Facebook Music: Are the Rumors True?

Last week I compiled a list of music technology websites and blogs in the post "On the Web: Music Technology Resources" as a resource for my readers. This week, I will return my focus to the evolution of online marketing pertaining to the music industry. In earlier posts, I outlined how both Apple and Myspace have consolidated basic web promotion tools into larger, more mainstream platforms to provide artists with the help they need to market, promote and “break” themselves. Similar trends are certainly continuing with a number of websites and new media platforms. For instance, online rumors have been circulating that Facebook, the most visited social networking site in the world, has been developing Facebook Music to claim a share of the online music market and to open up new revenue streams. However, the details surrounding the social networking behemoth’s plans to innovate with such an undertaking are little more than predictions at best. Interestingly, Facebook did attempt to launch a definitive music section in 2007 that never quite caught on, from which the graphic above is leftover. Around this time, an all-encompassing "Audio" application was removed from Facebook because of licensing issues. Given that the effective music applications and widgets featured within Facebook are already a staple in many users’ daily online activities, the results of the new Facebook Music seem promising. Although Myspace Music is up and running, and slowly but surely integrating the independent community back into their new business plan, Facebook has a better chance at pulling ahead in all aspects of online marketing if it does in fact surface soon.

Facebook currently has a solid foundation of music marketing resources that fit seamlessly with its well designed and easy to use interface. A number of independent and mainstream artists already utilize features like fan pages and the wide range of music programs to promote themselves on Facebook. The inclusion of specialized widgets in user profiles could give Facebook the upper hand over other networking sites because it would allow bands to warp and change the functionality of their profile to fit different online marketing plans. Most of the popular applications on Facebook are from other related websites such as Last.fm, iLike, and imeem that anybody can include in their Facebook profile. The article “Facebook Music is Getting Its Act Together” from the New York Times technology section raises an important point, “Facebook does not want to have to deal with licensing streaming music directly from record labels.” Therefore, instead of seeking out licensing deals from major labels, and building their own widgets like Myspace Music did, Facebook is turning its focus instead to other established websites, hoping they will lend their marketing content to Facebook for a symbiotic partnership. Some of these websites, like imeem and iLike, already have licensing agreements in place. If Facebook were to develop a music-specific profile based on the inclusion of these existing third-party applications by striking a deal with one or all of the websites that currently host applications on Facebook, they could continue to build upon what has already been an effective way for bands to promote and market themselves and keep legal negotiations over licensing content to a minimum. This would put them ahead of Myspace Music because they would have more time to concentrate on functionality and site usability instead of putting all their energy into obtaining licensing deals.

Given these factors, Facebook must now decide which website it will partner with to make Facebook Music a reality. iLike seems to be the clear choice. Their programs were introduced before music pages had surfaced and one is even designated a "Great App," causing any iLike activity on Facebook to show up more frequently in a user's news feed. Although iLike applications have been tested and function well, the media company does not have its own licensing for streaming content and instead covers digital material through Rhapsody's deals. For Facebook to take advantage of built in licensing, which is essential as described above, they would have to make a deal with Rhapsody directly because dealing with iLike as a middle man may become difficult. Imeem seems like a stronger candidate in this regard. They already have licensing for streaming content and their agreement also allows the content to be posted on external websites. However, if Facebook is looking to compete with Myspace Music they will have to provide more than just the ability to stream audio. Currently imeem only features a playlist generator and lacks effective search data or a solidified database of songs. This limits artists' options at a time when other marketing hubs are opening all promotional avenues in inventive ways. iLike, who's logo is pictured above, is much more developed in this area. With easily searchable artist databases, statistics and genre information it seems that Last.fm is the most overlooked of the other websites in the Facebook Music partnership debate. With the most comprehensive artist and song search criteria, a huge independent artist presence and their own licensing deals they seem to be the premier choice, even over iLike. As of now, the struggle between Myspace and Facebook for control of the internet continues. When Facebook Music matures, we will see whether it stands up to the competition.

