ContentSphere - Music & Media in an Online Culture

The Orchard Partners With App Service Songpier

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 07:16:00 +0200

Tomorrow will see a truly promising press release. German music start-up pierlane GmbH (that’s the guys behind Songpier, and I happen to be one of them) is about to announce their partnership deal with major distributing service The Orchard. The Orchard will provide the app generating service to their artists and label customers. Songpier enables artists as well labels to generate premium apps, running as HTML5 web apps on a range of different platforms and devices.

That makes it just about half a year after founding pierlane, and merely a month after the public beta launch that Songpier takes a huge leap forward.

Stay tuned to see what the future brings in terms of this deal… and watch out for some neat features to be rolled out next week, plus some interesting collaborations within the next three months.

Re: ContentSphere Down // Editorial Message

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 15:46:40 +0200

I sincerely like to apologize for the awkward lengthy downtimes of ContentSphere just recently. Apparently, some modules in my blog software (Serendipity) is not working that great. There’s a constant overflow of a module intended to block spam - though it appears to block access rather. Secondly, I just found an error in yet another backend module steering the graphics.

But bear with me, rescue is on the way!

Actually, even before I got into this hassle, I decided to part with Serendipity for a number of reasons. Shortly, there will be a switch to WordPress accompanied with…

an all new design,
all new logo,
neat & clean categories to choose from,
a separation of feeds (business, private, geo location)

… and lots more.

Also, the blog will benefit from my engagement with Marcel Weiß’s blog neumusik.com. Since neumusik is entirely German (language-wise), I’m presenting some of the content or related articles in English right here on ContentSphere. You may consider it as two blog siblings.

Best,
Wolfgang

Musicians Can't Cope With Their Own Business

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 17:34:00 +0200

Please note: If you’re a musician, feel free to make yourself a voodoo doll of me first. But, before putting the needles in, covering it in tar and feathers, tearing off limbs, and finally setting it on fire… give me break. You can do so after reading this post.

Whenever I’m attending any kind of music conference there’s one thing I’m curious about most: How many musicians are to be found at this event? How many of you are attending the seminars, workshops and lectures on schedule? Finally, after resigning once more: Why doesn’t it appeal to you?

Obviously, some events are well-attended by musicians… though the majority is not. Mainly, I’m going to constrain the issue more specifically down to Germany – simply for the reason I’m more familiar with that region.

Most of you will know I’m curator of all2gethernow, a platform and convention for music and culture. Since 2009, we established all2gethernow (a2n) as a conference not to be missed. Though we only went two rounds as of yet, we learned a lot.

Unfortunately, there’s one thing we still are trying to figure out. Even more unfortunately, it is a core issue we have to solve as soon as possible.

Our conference aims at bringing together all stakeholders from the so called music business, including everything related to that in culture. Otherwise, it is not worth tackling any issues and topics. Nevertheless, I’m pretty sure we all agree that it’s most important to get musicians in there. To get them involved. Because we’re doing it for those who create our culture – ok, that sounds pretty pathetic. Kinda like we are their parents (whom we are not)… and it certainly isn’t about “we always wanted the best for you”.

Some simple observations for Germany to start with:

all2gethernow (conference) and Popkomm (trade show) for some part shared the same location in 2010. Admittedly, musicians were to be found at Popkomm while all geeky artists went to all2gethernow.
Frankfurt Music Fair is flooded with musicians.
Any workshop that’s not related to instruments is hard to sell.
Even seminars and workshops that are part of an institutionalised schedule of any academy are fighting hard for scholars.
Nearly all printed magazines for musicians in Germany are published through either PPV or MusikMedia. Last year, the latter has started a comprehensive portal for the first time tackling issues in copyright and online marketing.
There’s just one platform, namely regioactive.de, that overtly pushes both - current issues in music business and live music/booking.

What does that mean?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think there’s a deep gap between “traditional” musicians and “online” artists. Don’t get me wrong… of course most traditional musos will have their own website (at least on Facebook, MySpace etc), and most onliners are sure to perform offline.

