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Apple Soars, Lion Roars
July 22, 2011
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"It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them."
-- Steve Jobs in Business Week, May 25 1998If you haven't already heard, Apple had another incredible earnings report. In the fiscal quarter ended June 25th, 2011, sales of iPhones grew 142% to 20.34 million, and Mac sales went up 14% to 3.95 million. Only the Apple iPod showed a decline, with a 20% drop down to 7.54 million sold, due mainly to other Apple devices having the same capabilities. 28.7 million iPads have been sold to date, almost half of which were purchased during the last six months, representing a 183% unit increase over the same time 2010.
Read more here: http://tiny.cc/eve08
I also recommend reading "What The iPad's Success Says About Us." It's a great article and you can read it here: http://tiny.cc/0w2k1
This week Apple also released its latest operating system, Lion, and more than 1 million copies were sold on its first day of availability. The company says it's the fastest-selling Mac OS ever.
There is little doubt that the market penetration and sales of iPods created a whole new world of consumers for Apple. They loved their iPod from day one, long before 200 million plus were in the hands (and ears) of people everywhere.
Those same consumers became iPhone and immediate iPad customers. Many are now replacing their laptop or desktop PCs with Macs.
Steve Jobs again: "It's not about pop culture, and it's not about fooling people, and it's not about convincing people that they want something they don't. We figure out what we want. And I think we're pretty good at having the right discipline to think through whether a lot of other people are going to want it, too. That's what we get paid to do. We just want to make great products."
And right now, in the most challenging economy since the Great Depression, those great products are flying out the doors of stores everywhere.
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 2
IS NETFLIX KILLING DVDs? READ WHAT BIG CHAMPAGNE'S ERIC GARLAND THINKS
Whether or not you are a Netflix subscriber, as I reported in the newsletter last week, consumers using Netflix were all over the Internet last week bemoaning the new price models Netflix put in place.
Big Champagne CEO Eric Garland has seen Netflix's price hike in many different forms over many years and for over a decade his Los Angeles-based company has tracked digital-media consumption over the Web and much of the data he collects he sells to the major film studios and record companies. He's in the catbird seat to watch events unfolding at Netflix and he's convinced that Netflix designed the price hike to rouse the studios and his audience out of their complacency regarding the DVD. Garland says the format was already dying but the price increase is meant to perform a mercy killing on the highest order; so consumers can begin to acquire movies in the more efficient way that benefits them -- and Netflix -- the most.
Read what he has to say here on Cnet.com: http://tiny.cc/b8eqy
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 3
DISH NETWORK NOW OWNS BLOCKBUSTER
Dish Network Corp. emerged as the new owner of Blockbuster, fundamentally paying $320 million at a bankruptcy auction for a very useful package of digital rights, lists of interested customers, and a brand name associated with movie rentals.
Read more here: http://tiny.cc/x5j2s
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 4
TURNTABLE.FM GETS ASCAP LICENSING
"A strange thing happened on the way to the latest digital music revolution. As U.S. consumers and recording industry executives wait to see if Spotify and Apple can usher in a new era of cloud-based music streaming, Turntable.fm has become the most buzzed-about digital music service in years."
Read the rest here on Billboard.biz: http://tiny.cc/758hh
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 5
CNET CHECKS IN ON SPOTIFY
The Spotify streaming-music services lands in the U.S., but was it worth the wait? CNET Senior Editor Donald Bell takes a look at Spotify and its competitors, and weighs in on whether the service is worth your time.
"You know something is good when it feels illegal. Such is the case with Spotify, the on-demand music-streaming service that seems too good to be true -- or, certainly, too good to be free. Yet, here it is, the "celestial jukebox" we've been dreaming of since the days of illegal gorging on the original Napster. It's called Spotify, it's finally available in the U.S., and music fans have reason to cheer. "
Read the rest of his take on it here: http://tiny.cc/xobfj
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 6
THE NEXT 10 HOTTEST GADGETS
WebFuzon has put together their list of ten new tech toys coming the rest of this year.
Check out the list here: http://tiny.cc/xqakb
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THE 'A-SIDE' - TRACK 7
BORDERS CALL IT QUITS, AMAZON WILL ENTER TEXTBOOK MARKET
Borders, the second-largest U.S. bookstore, said it would liquidate after it failed to receive any offers to save it.
