-
Changes In The Paradigms
October 28, 2005
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
"To turn really interesting ideas and fledgling technologies into a company that can continue to innovate for years, it requires a lot of disciplines." -- Apple Head Honcho, Steve Jobs.
Let's face it. Technology is changing all the existing business models in existence and it's hard to create new models for success when existing ones are evolving by the nanosecond.
When existing organizational structures and systems are no longer able to perform effectively, there are ways in which management responds to paradigm shifts or crises. Certainly existing structures must be improved to try to do more and do it better, faster, and more cost efficient. But the best way out to deal with dramatic changes in business, is to create new ways of doing things.
Look what Detroit did the past few months to move cars: Employee pricing for the public. You all saw the TV ad blitz by all the auto makers, or you saw the ads in print. The results: all manufacturers reported record breaking sales. Now, as sales cool again, watch what happens next. I have no idea what it will be, but you can rest assured the auto makers aren't going to sit back now and coast. They'll come up with yet another program to generate sales and keep profits in the black.
Look what the housing industry has done to move more homes month after month the past few years. Creative mortgage financing has made it possible for people to buy their first home, or move up into their second or third.
The airline industry continues to lose money overall, but Southwest and Jet Blue declare big profits. Hotels are reporting record occupancy rates as more people travel domestically despite higher fuel costs. Why? Because consumers have forgotten about travel agents and now get their deals at priceline.com, expedia.com, travelocity.com, etc.
The nation's number one retailer is Wal-Mart. I don't think for one second it's because of the great shopping experience one finds when going there. Nope. It's "Everyday Low Prices." Other retailers are complaining that Wal-Mart's domination in the marketplace might destroy competition which in the end will hurt consumers. In the meantime, Wal-Mart opens more stores and finds success after success. Why? "Everyday Low Prices." It's a new retail marketplace out there in middle America folks.
These are just some simple examples of how several business have shifted in reaction to the marketplace and how they have succeeded by doing things better, more creative than their competition. (You might think it's easy to do what Wal-Mart does - selling things cheaper. But if it's so easy, how come nobody else has challenged them and cut into their market share?)
Recently, major book publishers have quietly begun selling directly to customers over the Internet, in a move that could transform the trade by putting them in competition with online retailers like Amazon.com. The publishers, including Simon & Schuster, Random House and Penguin, claim to have limited retail ambitions and are simply trying to use their Web sites to help readers.
As sales of digital music continue to increase by the day, as more entertainment options become available to the consumer, it's imperative that the music industry also adapt to changes in its retail/consumer environment. I've said for too long (and so have many others) that CD prices are still too high. (If you doubt it, go to your local BLOCKBUSTER, HOLLYWOOD VIDEO store, or go online at amazon.com, and see what you can buy DVDs of hit movies for. There's a table in my neighborhood HOLLYWOOD video store that offers three previously viewed DVDs of hit movies for $25)
This week, following Apple's announcement of its new video iPod, analysts in the media industry are scrambling to contemplate a new revenue stream for broadcasters, movie studios, and, of course, Apple. While they try to figure out how much money can be made, it's yet another wakeup call to the advertising industry. It must figure out how best to take advantage of the growing amount of video inventory being made available online.
This week in the music industry the RIAA (yawn) sued another 700+ college kids for downloading (and not ONE label executive answered my call to defend what the RIAA is doing to help the industry, so in your silence you admit they are doing NOTHING); WMG shares continue to drop, ( the stock was down as much as 43 cents to $15.36 and just three weeks ago, shares were trading at around $18.50, and total album sales are off last year's year-to-date number by 48.5 million, or 9.8%.
There's so much the industry can do to create new and meaningful strategic partnerships to assist in developing a sound infrastructure to support an increased sales. With proper planning, goal setting, measurement, tracking, incentives for consumers, recognition and reward systems, maximizing the use and effectiveness of alternative delivery systems, and leveraging technologies to achieve change, the industry can discover the same types of new revenue streams and success stories as some of those I've sighted above.
Sirius Sees Big Bounce After Stern Deal
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter)The whopping $500 million Sirius Satellite Radio is paying Howard Stern to join the No. 2 celestial radio service might be starting to pay off. According to data from NPD Group, Sirius has been taking away retail-level market share from XM Satellite Radio for three consecutive months, and analysts primarily give credit to Stern.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Yahoo Boosts Prices On Music Service
By John Borland, Staff Writer, CNET News.comYahoo is boosting the price of a key part of its digital music subscription service, after launching it six months ago with a price tag startlingly lower than rival offerings.