Those who stick to print media are pretty likely longing to be signed with a label. Nothing wrong with that, but often they seem to tend towards believing in the mythical part of piracy, in “who killed our business”, and in “free culture” equals “give away for free and earn nothing”. I can only presume that they are also in fear to be urged to deal with business themselves – which is a good reason to hand over any responsibility by signing a contract.

But, please, if any of those musicians I’m tagging “traditional” reads this… there’s even more reason to catch a glimpse of issues in marketing, in how to connect with fans, even in issues in technology. You might have been accusing labels of foul contracts. If you don’t educate yourself in what happens outside, you will be framed by yourself.

DIY does not strictly say “do it all by yourself”. It’s like, be as much involved in business as you are inclined to and let a team of people do the rest. They must be good at what they’re doing, and they must be as motivated as you. Collaborate with fans. Or with a small label. Or with independent professionals.

But be sure to keep track of what happens. You’re the boss. That’s why it’s important to bridge the gap.

Recommended reading (found during writing):

Robin Davey (GROWVision Media) – Do You Really Want A Major Deal? (via hypebot.com)

MIDEM & Nielsen Confirm the Need for Mobile Apps for Artists

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 20:46:00 +0100

Just a hint to another article this time. Referring to my last posting on ContentSphere, I wrote an article for Music Think Tank, “Mobile Connect-with-Fans for DIY Artists - Why, and How?”. Please feel free to comment there.

After having posted on some forums, googling around etc., I finally was able to find services of the kind I was in search for - offering artists apps which they can share with their fans to directly connect. Also, one the companies (Songpier) commented on my article. Other ones are listed in my article on Music Think Tank.

Now, if you needed any further confirmation - please immediately go visit Midem’s website. The Midem blog features an article on “Music mobile apps and music streaming services”, including an excellent study compiled by Nielsen for ~~MidemNet Lab~~ MIDEM (link to download form).

Actually, it’s the result of a survey of well beyond 25.000 online consumers in more than 50 markets worldwide. Do yourself a favour, fill-in the form, and download the study. If you had any doubt about my article - read it.

The Missing Link In Connect-with-Fans

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:40:00 +0100

There are some issues about connect-with-fans strategies which are hard to solve. I’ve mentioned it a few times – to find the ones that fit you and your image (authenticity), to find the time for marketing and music (responsibility), and of course how to discover and develop new ideas in marketing (creativity). Plus, there are more like timing, choice of tools, the transition from connect-with-fans to reason-to-buy etc.

But, just recently, I realised that there is another one. It’s not yet another issue. Actually, it is a crucial gap. It is what keeps DIY artists from managing the next step towards future technologies and therefore, towards new business models.

There has been what is referred to as static Web 1.0. Simple websites, with content difficult to maintain.

Then there is Web 2.0. A term that no serious web developer is eager to hear about his brand new design in 2010. Dynamical content, usually presented along a design with light and shaded colours, rounded edges. Web 2.0 is what brought us blogs – a kind of easy to handle web presence for everyone. Almost easy to handle.

The next wave in internet technology – what is it going to look like? What’s the benefit for music business in particular? This was (and still is) a matter I’m very much interested to hear about. That’s why I set up a panel on this matter for all2gethernow 2010. I knew Eliot Van Buskirk would be interested too, but it turned out that a whole phalanx of big names crushed the gates to get on the panel. Apart from Eliot Van Buskirk (formerly with Wired, now The Echo Nest/Evolver.fm), paticipants included Jean Littolff (CEO - The Nielsen Company/Europe), Kevin Arnold (CEO / founder of IODA), Peter Sunde (formerly with The Pirate Bay; now founder of Flattr), Scott Cohen (CEO / founder of The Orchard), and Panos Panay (CEO / founder of SonicBids) taking the role of the moderator.

Whoah. I hit it.

Allegedly, the big thing about Web 3.0 is real-time content. But it’s more than that. And it has launched already. The main enabler is Apple – iPod, iPhone and iPad are the required hardware ingrediences. Go for any platform you like, Android, Windows, iOS. The core of it all is – apps. It’s not about websites but small applications carrying the content.