On The Web: Music Technology Resources

This week, I explored the Internet and blogosphere in search of online resources containing recent and relevant information on the technological developments in the music industry in order to construct a concrete list of informational links that could act as a resource to my readers. I concentrated on websites and blogs that had a definitive and thorough focus, fulfilled the Webby and IMSA criteria and cohesively supplemented the topics I will be addressing in my blog posts. All the sites and blogs discovered in my search can be found in the linkroll on the right side of the blog, and I will briefly discuss each in this post. The first links added to the linkroll were music news blogs that provide definitive information on recent topics in a succinct fashion. Defined as “very clearheaded music industry stuff,” the Coolfer: Music and the Industry blog offers concise posts on music technology and its assimilation into the modern music business. Topics on the site range from how record labels are developing new online marketing techniques to how artists are using the Internet to compete in the fledgling industry. The Wired: Listening Post blog has a similar post style to Coolfer, but a more interactive layout that includes pictures and audio streams as well as informative entries. Another music technology blog, The Hypebot, follows a traditional blog format yet presents many of the entries in bullet form with thumbnail images, conveying only the most essential information on a large number of topics. Though less aesthetically pleasing then its counterparts, The Hypebot offers more information more quickly than the other blogs for a fast update on current topics. A good counterpoint blog to the Hypebot is the Future of Music blog maintained by Dave Kusek author of “The Future of Music.” Constructed as a keystone resource to all levels of the music business, Dave’s blog boasts smart, lengthy and detailed posts amidst multiple linkrolls of different types and categories. Since there is an almost overwhelming amount of information, readers must do some hunting to find what they are looking for and there are no images. Distorted-Loop.com has a format that mimics the others previously mentioned in this post, and is an average yet organized blog. The last music news blog included in the linkroll has a different scope than those previously described. Last HQ: The Last.fm Blog delves into the music news pertinent to Last.fm and its role in the music industry.

The next group of sites added to the linkroll feature opinion centered blogs that breach merely reporting phenomenon in the business and technology realm of the music industry. Blackrimglasses is a casual blog maintained by Ethan Kaplan, Vice President of Technology at Warner Brothers Records, in which he expresses his opinions about the business and technological aspects of the music industry in an informal, yet informative manner. The blog also features posts about “random nonsense from the music industry” and links to multimedia content, including video and streaming audio. A similar and much more renowned blog, Stereogum follows the same casual model as Blackrimglasses while commenting on industry developments, and also saves time for artists integrating multimedia into their live shows and discography. Stereogum has full streaming content within many of their posts, a developed archive of past posts and interactive statistics in the form of a linkroll to feature reader comments. Although popular, Stereogum does not pack the informational punch of the Rolling Stone: Rock & Roll Daily blog, which defines the apex of the general music news blog formula through its streaming content, matured linkable content and a time-tested brand reputation. Although Rock & Roll daily does not focus primarily on music technology, many of the general music posts integrate commentary on such topics. In the realm of blogs, search engines have started to surface that compile posts from different blogs and provide them in a common blog format. MOG.com, the blog social network, encourages users to join the community, and features select posts on their front page in a blog format. Many users post regularly about music technology. MOG.com is extremely well laid out, integrates streaming audio and video into their users experience and also links to external blogs and web pages. Similar to MOG.com, Machine Shop: The Hype Machine Blog about Hype Machine (and things we love) provides updates on the progress of the Hype Machine search engine and posts other entries about web technology's integration with the music industry. The Hype Machine search engine compiles album reviews and streaming audio according to a user's search and displays them in a series of posts.

The last group of websites that I added to the linkroll were exclusively either technology or business news websites that reported their material through articles and posts. Mashable and Tech Crunch are both technology websites that regularly report new developments in the music industry as well as computer and Internet technology. Mashable has a unique search bar at the top of their website featuring blog posts about developing web 2.0 projects that often pertain to online music promotion or distribution. Mashable and Tech Crunch are formatted like blogs with the structure of a standard website. M.E.L.O.N: Multimedia Entertainment Law Online News is an entertainment law news website going over legal issues with various new web technologies that often have to do with music. Like the technology websites, M.E.L.O.N. shares the same post format and tagging system as blogs. New Music Strategies is another website with a specific topical focus and blog format, including information about how to run an independent record label and integrate web 2.0 applications. Billboard.biz, Billboard’s online news website is a one-stop-shop for current articles on every aspect of the music industry including technological developments and chart statistics. Laid out like a condensed version of the Billboard magazine, the content is well presented and readily available. Billboard.biz is the definitive source for online music news. All the newly added linkroll resources provide current and insightful information on technology's impact on the music industry through user friendly and aesthetically pleasing websites that supplement the content on this blog.

MySpace Music: iTunes or Indie?

In my latest post, entitled “Pure Genius: Apple Innovates Once Again” I discussed the Genius search feature included in iTunes 8. By examining the ways Genius compares to existing online music search technologies, specifically Pandora and Last.fm, I found that although the Genius feature may be a lucrative asset for iTunes on a large scale, there is still room for other sites such as Pandora and Last.fm to continue to prosper and meet the promotion needs of new independent musicians that iTunes does not serve. (Especially since legislation was just passed to give Pandora and other internet-radio outlets more time to come to a royalty deal with major labels, here.) Although Pandora and Last.fm both have comprehensive and user-friendly search features, iTunes is the first to pair such a search tool with their existing digital music storefront.

