here are some images of the event.  (Below, in order of appearance top to bottom, (i) deconstructing steak with a blow-torch ... yes, a blow-torch), (ii) the overall scene in the Tastemade studios, and (iii) pouring home-made Old Fashions.