Archive for August 2009
Comment on The Good Pirates Part 1 – Hyperdistribution
One of my favorite Swiss blogs, Website Marketing, posted a great article called “The Good Pirates Part 1 – Hyperdistribution.” It discusses how “Hollywood is trying to kill the very thing that it has created.” Read the article in English, here.
Since this is a topic I’m very much interested in, and I discuss this issue with basically all classes I teach to, I’d like to share my thoughts with you:
Very well said, “piracy should not be feared and fought, rather harnessed.” First of all, according to CNN The Screening Room, 2008 was one of the most successful years for Hollywood, ever. And digital movie piracy is at an all-time high. So, why battle those who made production companies big? The music and movie industries work in similar ways and have similar attitudes, so let’s think back to the Napster trial. Metallica’s Lars Ulrich fought Napster and exactly those people, who made him a multi-millionaire. He went on a crusade against the MTV and Internet Generation and as soon as Napster shutdown, eMule, Kazaa, and later on BitTorrent emerged to cause even more damage to the music (and movie) industry. By now, the movie and music industry should have understood that if you cannot beat them, you should definitely join them. Some artists, like Nine In Nails and Hawthorne Heights, understood the situation and became more popular and were able to make better money than ever before.
As for how to make money with FREE: Advertising is obviously one way to generate some money. Nonetheless, many internet users have become blind for banners. I sure am, and many of my peers as well. One way to generate money that has been proven effective by different artists in the entertainment business is selling merchandising and live events. Take all those reunion tours from Phil Collins with Genesis or Sting with The Police. One can find all the classic songs online on legal and illegal platforms. Music in CD or MP3 format has become a commodity. But experiencing music in a live setting has (almost) become a luxury good. Not everyone has the money to buy two tickets for $90+ each every other week, and I’d consider that a cheap ticket. And once you’re at the gig you might want to buy a T-shirt as a souvenir, for another $30+.
Wong Fu Productions, a young team of Youtubers and filmmakers, create clips that get distributed on Youtube for free. They solely generate money by selling a lot of merchandising and making professional music videos for newcomers. A perfect example of how free leads to money.
Age Is No Barrier To Innovation
I came across a promotional article of Bushmills Irish Whiskey named ‘The Age of Innovation’ in the July 09 issue of Wired Magazine’s UKedition. Especially the statement, ‘But age is no barrier to innovation’ caught my attention. Even though it sounds like an advertisement line, I couldn’t agree more with it.
According to their website, Bushmills 1608 is a unique blend of tradition and innovation. That can also be true for other companies that operate in an industry ruled by traditions, but would like to be innovative. Take educational institutions: They have been teaching the same way for centuries. With the years passing by, they have added OHPs (over-head projectors) and beamers to their classrooms, and they started giving email addresses to their students. These might be considered to be minor innovations, but they gave an additional value and made teaching and studying easier.
With Apple introducing iTunes U, institutions got the chance to blend tradition with innovation. Universities can stick to their old way of teaching, but students can innovate and create a new way of studying. As a student, I obviously still need to be attentive and, especially, awake during classes. But if I miss to write down something, or my notes are too messy to study with, I can get help from video and/or audio podcast created by the institution. And if I would happen to be a very organized and consequent class-goer, those podcasts can only improve my study-habits, which will most probably result in even better grades.
I am not trying to promote iTunes U here. Nonetheless, I feel that institutions can only benefit from that platform. It shows the willingness of that specific school to give more value to its courses and the openness to blend tradition with innovation. I cannot wait to find out if FFHS, the school I will be studying at to get my MSc in Innovation Management, will provide its students with these kind of podcasts.
Les Paul (1915-2009): The Innovator of Rock’N'Roll dies at 94
Lester William Polfuss, also known as Les Paul, is seeing by many as the Father of Modern Music. Besides making the sound of rock and roll possible, Les is also known as the innovator of multitrack recordings and other effects for guitar. The most visible trademark of his legacy are Gibson Les Paul guitars, built after Les’ 1940s The Log model. The Les Paul models have been played by many popular guitarists (i.e. Slash) and stand for the sound of rock and roll, defined by Les himself.
It is amazing to see what Les has accomplished in his lifetime. Without him music would not be what it is right now. Even though, I love studio-live recordings of rock bands, I’m very happy to listen to bombastic multitrack productions that can only be produced like that thanks to the innovation of Mr. Polfuss. Les was a genuine inventor. He played and lived music and spent hours thinking about how to improve his sound and the productions he was working on. And THAT is a true innovator: Create a tool or process that gives additional value to what you have or do.
Dear Les, thank you for everything you gave to the world of music. Your genius will be missed.
Remarkable. Innovative. Authentic. Geeky. Cool. Namics.
First of all, a big Thank You! to Namics for choosing my Japanese word description of their brand as one of the three winners, and for giving me a personalized T-shirt with that very description. If you wonder what I entered:
斬新。改新。信頼性。オタク。すごい。ナミックス。
Remarkable. Innovative. Authentic. Geeky. Cool. Namics.
You might wonder, ‘Why is Sebi so excited to get a Namics T-shirt? Isn’t he providing free advertising space on his chest for the company?’ Well, yes. Definitely. But what about you wearing a D&G belt? Or a GAP sweater? And what about Nike’s Swoosh or Adidas’ stripes on your shoes? Ain’t that the same? Sure it is.
A Namics branded T-shirt gives me something that a T-shirt one can regularly buy in a shop doesn’t. Not many people will have one. When I was working for Apple as a Solution Consultant, I wore those cool black shirts with a white Apple logo on the chest. Every single day at least two customers asked me, where they can get a shirt like mine. After telling them that the shirts were not for sale, certain ‘fans’ even offered quite some money to get them from me outside of the store. And why was that? Because they wanted a branded shirt from a company they think is fashionable and worth being related to.
And that is exactly why I cannot wait to wear my personalized Namics T-shirt.
