Well, not anymore. You see, every time one of those songs starts to auto-play, MySpace is paying streaming royalties. By turning off auto-play, MySpace will immediately begin saving millions of dollars in royalty fees.

This should also offer a better picture of what users are actually listening to. It can be a bit deceiving to say a song was listened to 5 million times if it automatically starts playing when the page is opened. But if users are required to press the play button, that will be a better indication of the actual amount of times the song was streamed.

On the negative side, bands will need to rely more on their page layout now to grab the user’s attention. The distortion-filled opening chord of the hit song will no longer pull in potential fans.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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Authenticity. We all want it from the musicians we love.

But there needs to be a limit so that the artist can concentrate on writing & composing. Yet, as more and more artist take the entrepreneurial route in building their fan base, social media becomes a necessity alongside the constant touring and writing.

So, perhaps the next step in this process will be social media band managers. These teenagers & 20-somethings will be able to work for many bands for relatively little money per band and coordinate all of their social media. What needs to come directly from the band (Twitter updates) can come from the band. What can be done by a social media band manager can be outsourced.

Tim Westergren, founder of Pandora, suggests that the new record label executive will fit more of this role – to take care of the non-creative items for a band. Perhaps the record labels could do this to resurrect their declining business model. But it will more likely come from tech-savvy music lovers who understand the power of social media and viral marketing.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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This is brilliant. Capcom offers one level of the game for free, and 14 levels if you purchase the game for $4.99. If Super Mario Brothers and Mike Tyson’s Punch Out get released, I think they would be a huge hit.

The free version is currently #3 under top free downloads. #3 out of more than 60,000 iPhone applications. It’s popular.

These games play on our nostalgia. In the day of interactive games with the ability to play against people in Sri Lanka, it’s nice to play the simple games we grew up with on Nintendo.

How can musicians and artists use a similar concept for iPhone applications? How can a new band use nostalgia to drive interest in their music? Well, let’s think back to the 90′s. Along with Nintendo, what were other forms of popular content?

You had MTV. Tapes & CD’s were the big thing. People used to purchase things called albums and would pore over the content inside the album.

What if a band could create an application that mimicked a record player. Where the songs actually had the scratch of the needle embedded into the tracks that brought back the feel of listening to records. What if, along with the music playing in the background, users could peruse all album covers with photos, lyrics, and shout outs?

What we see in the case of the Mega Man II game is that Capcom offers a free version consisting of one level. You get addicted and want to continue, so you purchase the $4.99 full game version. Likewise, musicians could offer an app that is free with limited content. To obtain further content, the user would be directed to the app store where the full version could be purchased.

All musicians should have some sort of a smart phone so that they know what technology exists. Creating an iPhone app could be a lengthy and expensive process, but one that, if well done, could create quite a bit of buzz.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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Maxrave is a subsidiary of BCBG Max Azria that caters to women aged 16-24. Maxrave has over 280 stores in the USA.

And for bands, with competition increasing daily, there needs to be a way for the artists to get their music to the right demographic. What better way than to have music playing to a semi-captive audience? Here you have a store full of teenage/college girls. If your music fits this demographic, this is really a great avenue to pursue.

Maxrave will be working with artists such as Cassette Kids, Maiysha, TeeJay, and Mike Posner. When Maxrave customers buy something at the store, they will be given a card that provides access to music download playlists at this website. Clients then have access to download tracks by these artists that they will also hear in-store.

Mitch Towbin, executive director at Blue Maze, had this to say about the initiative:

“We basically worked with the client to analyze their in-store and online demographic and to determine what type of songs would reflect the musical tastes of their core audience. A lot of these artists are just starting to get radio play so they are fresh and can add some trajectory to the lifespan of this initiative.”

Great job by BCBG and the artists involved in this initiative.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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For bands, this means that more and more media content will be viewed on devices such as the iPhone. If your main web presence is your MySpace page, then no one can listen to your music on the iPhone because MySpace’s music player is Flash-based, and the iPhone/iTouch does not support Flash as of now. It does support YouTube. Are you on YouTube? Are you on the sites that stream music through their own apps on the iPhone (Pandora, iMeem, etc)?

Media consumption continues to change rapidly, and bands must be acutely aware of these changes to be sure they make it easy to be discovered.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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On SuperFan, fans set up pages for things that they like and then other people congregate around this band, movie, baseball team, store, etc. Surveys, photos, and information can be posted by users for their favorite things. The more items posted, the more you become a superfan.

As an artist, this is an amazing chance to see what your biggest fans have to say about your music. You also see what fans are creating on their own that you could possibly take on as a band yourself and monetize the opportunity. Although constructive criticism is also important for growth, it would be wise for bands to be watching what their biggest fans are saying about their music style, stage show, and new songs.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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Now, some of these numbers need to take into account that people using Twitter are more likely young and tech-savvy. But to be 77% more likely to purchase digital downloads is pretty substantial.

So, how can you as a band use Twitter? Start by signing up. Then, check out what other bands/artists are doing. Look at the Dave Matthews Band and John Mayer. See how you can connect with your fans and give them the inside scoop, without it being a blatant advertisement. And be real. Let your personality shine through. Tell about funny screw ups and be humble about great successes.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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But what does this mean for your band or company? You are unlikely to have an application blow up and sell millions of units. You need a reason for people to use your app. Something to set you apart from the fray.

A great idea that I saw recently was an app designed around a book. An app was released around the book, “The Man’s Book” by Thomas Fink and included a game called “The Urinal Test.” In the game, you come upon a set of urinals and must choose the one where there is the least chance that someone else will be using the urinal next to you. The game was a hit in the app store showing up on the Top 25. The app also has information about the book. But what a great way to promote a book – have a fun and funny game to go with the book information.

Instead of just an app that contains information about your band or company, offer a game or another interesting catch that relates to your brand.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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For all of 2009, physical album sales are down 13.4% compared to 2008.

So, why keep writing about this? I think the key thing to pull away is that album sale drops are not leveling out. This trend will likely continue. For bands, it is probably smartest to not put a high emphasis on expected income from album sales. In turn, bands will need to consider alternate income streams.

Stay tuned,
Erik
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