The company said liquidation of its remaining 399 stores could start as soon as Friday, and it is expected to go out of business for good by the end of September.
From the article: "The loss of Borders may also make it more difficult for new writers to be discovered. 'The liquidation of Borders is an irreplaceable loss of a big part of the book-discovery ecosystem,' said Michael Norris, a senior analyst at Simba Information, a unit of MarketResearch.com 'Thousands of people whose job consisted of talking up and selling books will eventually being doing something else, and that's bad for authors, agents, and everyone associated with the value chain in books.'"
Read more about Borders closing here: http://tiny.cc/1ewn3
"More difficult for new writers to be discovered"? I don't think so, Mr. Norris. The Internet has enabled unknown authors to publish and earn money more than ever before. The overwhelming success of a book that literally started on the Internet, "Go The F*** To Sleep" proves it. Read "Go the F--- to Sleep': The Case of the Viral PDF' here: http://tiny.cc/14iwk
In the meantime, while it already dominates the e-book market, Amazon seems determined to challenge other markets, from full-feature tablets to online textbook renters. To that end, the ecommerce giant has opened a textbook store for its Kindle platform, where it is renting "tens of thousands" of titles for the upcoming school year.
Read about it here: http://tiny.cc/sllsc
MACCA & JOEL:
Thirty songs into his set at Yankee Stadium last Saturday night, Paul McCartney seemed like he was just getting started, and then he welcomed "a friend of New York and a friend of Yankee Stadium" onstage. It was Billy Joel, wearing a black jacket and baseball cap, who promptly sat down at the grand piano. "Are you ready for this?" McCartney asked him. "Yeah, man!" Joel responded. They kicked into a rowdy "I Saw Her Standing There," trading verses between Joel's furious piano solo.
IN OTHER MACCA NEWS:
"The Love We Make," a documentary about Paul McCartney's experiences in New York City immediately after 9/11, is set to premiere on Showtime one day before the 10th anniversary of the historic attack. The black-and-white film is mainly focused on the Beatles legend's work in planning and preparing for the Concert for New York City benefit show six weeks afterward. The film was directed by Albert Maysles, one-half of the filmmaking duo that made the Rolling Stones movie "Gimme Shelter" and the cult classic "'Grey Gardens."
CONSUMERS WANT iPHONES:
Among consumers planning to buy a smartphone in the next three months, nearly half have their hearts set on an iPhone, according to new findings from ChangeWave Research. The survey found that 46% of consumers who plan to buy a smartphone in the next 90 days prefer a device running Apple's iOS, which powers the iPhone. There's little question the iPhone is ascendant. Nokia was overtaken by Apple as the world's leading smartphone maker by volume in the second quarter, with 20.3 million iPhones shipped in that time period, compared to 16.7 million for the Finnish phone giant.
GEE, WHAT A SURPRISE ... NOT!
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are getting divorced. "We have decided to end our marriage," they say in a joint statement. It's the third divorce for Lopez. Her marriage to Ojani Noa ended in 1997, and she split from backup dancer Chris Judd in 2001.
GEE WHAT A SURPRISE ... NOT, TOO!
A poll conducted by Public Policy Polling reveals that if New Jersey's Republican governor Chris Christie faced off against Bruce Springsteen in a hypothetical political race, they would start out tied at 42% of the vote each. In the same poll, Springsteen ranked higher in terms of favorability, with 50% of all polled voicing approval of the legendary songwriter.
RARE BEATLE PIX BRING IN BIG BUX:
Rolling Stone reports that a collection of previously unpublished photographs of the Beatles' early concerts in the U.S. shot by a teenager in 1964 has taken in over $360,000 in an auction at Christie's in New York. The set of black-and-white prints, broken up into lots of about 50 each, sold much higher than original estimates, which fell between $2,000 and $3,000. According to the auction house, the photographs had been estimated modestly because the photographer, Mike Mitchell, is an unknown.
