I was thoroughly impressed by the new Casting Crowns video - I feel like Christian music videos have come a long way and this should be commended. Check it out.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Thinking like a Virgin
Interesting article on retail outlet Virigin and what they're doing to increase traffic to their stores - AND it's actually working!
http://hubmagazine.com/?p=254
http://hubmagazine.com/?p=254
Thursday, April 24, 2008
COMMENTARY-UNDERCLASS INSIGHTS: Learning To Listen To Tomorrow's Music Business Leaders (Billboard Editorial, 4/26/08, by Catherine Fitterman)
When was the last time you asked your intern for advice on how to run your company? If the interns are music business majors, it's time to take them seriously. These savvy young members of your team belong in the boardroom, not the mailroom.
Yes, they're idealistic. But remember, they're music business majors. They have the knowledge and energy to create a vibrant new industry, and they're doing it on their own terms.
Here's what five New York University music business majors told me over dinner recently:
1. Music is only valuable when you don't have it. Today you can hear music anywhere, anytime. That has devalued it. People expect to get great music for free because they are getting it for free on TV shows, in ads and on their computers. Instead of fighting this, we need to figure out how to charge people for music but make it feel like they're getting it for free.
2. The entire music industry isn't dying—this is just evolution at work in a major way. We need lean, efficient companies run by people under 40 who are innovative and think ahead of the world's fast-paced changes.
3. Young people are taking down the traditional gatekeepers who block the way to new music. We're fighting this battle with technology, and we're going to win. Here's how:
Everyone favored the Creative Commons "some rights reserved" approach to allowing a creator control over his or her intellectual property. One of the students quoted from Michael Perelman's book, "Steal This Idea: Intellectual Property Rights and the Corporate Confiscation of Creativity": "Even in the arts, intellectual property rights offer very little to the mass of creative artists. In contrast, intellectual property rights grant enormous powers to corporations that distribute music or run music studios. These corporations typically wield power to the disadvantage of the artists, as well as society at large."
This student is writing a paper proposing radical change to copyright protection for creators. In his "Tiered Sliding Scale of Copyright Protection," each of the exclusive rights will have a different length of protection based upon its importance to the creator.
4. Next up: Music delivery systems. Satellite radio, with its adventuresome programming and DJs who act as musical curators instead of gatekeepers, will become a major way for people to find and purchase digital music. For satellite radio to get to this place, it has to have crystal-clear reception, be playable on a portable device with a "buy this song now" button and be bundled with other services. Young people won't subscribe to it and they're not into listening to it in their cars.
So bundle cable, Internet and satellite radio services into one bill. And throw in the cell phone, too. These services are all connected to each other in our lives, and bundling them will make satellite radio feel free.
5. Finally, in the "Watch science fiction become reality" category: In five years a chip imbedded into our brains will be the main way of finding and sharing new music. It'll be like Pandora on steroids. The sensors in our brain will match songs to the mood we're in. For example, if you're taking an exam after pulling an all-nighter the chip will pull up "Kickstart My Heart" by Mötley Crüe.
Artists will be paid based on how responsive the listener's brain is to their song. A strong listener reaction will mean more money to the artist. This will be an incentive for artists to write great music.
Health care and auto insurance companies will want to sponsor artists because they know music can calm, heal or wake you up if you're falling asleep at the wheel. Doctors will prescribe certain songs to help cure their patients' symptoms.
Have we got your attention? Find your music business interns and listen to their vision for our industry's future. You can heed their advice or be crushed underfoot in this revolution. The choice is yours to make. ••••
Professor Catherine Fitterman is director of the Undergraduate Music Business Program at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. The NYU music business majors interviewed for this article were Alexa Cabellon, Kevin Dalias, Laura Donkervoet, Matt Hayon and Joe Puglisi.
When was the last time you asked your intern for advice on how to run your company? If the interns are music business majors, it's time to take them seriously. These savvy young members of your team belong in the boardroom, not the mailroom.
Yes, they're idealistic. But remember, they're music business majors. They have the knowledge and energy to create a vibrant new industry, and they're doing it on their own terms.
Here's what five New York University music business majors told me over dinner recently:
1. Music is only valuable when you don't have it. Today you can hear music anywhere, anytime. That has devalued it. People expect to get great music for free because they are getting it for free on TV shows, in ads and on their computers. Instead of fighting this, we need to figure out how to charge people for music but make it feel like they're getting it for free.
2. The entire music industry isn't dying—this is just evolution at work in a major way. We need lean, efficient companies run by people under 40 who are innovative and think ahead of the world's fast-paced changes.
3. Young people are taking down the traditional gatekeepers who block the way to new music. We're fighting this battle with technology, and we're going to win. Here's how:
Everyone favored the Creative Commons "some rights reserved" approach to allowing a creator control over his or her intellectual property. One of the students quoted from Michael Perelman's book, "Steal This Idea: Intellectual Property Rights and the Corporate Confiscation of Creativity": "Even in the arts, intellectual property rights offer very little to the mass of creative artists. In contrast, intellectual property rights grant enormous powers to corporations that distribute music or run music studios. These corporations typically wield power to the disadvantage of the artists, as well as society at large."
This student is writing a paper proposing radical change to copyright protection for creators. In his "Tiered Sliding Scale of Copyright Protection," each of the exclusive rights will have a different length of protection based upon its importance to the creator.