The company sent an e-mail message to subscribers late Thursday night saying the cost of its portable subscription service--the plan that lets listeners download an unlimited amount of music per month and transfer it to compatible portable devices--would effectively double at the end of the month.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Legal P2P Opens For Business
After a year of such near-disaster moments, skeptical record executives have finally declared themselves satisfied with the new iMesh, which will relaunch Tuesday as the first unregulated peer-to-peer network to turn itself into a paid music service. But now it faces an even tougher audience: 5 million iMesh users who are used to free music.
Read more about it by clicking here.
iTunes Store Comes To Australia
Apple opens up its online music venue for buyers Down Under, but don't go looking for tunes from Sony BMG.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Radio Giant Pitches Buyers On High Def
On October 25th, in a dining room surrounded by life-size cardboard cartoons of Elvis, Orson Welles, and Sean Hannity, assembled by Interep heralded the arrival of High Definition (HD) radio, a new digital format promised to open a new era in radio advertising. HD radio responds to American demand for personalized media that engages viewers with extra information and new options, the execs told the New York Advertising Club audience, thus securing a place for "trusty old radio" in the pantheon of new media.
Read more about it by clicking here.
Free CDs Can Really Sell Music magazines...
But The Record Industry Isn't So Crazy About Giving Away The Store.
Want free music? The record industry may have its hands full trying to keep MP3s from being widely traded over the Internet, but you don't have to look far for other sources of free music. These days, all you have to do is buy a magazine.
Read more about it by clicking here.
XM Satellite Radio Adds Subscribers, Widens Loss
List Price: $29.98 -- Amazon.com Price: $20.99.
XM Satellite Radio on Thursday reported a wider third-quarter loss on escalating programming costs, but subscriptions to its pay radio service doubled to more than 5 million. The net loss increased to $131.9 million, or 60 cents a share, from $118.0 million, or 59 cents a share, a year earlier.
Read more about it by clicking here.
NO BRIT ON THE STRIP
Britney Spears has ended negotiations for a long-term engagement at a major Las Vegas resort.
CASH MUSIC TRIBUTE
Sheryl Crow, Foo Fighters, Norah Jones, Alison Krauss and Jerry Lee Lewis among the artists slated to perform at I Walk the Line: A Night For Johnny Cash, a special tribute to the music icon airing on CBS Nov. 16. Joaquin Phoenix and Dennis Quaid will be on hand to introduce performers.
WOULD ANY OF US REALLY MISS THE SHOW ... DO WE CARE?
Nicole Richie telling Jane magazine she will not reconcile with her Simple Life co-star Paris Hilton, but keeping quiet about the details. "I know that Paris loves to talk about it and that stuff, but that's just not my style," says Richie. No word yet on the fate of the reality show, which is due to begin filming its fourth season Nov. 1.
IN THE "AREN'T YOU NOT SUPPOSED TO PLAY CRUISE SHIPS UNTIL YOUR CAREER IS OVER?" DEPT
Dave Matthews headlining the Dave Matthews & Friends Caribbean Cruise Getaway, where fans will climb aboard Royal Caribbean cruise ships to hear music from the likes of Bob Weir, Toots and the Maytals and the North Mississippi Allstars and land on a private island in the Bahamas, where Matthews will perform with various artists on Feb. 4.
HOW COULD SHE EVER HAVE SAID 'NO' WITH A PROPOSAL LIKE THIS?
Per the Detroit News, Paul McCartney spurred a fan in the audience to ask his girlfriend to marry him, reading aloud a sign that queried: "Can Ben Ask Melissa To Marry Him?" "Well, go on, get down on your knees and ask her, Ben!" the former Beatle commanded. Melissa reportedly said yes.
THE 'BOSS' CHANNEL
Sirius Satellite Radio launching E Street Radio, a channel devoted entirely to the music of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, on Nov. 1.
THE ENVELOPE PLEASE
The envelope on which John Lennon penned the lyrics to "Give Peace a Chance" going up for auction in London next month. Bonhams auction house hoping to fetch at least $250,000 for the sale. The lyrics were said to be in the possession of Beatles publicist Derek Taylor, who died in 1997.