This week, I have decided to research the launch of the new MySpace Music platform to further discuss the integration of marketing tools, like Genius, with digital music platforms, and specifically digital storefronts, like iTunes. In fact, the launch of MySpace Music shares common ground with the iTunes updates, as there have been a host of blog posts regarding MySpace’s chances to compete with iTunes’ standing as the current leader in digital downloads. However, if MySpace wishes to stand a chance in that battle, they must take advantage of the aforementioned opportunity to work with the Independent labels and artists that iTunes does not reach. So does MySpace have a place for Indies? Based on the press surrounding the launch, MySpace Music may be neglecting to include the artists that may give them a shot at iTunes’ title as the industry’s primary digital distribution hub.

Through extensively exploring the blogosphere, I was able to find a number of resources pertaining to the launch of MySpace Music. One of which, entitled "MySpace Music Finally Shows Up!" by Chris Crum, a staff writer at Web Pro News, reports on MySpace Music's new features, and analyzes the digital music platform’s relationship with Indies. This post led me to an earlier post written by Chris before the MySpace Music launch entitled “Big Expectations For MySpace Music”, which touches on how the integration of MySpace Music’s new online marketing tools could prove beneficial to a number of parties, including Major Labels and music listeners alike. As far as MySpace and Apple are concerned, I discovered a post by Romain Pechard entitled "Myspace Music + Long Tail = Indie labels not worthy enough for MySpace" where he discusses the importance of MySpace striking deals with Indie labels and artists to keep them in the mainstream music market currently dominated by Apple. I commented on each post (with each comment posted below), as they were written in congruence with my position on MySpace’s relationship with Independent labels and artists.

“MySpace Music Finally Shows Up!”
Comment
I want to thank you for your thorough reports on MySpace Music leading up to its launch, and for examining the different factors surrounding its release. From your post "Big Expectations for MySpace Music" to your discussions about their new ad program in "MySpace Compliments MySpace Music with Ad Service," your previous posts culminate in this latest entry with ruminations on where MySpace Music may go from here. After reading other posts on the matter, and linking to the various sources that you cited, I think that in future months MySpace has the potential to become a multi-faceted service provider including, and maybe even focusing on, independent bands - although they have not taken full advantage of the opportunity at this point in time. But as you said, "The is just the beginning though. More deals are likely to be reached..."

Last week I analyzed the new Genius feature on iTunes 8 for a blog post, and focused on how the direct integration of online marketing tools with a digital download platform will prove extremely lucrative for online music distributors, in this case Apple. However, I realized that while the Genius feature benefits established acts through iTunes, what will help the independent and up-and-coming artists? I believe that if MySpace Music wants to compete, they not only have to integrate the Major and bigger Indie label catalogs, but also must provide services for newer independent labels and artists – as iTunes’ market does not stretch that far, and MySpace is in a better position to successfully achieve this.

As an entrepreneur in the music industry, I believe MySpace should gear its efforts to being a service provider for these new independent entities; equipping independent bands with the online marketing tools they need to promote themselves via the MySpace Music platform. It seems that this could be extremely profitable in a number of ways, and it would fill a void that seems to have developed as online music platforms like iTunes and MySpace continue to evolve. Do you think this will happen? And if so to what degree? Your comments would be greatly appreciated.

“MySpace Music + Long tail = Indie labels not worthy enough for MySpace”
Comment
I appreciate your post and agree with many of the valid points that you are making. I too believe it is essential that MySpace focuses on integrating Independent labels and artists in MySpace Music, in addition to the Majors, as it will definitely give them a leg up in the inevitable competition, as you said, with iTunes and MTV. I had not even considered that MySpace was originally founded as an independent social networking site, and I think that speaks volumes. It has certainly changed over the years. I was wondering: what steps do you think MySpace should take in order to reintroduce Independent labels and artists to their new platform?

You also state that this scenario is "providing an opening for indie labels to go out of MySpace and create a new platform would finally lead to the death of the current biggest music platform." Do you think this could potentially be better than MySpace seeking out Independent labels and artists for inclusion in MySpace Music?

