Sunday, September 02, 2007 - 10:37 am
Here's the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/magazine/02rubin.t.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&adxn nl=0&adxnnlx=1188752704-BTz6taWq0qXzsuFcX/ctTQ&oref=slogin
quote:"The Big Red focus groups were both depressing and informative, and they confirmed what I — and Rick — already knew," DiDia told me afterward. "The kids all said that a) no one listens to the radio anymore, b) they mostly steal music, but they don't consider it stealing, and c) they get most of their music from iTunes on their iPod. They told us that MySpace is over, it's just not cool anymore; Facebook is still cool, but that might not last much longer; and the biggest thing in their life is word of mouth. That's how they hear about music, bands, everything."
My own kids appear to follow this, to a large degree. The boys are more focused on what others have deemed "cool". The girls do this, but do lean on the media, radio, TV, Internet more than the boys do. (all of them knew who Potts was, before I did! --this is significant! See below.)
quote:"Until very recently," Rubin told me over lunch at Hugo's, a health-conscious restaurant in Hollywood, "there were a handful of channels in the music business that the gatekeepers controlled. They were radio, Tower Records, MTV, certain mainstream press like Rolling Stone. That's how people found out about new things."
Yep. When this broke for me, there is no going back. What does this suggest for radio? IMHO, my gut says context. Context as in, not only playing cool, but giving it daily relevance, through meaning, stories, etc...
With so many options, there has got to be a hook above and beyond just having the right music. That hook is gonna come from people and the value add they can bring to the tunes, available anywhere now.
And this!
quote:"The CD debuted at No. 4," Rubin told me at Hugo's, still sounding upset. "It was the highest debut of Neil's career, off to a great start. But Columbia — it was some kind of corporate thing — had put spyware on the CD. That kept people from copying it, but it also somehow recorded information about whoever bought the record. The spyware became public knowledge, and people freaked out. There were some lawsuits filed, and the CD was recalled by Columbia. Literally pulled from stores."
I so hope they come to grok that dynamic.
Astroturfing!
quote:The "word of mouth" department will function as a publicity-promotional arm of the company, spreading commissioned buzz through chat rooms across the planet and through old-fashioned human interaction. "They tell all their friends about a band," Barnett explained. "Their job is to create interest."
Late teens can smell the sell. IMHO, this does more harm than good, unless there is a really great story. That's a value add, that makes the sell ok. Anything else is just noise and will be ignored.
Again, the "Pay for Play" idea is floated:
quote:"You would subscribe to music," Rubin explained, as he settled on the velvet couch in his library. "You'd pay, say, $19.95 a month, and the music will come anywhere you'd like. In this new world, there will be a virtual library that will be accessible from your car, from your cellphone, from your computer, from your television. Anywhere. The iPod will be obsolete, but there would be a Walkman-like device you could plug into speakers at home.
IMHO, this is a strike. I've one better:
Pay for Package. That's the subscription podcast. Today, a given recording is just not worth much. They are easy to produce (though not so easy to produce well), easy to obtain, easy to manupulate and very easy to play anywhere on anything.
This is what harms pay for play. Maybe making it easier will fit the bill, but that has control issues.
IMHO, better to encourage value adds, packaging, story, etc..
Example case in point that relates the power of story and context. They could not have picked a better example: Paul Potts (The Opera Guy)
quote:"Do you know about Paul Potts?" he asked as he went to the kitchen to get his laptop. "You have to see this. It totally blew my mind."
...
(the story)
quote:"This is insane," Rubin said enthusiastically as the clip began. In the video, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man waited nervously backstage. When he faced the judges, he told them he worked at a mobile-phone store and wanted to sing opera. The studio audience looked annoyed — they clearly wanted to hear a pop song — and the judges were cold and dismissive. No one expected anything remarkable from this dull-looking, forgettable guy.
...
(the power of context --I cried too, BTW. The expression of strong emotion is made all the more powerful with meaning.)
quote:But then Paul Potts sang — "Nessun dorma" from "Turandot." He had an improbably beautiful voice. "Where does that come from?" Rubin said as he watched. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. "I can't look at this without crying," he said. "His voice is so beautiful." When Potts finished his song, Cowell said, "I thought you were absolutely fantastic." The studio audience roared with approval, and Potts beamed.
"Rubin has an immediate plan for Potts — he wants to test the powers of his "word of mouth" department. "I want to see if we can create interest without there being a record to buy," he said. "I've told our whole staff to send it to everyone, to tell everyone, to mention it everywhere. I want to get Paul Potts out to the world." Rubin stopped for a moment. "Although, if someone tells you how great this is, it's not as moving. It's the element of surprise that makes you interested in Paul Potts: he looks so bland, and then he sings so well. If you expect him to be great, will the clip still be great?"
Article says question cannot be answered.
I disagree. It can, and that's context and relevance playing HUGE. Nobody cares about opera. (and I mean ordinary people) However, everybody loves the underdog and success despite strong odds against. That's the power.
The music can convey it, but it only packs a real punch with context. There are some things to be re-learned and re-applied from the fine arts. This is one of them.
Enjoy the rest of a really great read.
Sunday, September 23, 2007 - 1:07 pm
nyt? new york town?