Bingo. Wherever you are, werever your fans are – the mobile device is at your side. You don’t need to wait for your fans to come to your site. Just send them a new message via an app. It’s kind of a subscription service.

An app is a brilliant platform to feature new content, teasers, lyrics, links to the shop and a hell lot more. Combine that with social media and there you are.

But, erm, wait…

Recently looked at your local app store (sorry, couldn’t resist)? Let’s see, how many artists are there… I swear, I didn’t come across more than 20 apps for artists. I remember some obscure Italian artist, Take That, Britney (I think so). Oh yeah, NIN of course. See, I can’t even remember more than 5.

Unfortunately, to develop an app that runs on any of the usual platforms easily costs you a fortune of $25k bucks plus. Talking about DIY.

You know of any suitable (or less suitable) options to build your own app? Please tell me. I’m really curious to know.

It's A Commercials' World. But Sometimes A Nice One. (thx to AdTaily & Magix)

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 01:05:42 +0100

Recently I hinted at the addition of the AdTaily widget as a part of ContentSphere. First off, to be honest I was a bit sceptical. Though being able to decide which ads get my “go” I expected the usual suspects to ask for ad space.

But I was wrong. I think two weeks had passed (or less) with the widget showing a blank “advertise here” square. Then, I got a mail a request for posting an ad was pending. Still, I thought… ok, here they are - where’s the “Thanks, but no, thanks” button?

Now I find myself positively surprised that it’s something for real. Even better, Magix (who are running the ad you see since about a week) are a perfect fit to the site. Their products are just all about music & media - just have a look.

What I like even more is their connection with mufin, which is a spin-off of Magix. Once working with metadata and semantics myself, it’s simply awesome to see products like the new mufin player go live.

Anyway, it fits. It’s something I’m willing to endorse. Instantly, via their affiliate zanox.com, Magix purchased a 2-week ad at a price of 15.68 EUR. Whoah. Certainly not much… but compare this amount to the numbers I yielded with flattr (which is rather for acknowledgement) or even with AdSense.

Conclusion: Thanks to Marcel Weiss from neumusik.com where I found AdTaily the first time.

Now, I’d really like to test the advertised Magix Digital DJ software - too bad it’s not available as a trial version like other products. Actually, I’d even more like to check out the new mufin player. Though - PC required. And Android. Sometimes, it simply is no Mac world. That’s bad when you completely switched.

Here’s something I think might be interesting… The software is available at EUR 39.99. Subscribing to the Magix newsletter gets me a EUR 10.00 coupon. If November revenues will result in a minimum of EUR 20.00 (flattr, AdTaily - excluding that very first Magix ad) I am going to shell out the remaining EUR 10.00 and buy the software. After all, you can add your 2 cents to make it happening.

However, maybe the guys from Magix are reading this - send me a trial version, and I’m willing to run a full review. Includes Twitter, Facebook and friendfeed service. But - the review will be a non-biased one. You can buy ad space, but not my opinion.

I think that’s a fair way to express my thanks for the ad. Really, I appreciate it. Big thank you to Magix!

C3S: Creative Commons Verwertungsgesellschaft - in Gründung.

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:04:42 +0100

CC-BY by C3S

[An English version of this article is due soon] Anlässlich der all2gethernow 2010 wurde das Modell einer Verwertungsgesellschaft für Musik unter Creative Commons Lizenzen vorgestellt – eine CC-VG, Arbeitstitel C3S. Initiiert wurde die C3S von Michael Weller (Europäische EDV-Akademie des Rechts / EEAR), Meik Michalke (Open Music Contest e.V.), mir und weiteren Kollegen aus dem Umfeld der Creative-Commons-Supporter. Die Wurzeln, Beweggründe und Ideen hinter dem Projekt sind vielfältiger, als bereits dieses gemeinsame Engagement zeigt.

Die Ernsthaftigkeit des Ansatzes und vor allem die realitätsnahe Möglichkeit der Umsetzung zeigt nach ersten Andeutungen anlässlich der SIGINT2010 und in verschiedenen Interviews und Gesprächen die Präsentation des Konzepts im Rahmen der all2gethernow 2010. Im nächsten Jahr erfolgt der Schritt in die breite Öffentlichkeit. Interesse und Resonanz von unterschiedlichen (teils unerwarteten) Seiten belegen die Notwendigkeit unseres Schritts.

