Shaking Up The Music Industry And The Future Of Streaming Content

There are five big companies to always be on the lookout for in the high tech crowd. Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft have done more to shape the last number of years than we care to write about. Whether its epic failures such as Microsoft's Zune or the epic heights, when it comes to Apple's stock price, these companies continue to shape our future online.

Hearing the news of Google being ready to grow it's own music service is no surprise. I am honestly surprised it hasn't happened sooner, but it plays in accordance with the skyrocketing growth of the Android market and the new phones and notepads about to be released for the holiday shopping rush. Add into this mix, Apple's announcement of it's own Pandora style music player that is customizable to your tastes and now there are some game changing plays in motion.
Competition breeds innovation and we are stoked to hear about Apple's new streaming service, as Pandora is a great application, but it has done little in terms of progression within the last few years. With Apple and Google exploring new streaming options, indie labels such as us, without deep coffers, can continue to charge into battle.

Could Apple's new streaming service put the nail in Pandora's coffin?

Which Do Ya Like Better, Google+ Or Instagram...

Mashable continues to have some of the best news reporting and breaking stories when it comes down to technology, social media and especially areas for which we as a whole, can use new tools to help leverage our online presence.

So you want to grow your band's following online or maybe even your own personal agenda, well here is what to do. Engage potential fans and friends every single day with pertinent information to make them feel much more involved with the growth of ideas. The way things are moving in a social function is that we all are in some form of engagement acting as voyeurs. We watch and enjoy others lives and activities from afar yet feel close to them due to how open the internet has made our lives.

Get off your lazy asses and make life happen, the world is waiting to view it 24/7.

Link to original article on Mashable.com

"Was Instagram worth $1 billion? Will Google+ ever compete or beat Facebook?

Shiv Singh, global head of digital for PepsiCo Beverages and author of Social Media Marketing for Dummies, shared his thoughts on those trendy questions and more during his recent visit to Mashable to unveil Pepsi’s new celebrity-infused “Live for Now” global ad campaign and “Pulse” digital dashboard.

In a 10-minute interview with Mashable‘s editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff, Singh commented about the launch of Google+, Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram, avoiding digital marketing mistakes, establishing a brand voice and creating a Twitter list for “regular people.”

Here are some highlights from the video above:

• On Google+ (7:20-8:48): “I have immense respect for Google. … But I think they really messed up the launch of Google+. … They launched it as a social network whereas it’s something else and different to a social network. … They confused their user base.”
• On Instagram (8:50-10:00): “I think Instagram was worth $1 billion because if Facebook did not get it Google would have picked it up or Apple would have picked it up or Microsoft would have picked it up and they would have been able to use it to throw darts at Facebook. … The service itself I do think it’s phenomenal.”
• On integrating social media with marketing initiatives (0:33-2:04): “Social media is like air. It should flow through anything and everything and completely.”
• On brands and celebrities using social media: (2:35-3:27): “More than the brands, it’s some celebrities that are harnessing social media. … A good example is Sofia Vergara from Modern Family. The way she connects with her followers on Twitter is so in sync with who she is that it’s like a drug. … I just want to follow her more and more and more.”

Sofia Vergara - The hottest woman on TV and maybe the world

Google Music Not Living Up To Expectations, Is Justin Timberlake The Saviour?

All the signs are pointing to another huge cash influx about to enter the music streaming business. Rumors are that Microsoft is sniffing around to what is possible, even after their failed attempt with Zune. Spotify is making waves with their streaming service and Myspace is claiming to have their numbers rising due to "significant" improvements to their music player. Not sure if Myspace realizes it or not, but their interface still is way too busy. If Myspace were to die off or completely, revamp their approach with a whole new influx of ideas and potentially a new name, maybe they could shed their old skin and start anew. Sorry Justin Timberlake, not even your amazing SNL appearances can save your investment in Myspace, unless it has a game changing overhaul.

Is Pandora a patsy for the major labels? What about Last.FM, Rdio and the litany of others who have provided streaming services? Do any of them have a solid presence or unique aspect which we as music fans crave?

In terms of streaming music, many huge players are entering the arena and looking to compete with Itunes after the strides created by Spotify. Some will create a decent presence, but soon every major entity within social media will have some sort of proprietary music player, especially Facebook. 

We honestly think this is the best thing for bands as a whole. Competition breeds a better system and forget your big box package stores for buying music anymore. Its all going to be digital or directly to fans from the bands.

Link to original article on CNET 

Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga on Saturday Night Live

"Three months after launching, Google Music hasn't lived up to expectations, CNET has learned. Google's managers have told counterparts at the labels that customer adoption and revenue are below what they expected, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the talks. 