4. Next up: Music delivery systems. Satellite radio, with its adventuresome programming and DJs who act as musical curators instead of gatekeepers, will become a major way for people to find and purchase digital music. For satellite radio to get to this place, it has to have crystal-clear reception, be playable on a portable device with a "buy this song now" button and be bundled with other services. Young people won't subscribe to it and they're not into listening to it in their cars.
So bundle cable, Internet and satellite radio services into one bill. And throw in the cell phone, too. These services are all connected to each other in our lives, and bundling them will make satellite radio feel free.
5. Finally, in the "Watch science fiction become reality" category: In five years a chip imbedded into our brains will be the main way of finding and sharing new music. It'll be like Pandora on steroids. The sensors in our brain will match songs to the mood we're in. For example, if you're taking an exam after pulling an all-nighter the chip will pull up "Kickstart My Heart" by Mötley Crüe.
Artists will be paid based on how responsive the listener's brain is to their song. A strong listener reaction will mean more money to the artist. This will be an incentive for artists to write great music.
Health care and auto insurance companies will want to sponsor artists because they know music can calm, heal or wake you up if you're falling asleep at the wheel. Doctors will prescribe certain songs to help cure their patients' symptoms.
Have we got your attention? Find your music business interns and listen to their vision for our industry's future. You can heed their advice or be crushed underfoot in this revolution. The choice is yours to make. ••••
Professor Catherine Fitterman is director of the Undergraduate Music Business Program at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. The NYU music business majors interviewed for this article were Alexa Cabellon, Kevin Dalias, Laura Donkervoet, Matt Hayon and Joe Puglisi.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
ReMaRkAbLe?!
Check out this quick excerpt from Seth Godin (marketing guru, author: Purple Cow). Great implications for us as the music industry but also as Christians. Let me know what you think...
Monday, March 24, 2008
THE MONOTONY
I walk into work, sit at my desk, turn on the red lamp, log on to my computer, sip on my coffee, and wait for Outlook to pop up on my screen. These are the last moments of silence for the rest of the day. After this it’s emails, phone calls, meetings, checking To Do’s off my list, and before I know it, I’ve been swept up into this exciting whirlwind of busyness. Suddenly, the end of the day is here and it’s time to go. Already? Uh oh. Wait! Where was God in my job today? I forgot to make Him the focus of my day!
THE EPIPHANY
What if I were to pray specifically about my work, at my desk, before I start each work day? Instead of savoring those first few moments of silence to myself, I could share them with God. Think about it: if we spend approximately 8 hours a day at our job, which is 1/3 of our life, then should not the content of our prayer reflect that? What could happen in my job and the way I interact with my co-workers if 1/3 of my prayer life was devoted to talking to God about it?
THE TEST
I decided to try it. This past Wednesday I came into work early while no one else was here, sat at my desk before opening email, and proceeded to pray out loud. That time with God was rejuvenating and for the first time in a while, I truly gave to God the place He deserved in my work day. I felt lighter and more free to do my part and to let God handle the rest.
THE CHALLENGE
For the next 2 weeks, I’m challenging myself to come into work early and pray specifically for my job. When I say “pray,” I mean undistracted, protected time with Christ at my desk when no one else is around. I’ll pray over myself, my co-workers, my company, the projects I’m working on, and over those with whom I’ll come into contact.
COLOSSIANS 3:17, 23-24
”And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
I walk into work, sit at my desk, turn on the red lamp, log on to my computer, sip on my coffee, and wait for Outlook to pop up on my screen. These are the last moments of silence for the rest of the day. After this it’s emails, phone calls, meetings, checking To Do’s off my list, and before I know it, I’ve been swept up into this exciting whirlwind of busyness. Suddenly, the end of the day is here and it’s time to go. Already? Uh oh. Wait! Where was God in my job today? I forgot to make Him the focus of my day!
THE EPIPHANY
What if I were to pray specifically about my work, at my desk, before I start each work day? Instead of savoring those first few moments of silence to myself, I could share them with God. Think about it: if we spend approximately 8 hours a day at our job, which is 1/3 of our life, then should not the content of our prayer reflect that? What could happen in my job and the way I interact with my co-workers if 1/3 of my prayer life was devoted to talking to God about it?
THE TEST
I decided to try it. This past Wednesday I came into work early while no one else was here, sat at my desk before opening email, and proceeded to pray out loud. That time with God was rejuvenating and for the first time in a while, I truly gave to God the place He deserved in my work day. I felt lighter and more free to do my part and to let God handle the rest.
THE CHALLENGE
For the next 2 weeks, I’m challenging myself to come into work early and pray specifically for my job. When I say “pray,” I mean undistracted, protected time with Christ at my desk when no one else is around. I’ll pray over myself, my co-workers, my company, the projects I’m working on, and over those with whom I’ll come into contact.
COLOSSIANS 3:17, 23-24
”And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Toxic Boss
This is a great note for us by Keith Ferrazzi found on his blog:
Click here to find out more.
Many people have asked me what to do about their toxic bosses. You should know that while 50% of people seem like jerks, only 10% actually are. The remaining 40% are just insecure. They have personal issues and feel unsafe. They tweak people because they expect negative reactions and results. Try to give your difficult boss a feeling of immense safety by refusing to react and being rational in the face of irrationality. Do not feed into the frenzy and be very respectful. If your boss continues to act badly and is evil or it's just not worth the effort, honor yourself and hopefully you've applied my principles so you have another boat to step into.
Click here to find out more.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Turning those crazy ideas into retirement funds is not as crazy as you think - especially at our age. Check out this list of young professionals in a variety of fields making huge waves and huge $$$ by being creative and running with their ideas...
Check it out here
Check it out here
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