Warum eine Verwertungsgesellschaft für (Musik-)Inhalte unter Creative-Commons-Lizenzen?

Deutschland hat bereits eine Verwertungsgesellschaft für Musik, andere Länder in der Regel meist mehr. Dieses Quasi-Monopol ist vordergründig recht bequem für Lizenznehmer, braucht man sich doch nur an einen Gesprächspartner zu wenden, die GEMA. Warum also eine weitere?

Bei der Verwendung von Creative-Commons-Lizenzen stellt sich die Frage, ob der Künstler eine kommerzielle Verwertung überhaupt wünscht oder nicht. Gerade im teils ideologisch geprägten CC-Umfeld sind Motivation, Ziel und Erfolg unterschiedlich und oft kontrovers diskutiert. Warum dann eine Verwertungsgesellschaft für Creative Commons?

Neben Creative Commons existiert die Art Libre als weitere freie Lizenz; zudem nutzen die weitaus meisten Kreativen in Deutschland und weltweit – schließt man Freizeitmusiker ein – weder freie Lizenzen, noch sind sie Mitglieder einer Verwertungsgesellschaft. Warum sollte man dann eine Verwertungsgesellschaft ausschließlich für das Segment der unter Creative Commons lizenzierten Werke benötigen?

Kultur, Ökonomie und Recht

Jeder der Initiatoren der C3S bringt eine unterschiedliche Schwerpunktsetzung ein. Es ist jedoch die Gesamtheit der drei Aspekte Kultur, Ökonomie und Recht, die uns motiviert und den Nutzen einer Verwertungsgesellschaft für unter Creative Commons lizenzierte Musikwerke unterstreicht.

So ist es die in der deutschen Rechtsprechung bislang bestätigte GEMA-Vermutung, die trotz der Komplexität des Tarifkatalogs die GEMA-Großkunden Radio und TV meist auf das GEMA-Repertoire zurückgreifen lässt. Denn jede öffentliche Aufführung muss der GEMA gemeldet werden, und somit ist die Infrastruktur des Lizenzmanagements darauf zugeschnitten. Eine Vielzahl an Lizenzanbietern als Partner kann im Gegensatz zu einem einzelnen Partner nur mit erhöhten Kosten abgebildet werden. Selbst Lokale, die ausschließlich CC-Musik spielen, zahlen bevorzugt die GEMA-Pauschale, um dem hohen Verwaltungsaufkommen einer kostenlosen, aber detaillierten Meldung zu entgehen. Fazit: Die Distribution und das Marketing für CC-Inhalte ist verschwindend gering. Die GEMA-Vermutung entpuppt sich als höchst effektive Markteintrittsbarriere, die juristisch zwar nicht gesetzlich verankert, aber in der Rechtsprechung bestätigt ist.

Im anderen Extrem setzen sowohl ideologische Verfechter der Open-Source-Community als auch die Vertreter des „alten“ Musik/Content-Business die Creative-Commons-Lizenzen mit einer grundsätzlich kostenlosen Verwendung gleich. Dies ist falsch. „Free Culture“ steht für eine unabhängige Kultur, die im Sinne des Künstlers verbreitet wird – ob kostenfrei, kostenpflichtig oder gar beides parallel. „Free Culture“ steht nicht für eine „Kostenlos-Mentalität“. Künstler, die ihr Einkommen mit ihrer Musik bestreiten möchten, müssen sich häufig rechtfertigen und gegen eine Stigmatisierung angehen. Völlig zu Unrecht, denn weshalb nutzt eine Vielzahl von Urhebern, unter die Non-Commercial-(NC-)Varianten? Im Fokus stehen die legale und in der Tat kostenlose Distribution und Verwendung im privaten Kontext, sowie die davon zu trennende, je nach Wunsch des Urhebers kostenlose oder kostenpflichtige kommerzielle Verwendung der Inhalte. Aufgrund der zugegeben unscharfen Formulierung des „NC“-Begriffs ist der Künstler hier gezwungen, einzelne Verhandlungen und Einschränkungen mit Lizenznehmern zu führen und zu vereinbaren – doch genau dies ist der Vorteil der CC-NC-Lizenz. Die Freiheit, die Lizenz im Detail in eigener Verantwortung anpassen zu können.

