http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=289004&cl=17211909&src=finance&ch=1316259

Great interviews with musicians, record executives, CEO of ticket-retailer stubhub and others. Really good insights; the single most important is the music has shifted from being a PRODUCT to a SERVICE.

Paul Lamare at Music Machinery has an interesting article about Poolcasting, which is a new way to design playlists around more than just a user's interest. In addition to considering listener's tastes, poolcasting also analyzes how different songs flow together to create a full musical experience.

I think this is a very interesting topic, and quite frankly something that has been lost since mp3s became the dominant form of music consumption. The concepts of album design (in terms of track order) have not had the same impact. Back in the day, bands used to consider how an album would ebb and flow, evoking different emotions at different times to create a fuller, more complete artistic experience.

MusicMetric is an interesting new tool that (supposedly) allows bands to track real-time discussions about them around the web. Such a service is valuable data for a band, as it can be used to decide where to tour and what types of merchandising to sell. MusicMetric is yet another service that is quickly leveling the playing field between good independent bands and the major record labels.

Techcrunch has a good article here: http://eu.techcrunch.com/2009/10/20/musicmetric-launches-real-time-band-promo-tools-250-free-trials-for-readers/

Myna is a great new tool to edit tracks in your browser. While it certainly doesn't match the power of garageband, it doesn't require a Mac or any sort of download.

It features some pretty powerful tools, including pitch shifting, delay, and fades. I think this is a great way to test basic editing ideas before going into the studio, thus adding efficiency to a band's studio time. This way, fewer hours could be spent on basic experimentation, and overall, costs can come down while keeping product quality at a high level.

Today, Techcrunch reported that Myspace Music is close to acquiring Imeem, the 6-year old streaming service that has been clobbered by financial strain. Earlier this year, Imeem recapitalized the company to survive, raising 6 million dollars in fresh capital and renegotiating deals with the record labels. Evidently, it wasn't enough.

Now, MySpace will likely buy up the company for a pittance, and absorb the management team and general technology. Chances are that Imeem's end will also spell the end of free music streaming, another step towards what I see as the ultimate win-win: a music streaming model supported in part by audio ads and in part by paid subscriptions.

With Spotify's launch in the US delayed indefinitely, this could be an interesting opportunity for MySpace Music to seize market share. They already own Ilike, and with Imeem added to that, could look to become a major player quite quickly. Interesting times ahead.

If you haven't seen it yet, "Where the Hell Is Matt" is an inspiring music video created by Matt Harding to document his travels around the globe. The video features him dancing with people in cities from Kuwait to Auckland.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY

The song behind the video is called "Praan." It is set to a poem by Rabindanath Tagore, a famous Indian writer, and means "stream of life" in English.

Watching this always makes my day.

Last month, Techcrunch published a two-part series called "your guide to music on the web." The articles featured a comprehensive list of pretty much all the major players in online music, and some analysis on how they compare and contrast.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/22/your-guide-to-music-on-the-web-part-1/

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/26/your-guide-to-music-on-the-web-part-ii/

I noticed a few interesting observations:

1) Most of the sites stream directly from YouTube. If Youtube decides to get rid of music videos, most of these services would immediately need to shut down.

2) None of these services are fundamentally profitable. They struggle with legal issues and revenue models. Even the ones funded by venture capitalists have been forced to adjust in light of the economic crisis.

3) The entry of Spotify into the U.S. market will be very disruptive. Spotify is arguably the strongest player in the music streaming space, with a slick application, buy-in from the major labels, and substantial venture capital money. Their integration with the iphone will help the app spread like wildfire. This application (along with a couple of others), has the potential to become the market leader, thus making the rest of these apps irrelevant.

Thoughts?

Streaming music has been the focal point for all too many startups in the last several years. Companies like Pandora, Imeem, Lala, and now Spotify have invested tens of millions of dollars, only finding that it is really a hard nut to crack. After all, how exactly are you going to make money? The struggles of Rhapsody have shown that not many people are willing to pay for a streaming service, and audio ads haven't really taken off in the way that people thought they would.

In recent months however, things have started to pick up. First off, Pandora raised an additional $35 Million to accelerate growth. Then, Swedish upstart Spotify announced it was bringing its slick new application to the US sometime in the next few months.

Now, we hear that Google is launching its own music streaming platform. Exactly how this will sync up with cellphones and mobile devices is unclear, but having the trusted Google brand name (and wallet) behind a streaming service could really push this market to the next level.

If even one of these companies manages to reach profitability and shows some ability to scale, it could usher in a new golden era for the music business. Exciting times ahead!

Sellaband is an interesting startup that seeks to democratize the process of raising money for an album. Fans of an artist can contribute anywhere from $10-$10,000 each towards a band's album production. In return, the band specifies what the investor will receive (maybe a percentage of sales, maybe free merchandise), obviously dependant on the size of the contribution.

While I don't think this is a scalable model, it can be used for artists (and labels) to potentially defray the recording expense. Sure, record sales are falling, but costs are also going down. Labels and artists should consider using tools like Sellaband to break even on the recording costs, and shoot for profits on touring, licensing, and merchandising.

Techcrunch has an article about one bigger artist that is clearly going down this path.

Variable pricing has just started to break through in the music business. The basic idea is that consumer demand, not labels, should dictate prices. Amie Street has built a rapidly growing business around this concept, and they recently took an important next step by partnering with Sony.

Under the partnership, Sony will offer its entire catalog to be purchased on Amie Street. There will be three price tiers: $1.29, $0.99, and $0.69. This is very similar to the new itunes pricing structure.

Overall, this is a good step for a major label to take. It is important to understand that music prices need to adapt to consumer demand. Lets see how this impacts the industry moving forward.