MAKING MUSIC AT THE CMA SHOW
Paul Simon and Jon Bon Jovi set to perform at the 39th Annual CMA Awards, which will take place in New York for the first time on Nov. 15. Simon will play with Willie Nelson for a duet and presentation of the Song of the Year award; Bon Jovi will be paired with Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles for a song.
STARBUCKS AND STONES
The Rolling Stones set to release an album of rare material through a partnership with Starbucks and Virgin Records next month. Rarities 1971-2003 will be released simultaneously Nov. 22 in both coffee shops and traditional music retailers.
PHAIR PODCASTING PLENTY
Liz Phair telling Billboard that she is "all about podcasting," and that she records every Friday and posts the material on her Website, www.lizphair.com..
WASHINGTON POST WILL VIDEO PODCAST
Spurred by Apple's just-released video iPod, WashingtonPost.com has announced that it has begun uploading video podcasts to Apple's iTunes music store.
COURTNEY CHRONICLES, ITEM# 2345671324
Seattle law firm Hendricks & Lewis filing a lawsuit against Courtney Love. The firm claims the rocker owes them over $340,000 in fees for work they performed over the last five years for Love.
BIG BUCKS BEYOND THE GRAVE
Elvis Presley topping Forbes magazine's annual list of celebrities who are the top moneymakers from beyond the grave. Presley, who died in 1977, pulled in an estimated $45 million in the past year.
COMING SOON!
- Santana, The Way That I Am (11/1)
- Terri Clark, Life Goes On (11/1)
- Imogen Heap, Speak for Yourself (11/1)
- Trey Anastasio, Trey Anastasio (11/1)
- Blink-182, Greatest Hits (11/1)
- Nirvana, Sliver: The Best of the Box (11/1)
2005 Industry Conferences
Date Name Location Portable Media Expo November 11-12, 2005 Ontario, CA 2005 Digital Entertainment & Media Expo (DEMXPO) November 30th, December 1st Los Angeles, CA International CES January 5-8, 2006 Las Vegas. NV
Quotes of the week
"Starbucks says they are going to start putting religious quotes on cups. The very first one will say, 'Jesus this cup of coffee is expensive!"
-- Conan O'Brien"When I think of 'Ebony and Ivory,' I think of Eddie Murphy and Joe Piccolo on Saturday Night Live. They were so funny."
-- Stevie Wonder in a People magazine interview. As you'll recall, Stevie's the guy who cowrote and first performed the song with Paul McCartney"Aren't these Hurricanes awful? So far this year in the United States there have been eight hurricanes this season. They've even run out of names for the hurricanes so now they go to Greek alphabet - and after that they go to names of Larry King's ex-wives."
-- David Letterman
NARIP Information
NARIP (The National Association of Record Industry Professionals) promotes career advancement, education and good will among record executives. To find out more about this great organization, how you can join or attend their events, just go to www.narip.com.
Date Name Location November 5 NARIP Workshop - Independent Distribution Solution w/Clay Pasternak Los Angeles November 10 Las Vegas Meets Hollywood's Sunset Strip: An Evening with Jerry Greenberg & Bob Greenberg "Music Business Opportunities In Las Vegas: The New Hollywood" NARIP Kicks Off Discussion in Vegas at The Rainbow, Thursday, Nov. 10th, 7:00 P.M. Top record execs JERRY GREENBERG and BOB GREENBERG will kick off a discussion on the explosive growth of the music business in Las Vegas sponsored by the National Association of Record Industry Professionals (NARIP) at the Rainbow Bar & Grill in Vegas.
The B-Side - 'Blips'
MAYBE HE HAD KRYPTONITE IN HIS POCKET: GRAZ, Austria. -- A man who claimed he was Superman and could fly was hospitalized early Tuesday after leaping from a fourth-floor window, authorities said. Paramedics rushed the 23-year-old man to a hospital in the city of Graz, about 120 miles south of Vienna, after he jumped from a window and suffered head and back injuries, police said. They said the man -- who apparently had drunk several bottles of red wine before attempting the jump -- appeared at the window ledge at around 4 a.m. and shouted: "I am Superman! Nothing can happen to me!"
-
-