Die Wahrnehmung der Verwertung darf nicht eine ausschließliche Bindung an das jeweilige System bedeuten. Für Freizeitmusiker heißt das: Erweisen sich einige oder nur ein einziger der selbstverfassten Songs als erfolgreich, ist die Übertragung der Wahrnehmung auf eine größere Entität sinnvoll, d. h. auf eine Verwertungsgesellschaft. Dass hierbei auf vorformulierte, an die jeweilige Rechtsprechung des Landes angepasste, juristisch geprüfte und international verwendbare Lizenzen zurückgegriffen werden kann, ist ein entscheidender Vorteil. Größtmögliche Sicherheit bei gleichzeitiger Freiheit im Umgang und höchster Praktikabilität ist notwendig. Unter dieser Voraussetzung kann auch „Breitenkreativität“ in Nischen finanziell anerkannt und Kultur gefördert werden.

Kernziele

Im Umkehrschluss ergeben sich für die Gründung der C3S folgende Kernziele:

Loslösung der Künstler von ökonomischer Fremdbestimmung
Freiheit und Selbstbestimmung bei der Lizenzierung eigener Werke
Öffnung des Musikmarkts für CC-Inhalte
finanzielle Anerkennung von CC-Künstlern
Förderung der Kultur durch vereinfachten Zugang und legale Nutzung von CC-Musik
Aufklärung hinsichtlich Zweck, Nutzung und Verwendung von CC-Inhalten

Links und Material

Bevor die C3S in Kürze mit einer eigenen Site präsent ist, eignet sich als erste Anlaufstelle die aktuelle Domain “cc-vg.de”. Dort kann sich jeder Interessent in eine Mailing-Liste eintragen. Konkrete Anfragen darüber hinaus können über das ebenfalls dort verlinkte Kontaktformular der Site des Open Music Contest e.V. an die C3S gerichtet werden (oder auch direkt an Michael Weller, Meik Michalke oder mich.

Aktuelle Events und Beiträge könnt Ihr hier verfolgen:

Michael Wellers Beiträge auf Lawgical.de
Meik Michalkes Beiträge auf seinem Blog reaktanz.de
meine eigenen Beiträge natürlich weiterhin unter ContentSphere.de

Des weiteren findet Ihr unter folgendem Link das Konzept der C3S, wie es zur all2gethernow vorgestellt wurde. In Kürze werde ich zum Thema C3S weitere Artikel posten, darunter auch eine Erläuterung zum Konzept.

Nicht offizieller Teil der C3S, aber sehr hilfreich ist der Blog von Fabian zum Themenkomplex Creative Commons und GEMA.

Obwohl nicht Teil der Creative Commons als Organisation, wird die C3S als sich etablierendes Thema sicher auch Erwähnungen auf den folgenden einschlägigen und höchst empfehlenswerten Blogs finden:

Why Fans Don't Pay You - And Why They Will: Basics of Customer Relationship Success

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 16:33:00 +0100

You might have noticed I dropped AdSense. Feels a lot better. Instead, I added a link to Dreamstime for picture licensing (check my articles, I used them more than Flickr I think). Plus, I implemented a plug-in from AdTaily. Nice one, you can have ads on your site and – even more important – you decide whether to accept or to decline.

If you’re asking for the result:

AdSense: 0.57 € (used for a total of 5 months)
AdTaily: 0.00 € (online for a week, no customers yet – of course)
Flattr: 5.24 € (revenue for second half of October)

Well, the Flattr bit kind of surprised me. 6 clicks, 5.24 €. Honestly, I expected something around 0.30 €… I’m flattered (no pun intended). So, thank you very much, dear reader!