GAGA WOOS STERN WITH "HAIR":
From Rolling Stone, "Lady Gaga stopped by the Howard Stern Show earlier this week to serenade the radio host in his studio. At his request, the pop queen performed a solo piano rendition of 'Hair,' a ballad from Born This Way that directly connects self-esteem and personal expression with hair. With his iconoclastic spirit and long, curly black locks, it's easy to see why Stern would be particularly fond of the tune." Hear Lady GaGa's vocal chops on the song here: http://tiny.cc/5d9wh
MORE SEGER DATES ANNOUNCED, AS EXPECTED:
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band are resuming their 2011 American tour this fall and confirmed several cities where they'll be stopping. "The new dates will extend from coast to coast," the band said in a statement. "With stops expected in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa, Orlando, Dallas, Denver, Vancouver and more."
MTV VIDEO AWARDS NOMS:
Katy Perry leads this year's MTV Video Music Award nominations with nine, the network announced tonight, while Adele and Kanye West have earned seven each. Perry's nominations include Video of the Year and Best Female Video for "Firework," Best Pop Video for "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" and Best Collaboration for "E.T." with West.
PASSING:
Jerry Ragovoy, a great songwriter who wrote or collaborated on some of the most soulful ballads of the 1960s, including the Rolling Stones hit, "Time Is on My Side," and the Janis Joplin signatures "Piece of My Heart," "Cry Baby" and "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)," died last week in Manhattan. He was 80.
The Music Industry Past, Present & Future, And The Internet I answer questions on EconTalk
I did an interview about the industry and the Internet at EconTalk with host Russ Roberts. Russ is also a professor of economics at George Mason University, blogs at Cafe Hayek, and has written three novels that teach economics. He's also the co-creator of the Keynes-Hayek rap video. (And if your understanding of the economic meltdown that occurred needs to be enlightened, this video will do it)
In the interview we talk about the evolution of the music industry, the impact of the digital revolution, and I give my reasons for believing in the virtues and potential of the Internet in enhancing the music industry. I point out, as I have many times here in the newsletter, that the internet allows numerous artists to make money from their music and it can enhance revenues from live performances by expanding an artist's base. We also discuss the challenges facing record companies and I suggest that the full potential of the Internet as a distribution channel has yet to be fully exploited. There's a lot of ground covered, but based on the comments already posted of those who have tuned in, they've enjoyed it.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Quotes of the week
"Clarence was getting himself ready to go back on tour with the E Street Band. He lost 20 pounds. He was motivated and driven by the opportunity to play his sax again ... Clarence thought his collaboration with Lady Gaga was a new highlight of his professional life. She took him to '"The Edge of Glory.' On the set, Gaga grabbed Clarence's hands, looked into his eyes and said: "I believe in you seven days of the week, not just five." I will never forget that. He needed to hear those words to get through the night. He loved Gaga dearly."
-- Clarence Clemons widow, Victoria, sharing her memories of life with the "Big Man" in Rolling Stone"The character really is me, but I just couldn't possibly behave like that. If I had my druthers, that would be me all the time, but you can't do that. We're always doing things we don't want to do, we never say what we really feel, and so this is an idealized version of how I want to be. As crazy as this person is, I could step into those shoes right now, but I would be arrested or I'd be hit or whatever."
-- Larry David, on his on-screen persona in HBO's 'Curb your Enthusiasm'
The B-Side - 'Blips'
THE ONION (www.theonion.com) STORY OF THE WEEK:
Little Clay Thing Bought At Arts Festival
EUGENE, OR-A small, somewhat spherical clay thing with various types of decorations on it was purchased Friday at the ninth annual Eugene Arts Festival, sources confirmed.
The clay thing, which was covered in some sort of shiny glaze, was selected from a local artist's table that consisted of a number smaller and larger clay things, the majority of them also round. Reports indicated that in addition to the clay things, the display also included woven things, Native American things, and various hemp-pouch things.
The little clay thing was purchased for $7.
Read the rest here and laugh: Click Here.
The Blogs
Check out Jerry Del Colliano's (the founder of INSIDE RADIO) daily blog, by clicking here: http://www.insidemusicmedia.blogspot.comWebsite
Check out attorney Ray Beckerman's website at: http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com where he prints news about the RIAA's ongoing activities
Smart Marketing Consulting Services
Smart Marketing Consulting Services has been in business sixteen years, and consults clients in the music, entertainment, attraction, media, and technology industry on branding, marketing, online exploitation, maximizing new media, and more.
"And the beat goes on, the beat goes on ... drums keep poundin' rhythm to the brain."
"Work is life, you know, and without it, there's nothing but fear and insecurity." -- John Lennon
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