I recently wrote a post about iTunes 8 and the new Genius search tool. I thought the implementation of such a marketing tool with the iTunes storefront was a huge development, but only for established artists. I feel as though the MySpace features have the potential to be extremely beneficial to those who use the service in the way that they combine specific, new features from a multitude of different social networking and music promotion sites (i.e. imeem, Pandora, iLike, etc.) into one music marketing platform.

However, I agree that to challenge Apple is futile. One of the main points of my recent post about iTunes 8 was the definition by Apple and others of the “opening" for MySpace, or any music platform (even a new one as you said), to assimilate the independent music market – both Independent labels and bands – into a cohesive music promotion and distribution platform. If MySpace focused their site toward being a service provider for Independent artists while simultaneously catering to the needs of mainstream acts and other already established acts on MySpace, they would be in the best position. However, where MySpace currently falls short, like you said, is with their failure to include Independent labels in their deals at this time. Would you prefer MySpace to revert to what it began as; a social networking site driven by Independent artists? Or do you think it should include both Independent labels and artists in addition to mainstream artists from Major labels? Thank you for your post, and any comments are appreciated.

Pure Genius: Apple Innovates Once Again

Apple continues to push the boundaries of marketing and selling music with their recent release of iTunes 8 by integrating a plethora of new features that expand the already effective digital music player and download store. Since iTunes was released five short years ago, Apple has held the title of industry trendsetter and leader in digital download sales due in part to the way they integrate new search options and player settings that simultaneously make their software user-friendly and an effective online marketplace. With the integration of the new “Genius” feature, Apple may again break new ground in the music industry. Perhaps the most intriguing new aspect of iTunes 8, the Genius feature allows a user to assemble a playlist of songs “that go great together” at the click of a button by utilizing search technologies that have only been used and developed by smaller, independent websites such as Pandora and Last.fm. By integrating this brand of music search engine with the already established iTunes store, Apple could be on to something that transforms the way record labels and music websites think about marketing music online.

The integration of subjective search engines, meaning those that search for songs based on their musical content or genre, have become increasingly more important to online music marketing. Pandora, the first website to use this search method, has been cited as a hub for the discovery of new music and an outlet for independent and unsigned acts to break through to potential new listeners. Last.fm boasts a feature that groups artists from similar genres together in the hopes that curious music listeners will sample new bands. However, neither of these websites have integrated the technology directly into an online storefront the way that Apple has with iTunes 8. The Genius feature not only groups similar songs from a listener’s library, but also searches the iTunes store for songs that might "go great with each other."

The Genius feature has the potential to be revolutionary due in part to its Pandora-like search methods but more importantly because of its integration with the iTunes store, which has already been tested and accepted as the easiest, most effective way to legally download music. Through the implementation of the Genius feature, the iTunes store search process becomes more specific, yet at the same time gives the consumer the illusion of control. The ability to obtain a list of songs that sound just like a favorite with the click of a button is niche-marketing at its finest, but it doesn't feel that way. Instead of iTunes posting a single storefront of songs from the same genre, as it sometimes does on the store's frontpage, the Genius button can conjure up list after list of potential purchases masked as new songs. The way Genius searches iTunes and the quality of the playlists it generates are essential factors in the new feature's success.

The Genius search methods rely on the information from iTunes user's libraries to hone its searching capabilities. Apparently the more information that is submitted, the smarter the music search tool becomes. But many have doubts that the Genius feature is anything special. I see the search tool as the first small step in a line of many to reach this search technology's full potential. Technology moves quickly, and many forget what it was like to use Pandora or Last.fm for the first time. I have always seen Apple as the top tier online music service, and when they integrate a feature or develop a technology it usually becomes commonplace quickly, and then we can't live without it.

As an entrepreneur in the music industry working to figure out how to successfully release new music on the internet, subjective searches seem to be a very promising solution. To pair up-and-coming acts with already established artists of the same genre is an extremely powerful marketing tool. In the past, bands had to share the stage with established acts or make their way onto a compilation to get the kind of exposure that a simple Pandora search can achieve. With this technology, almost any new band can have the opportunity to be featured alongside artists who have defined their genre. Although the Genius feature seems very promising in terms of discovering new music, it may not be the solution for new independent artists. The iTunes store is hard to be a part of if you are a new band. Even if a band were on the iTunes store, it would be difficult to come up in a Genius search if nobody has the album yet. I believe that the Genius feature on iTunes 8 is a step in the right direction for online music marketing, however smaller sites that have been honing this technology for years will not be pushed aside by iTunes as a distribution network for small, new bands. However, iTunes will continue to lead the pack on a large scale, and the Genius search feature will definitely become an asset.