From a business point of view, I think when distributing articles or ebooks a PayPal button might be a good option to add. Either you can download the file for free, or you spend some fraction of your Flattr amount, or you are free to spend any amount you think the article is worth.

The currency you are paying me with is your esteem of my work. But your esteem may materialise in different ways. I don’t think that the more esteem you have for my work, the more you will pay. Yet, what you pay certainly is not hard money.

You subscribe to my feed.
You tweet my article.
You recommend someone to read my blog.
You pay me a share of your monthly flattr amount.
You might even sometime donate an amount via PayPal.
You might contact me to collaborate with you on some project.

It is about the relationship.

While esteem is the currency, relationship equals the amount. Relationship means you are willing to purchase services from me. The better the relationship, the more valuable the revenue from the services will be to me.

It’s a vast array of options from free to project payments. This is how to learn to appreciate someone’s work. This is the way to build a business/customer relationship based on credibility, reliability, and confidence.

Now, translate this to making and sharing music.

Artists Can't Maintain A Good Relationship With Fans - Or Can They? But how?

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 09:58:57 +0200

Oh my… I simply can’t make it to my other posts that are in the pipeline. Studying my reader this morning, there was a post at hypebot, leading me to a blog on Seattle Weekly written by John Roderick, singer for The Long Winters.

Interestingly, it’s about the artist/fan relationship. Does that ring a bell? Yep, in the comments to my “Ads vs. flattr” posts I mentioned another article coming up on that issue. Now, before I even could post that, here’s that one by John Roderick. Plus, no other than Suzanne Lainson from BrandsPlusMusic (brilliant writer & strategist) commented on the column. And so did I.

Maybe you’d like to first read John Roderick’s article - that’s best to start with. Here’s the part I added:

There are several points to be made. As Suzanne mentions, the career of the musician and closely linked to that, the relationship between the artist and the fan develops. You can’t accuse Amanda Palmer for working with a growing team of people, including management. Still, she is in contact with her fans (online & offline). Though, there might come a time she can’t afford to write her blog herself.

Suzanne is right - you can’t ignore the correlation of success and fan relationship. More success means more fans, more fans means thinning the relationship. So, what to do to maintain the personal aspect between fan and artist?

In times of Social Media, it’s not only an issue in marketing. It’s also about balancing your career (as an independent artist) and the bad conscience you might have for your loyal fans. Though selling your highly valuable time at “Meet & Greets” appears to be an easy way out, it just deepens the gap.

There you are, the artist, most probably disliking those events. Maybe even more than interviews. Regarding bad conscience, there might even be the scent of prostituting yourselves. Then there’s the fans shelling out the money - I remember numbers of up to beyond $ 1,000. For ONE Meet & Greet. And go figure, fans are happy.

Though, there are fans supporting you in another way. They provide constructive criticism during your career instead of worshipping you. Maybe they won’t pay for Meet & Greets, but they are willing to support you in lots of other ways. These are the people to cater as being your Street Team. This is the core of your fanbase. Sure, they might be intersections, but I think you might divide your fanbase into Street Team, paying ones, and the ones who just like your music.

Again, there are interesting points to be learned from artists like Amanda Palmer - some people in her team have been fans. Core fans. Now they are rewarded. Hell, even Prince did that when he recruited people from fansites. Ok, that’s long ago and may I assume he just did it to achieve more control? Whatever.

It’s time to become aware of the fact that bands & artists are more than those 1 to 5 people. From a certain stage on, they are building hubs. And a hub is more than just a network. A network is what it starts with.

The artist, once established (though not necessarily making a living from music) is surrounded by people supporting him and pushing his career. Before there’s even a manager, there’s backup musicians, or a producer, someone texting at Twitter, someone designing the site. Plus, there’s the core fanbase. All of these are building up to the entity called artist. Of course, the musical creativity part still is up to the musician.

Conclusion: While developing your career and building your hub remember to reward them. Sometime later on, it might be money. Before that, it starts with credits, you might help them in their projects, doesn’t matter. That’s nothing too strange for a designer or producer you work with. But remember your core fans, the Street Team, too.

Oops! flattr's deflated...

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 08:57:47 +0200