Ryan Leslie Puts His Fans 2 Work

Ok. I must admit I was suspicious of Twitter at first. But just like any other social networking site (MySpace & Facebook), I've become addicted to twittering. In fact, I think it's now my favorite pastime.

Anywho, let's get back on the subject. I follow Ryan Leslie on Twitter. Who knew this could turn into a job? Ryan was willing to give one of his followers $100 for increasing his followers. Whoever recommended him to their friends and increased his followers by 25 first, would receive $100. I missed out on this opportunity, but this is a smart way to get your fans to work for you for little or for nothing. So, the best advice I can give to any artist is to put your fans to work. If you have 4 or 100,000 fans, it doesn't matter. Your fans are your hardest workers, and with a little incentive they'll work their butts off. So use them. It's okay. They want to be used. [Click here for more details.]

Vitamin Water & MySpace Music Sync Up

Vitamin Water and MySpace are teaming up to give us free music. Yeah! They're starting an ad campaign for the launch of their latest bottled drink Sync with the help of 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, and Carrie Underwood. Vitamin Water will pay for the free MP3 downloads available on MySpace through Amazon. This is a good look for MySpace and Amazon, especially in a market were free is better than paying. I think it will further allure costumers into the idea of paying for things off a service that was commonly used for free "promotion." However, I don't believe it will create a surge in sales. It will most likely create awareness among those dedicated consumers who visit their favorite artists' MySpace everyday. But MySpace still needs to come up with a differential strategy to separate itself from other purchasing outlets. [AA]

Can 'The Man' Stop Piracy?

Can "The Man" stop piracy? No. Piracy is like shoplifting. You know that it will always be around. You just try to minimize it as much as possible. But how?

The UK creative industries seem to think they can eliminate piracy by joining forces and lobbing the government. Will this work? I doubt it. It will result in the same results. They will file a class action lawsuit against a 20-something college student resulting in bad press for the industry.

I'm sorry but the industry needs to accept that they lost. Haven't they learned their lesson with Napster. They missed out on a huge opportunity (to Apple--iTunes). So, what now? What can be done now? The industry can learn from their mistakes and recognize the opportunities that are ahead. There has been some steps in the right direction--imeem, Spotify, etc. But its not enough to stop piracy. In fact, nothing will ever stop the "free mindset." But it can be minimized with more legal options for consumers, within the concept of being "free." [F]

Where R The Entrepreneurs?

Seriously. This is a perfect time to be an entrepreneur. The economy is in a recession. The music business is in a transforming stage (if not dead already). Yet, there is still room for innovation. Believe me when I say, "This is the best time to enter the 'bizness.'" Turning a threat into an opportunity is clearly a way to prove your tenacity and shrewdness within the music business.

The Internet is seriously leveling the playing feild for independent success. You can just look at the "Internet rapper" phenomenon. There's a plethora of free music out there in the form of mixtapes, and some of them are better than full-length albums. This is the "threat." How do we turn this into an opportunty--how do we monetize? I can't pretend I know how to do this. But please believe I'm trying to figure it out. It may not be in the form of a traditional record label, but there is a business model waiting to be formulated that will benefit both the artist and the "bizness."

Is This The New Napster?

CNN recently wrote an article about a teenager creating a free music service. Sounds familiar. Muziic is a new interface that allows you to play YouTube clips as high quality MP3 files. Yes, you can play those rare performances from artists like Chaka Khan or those unreleased songs from artists like Brandy. This idea seems so simple and pragamatic that it makes me ponder this question: "Why didn't YouTube think of this already?" Obviously, Muziic doesn't equal Napster or Limewire in popularity, but I'm sure the record labels are already preparing for legal action. Or maybe the labels have learned their lesson--to turn every threat into an opportunity.

If I Want It, I'll Pay For It?

Don't you just love the Internet? Especially, its excessive capabilities. I can watch any TV show I've missed during the week on it, which beats Tivo any day. But what's more interesting is the ability to utilize the Internet as a launching pad for new products, particularly as of lately, the marketing of products with webisodes. The first effort for launching a product I've noticed is from the Chevrolet Traverse with 2 -minute webisodes of My Manny (which has the potential of becoming one of my favorite TV shows). But what's really caught my attention is the partnership between Honda and Mickey Factz. The website is centered around a show named Rhymes & Reasons which spoofs the late night show genre. I know many of you are like, "Hip Hop and a Honda Accord?" But the concept is very clever and probably more lucrative for the up-and-coming rapper Mickey Factz. The best thing about the website though is the FREE MUSIC. But will I buy either of these vehicles? Probably not. But it'll spark interest in those in search of a new vehicle. Just ask my mother. She just purchased a Traverse.

Twitter: A New Marketing Tool?

Twittering. Heard of it? No it's not the sound a bird makes. It's another social networking site. I know. You're probably thinking, "Another 'social networking' site to expose myself on!" But can Twitter become a new marketing tool for music? Possibly.

Since the birth of MySpace, the landscape of music marketing has totally changed. Once thought of has one huge montain, the landscape has morphed into a plain full of hills and valleys. The real question is, "How can I efficiently market my product?" If you can't market your product efficiently, it'll just become another pesky flier that ends up in the nearest garbage can.

The first step is to figure out your target market. What networking sites do your target market use? How often do they use them? For me, twittering is "brand new" and a little trivial. So, it is of little use for me.

For Twitter (or any other social networking site) to work it has to have the following:

1. a descent amount of known friends to "network" with
2. contstant updates from those friends
3. and an innovative method for meeting new friends

Since Twitter doesn't meet all of these requirements for me, I'm basically talking to myself even with celebrity friends. (The chance of them replying is slim to none.) So for Twitter to work as a marketing tool, there must be a significant amount of innovators and "influencers" attracting the majority of their friends, and it's obvious I don't have enough influence to attract anyone. But overtime, that will change.