Google Music has been live for barely a full quarter, so nobody is panicking. Google has yet to throw the full force of its marketing muscle behind the service, and managers have told the record companies that they are trying to correct certain issues. Still, the numbers are low enough for some in the music sector to be concerned, the sources said.

A Google representative declined to comment. 

Google Music was supposed to be a music powerhouse. As a companion service to Android-powered mobile devices, the service has a massive potential user base. At the time of Google Music's November launch, there were more than 200 million activated Android phones and tablets. 

If Google managed to convert just 10 percent of those device owners, it would mean 20 million customers. Google Music sells downloads, and also streams songs to users who store their music libraries on the company's servers. The service sells tracks from a host of indie labels as well as three of the four top major record companies. Google has yet to license tracks from Warner Music Group. 

Google campus in the bay area

Google managers have told label executives that the service will get a boost once Google implements its hardware strategy, the sources said. Google plans to start competing against Apple by building an array of consumer devices.

Two weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that Google is building a wireless entertainment system that will stream music throughout the home. 

The troubled start for Google Music comes as the music sector shifts attention away from downloads and onto subscription services, such as Spotify, Rhapsody, and Rdio. These companies sell consumers access to huge pools of songs for a monthly fee. 

Handset manufacturers and network providers, such as Research In Motion, T-Mobile, Cricket, and MetroPCS have bolstered their music offerings. 

Just last week, CNET reported that Microsoft has held talks with some of the record companies about creating a new digital music store that would serve owners of the Xbox gaming console as well as buyers of an upcoming Windows-based phone. The parties have discussed the possibility of streaming music as well as selling downloads. 

Phones are important to the labels. They see a future where subscription services offer unlimited access to music and the fees are wrapped into phone bills. The thinking here is that this will make the consumer's buying experience much more painless. 

So is Google Music out of step with current music tastes? 

The record companies didn't think so when Google first approached them in 2010. The recording sector couldn't be happier that a company with Google's money and marketing might would be taking on iTunes. Because of Apple's domination of music sales, Apple has been able at times to dictate terms to the labels. 

Despite all the excitement surrounding subscription services, it remains to be seen whether these services are very profitable. 

The music industry is still too much in flux to say who the winners or losers are" 

Les Paul Would Have Been 96 Today

What a killer logo for their ongoing morphing to match current events, Google you have done music fans proud everywhere. This post was over on Mashable.com

"When you’re searching for something on Google today, you’ll notice a fascinating instrument at the top of the page: It’s a recordable electric guitar built in the shape of the Google logo, paying homage to guitar great Les Paul, who would have been 96 years old today (Thursday).

Hover your mouse over the strings, and you can strum this little instrument. You can also play notes on your keyboard. Click the rectangular record button positioned where the bottom part of the second “g” in the word “Google” would be, and every note you play will be saved for posterity. Update: We’re hearing the recording function is only working in the U.S.

There’s more. It creates a URL that you can send to others, so they can listen to your masterpiece. Here’s where it gets even more interesting: Send the URL to someone, and when that person pastes that URL into the address bar, you can play a duet together. Try it — play along with me.

Or, you can play along with your own recording, overdubbing just like Les Paul did for the first time way back in the late ’40s. Someone could actually make some real music with this.

Click the doodle itself, and it takes you to sites featuring Les Paul. Try it here.

How appropriate! Les Paul, one of the first electric guitarists and builder of one of the first solid-body electric guitars, was an innovative recording artist who created new ways to overdub tracks in the recording studio. And here his memory is honored with another innovation, a webpage that shows a playable and animated electric guitar — that can record and overdub — on his birthday.

Les Paul, after whom the storied Gibson Les Paul guitar is named, died in 2009 after living to the ripe old age of 94. Kudos to Google for honoring his creative spirit by building the best Google doodle ever."

Is ANTiSEEN Really Only Worth $219 US Dollars?

The beauty of Google Alerts is the random emails you get, when the chosen key words you select to follow are emailed back, as they pop up on web related searches. This in essence, is how all content is found, marketed and talked about online, simply through key word searches. 

Funny enough an email just came through via some aggregator site that states "Antiseen Page is unknown on a global scale. Global rank position of Antiseen is 6,293,297. Estimated value of the antiseen.com is $219 USD." 

Maybe Clayton and crew should roll up to their offices and proceed to do a show invasion in which they play while fans smash up the offices and the web arbiter nerds hide in fear of Destructo Punk. That video would then go viral and surely make them "known" on a global scale, while also driving up their page value. Alpha Male is what we need right now!

See for yourself, check out WebArbiter.com