This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

©2012 Metablocks Sound and Pictures. All Rights Reserved.



©2012 Metablocks Sound and Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

• 600 and 630 Series
  • Tobymac (EMI/True Management) – 3 Versions
  • MercyMe (Ino Records) – 3 Versions
  • Marvin Winans Jr (M2 Entertainment)
  • Francesca Battistelli (Word Label Group) – 3 Versions
  • Cypress Hill
  • SuperChick
  • SuperChick
  • Mary Mary
  • Chris Sligh (Brash Music)
  • Jars of Clay (Midas Records)
  • Third Day (Essential Records)
  • TobyMac’s Winter Wonderland Slam (True Management)

• 200 Series
  • Dead by Sunrise (Warner Records) | Count Down Version
  • LIGHTS – Keytar Hero (Warner Records)
  • Altantic Time Capsule – Virtual Vinyl (Atlantic Records)
  • The Maine – Video Player (Warner Records)
  • Matthew West – Promo Widget (EMI/Method Management)
  • Tim McGraw – Still (Curb Records)
  • Devo (Warner Records)
  • The Maine (Warner Records)
  • Avenged Sevenfold (Warner Records)
  • Disturbed (Warner Records)
  • The Independent Music Awards

• 100 Series (Playlists)
  • Michelle Branch Playlist (Warner Records)

• 400 Series (Custom Video)
  • Creed Full Circle Tour Live (Rockpit) (Rockpit)

©2012 Metablocks Sound and Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

©2012 Metablocks Sound and Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Here are some recent widget post from our Widgetmatic Blog:

• Widgetmatic Series Beefs Up Online Video Support and Options
  Video has always been a key component on widgets. With their growing popularity, online videos quickly and easily be integrated into both custom and prefab Widgetmatic widgets.
• Widgetmatic AIR Widgets for the Desktop
  While many people use Adobe Flash-based widgets on the Web, dashboard widgets have allowed users to access the same widget functionality on their own desktop.
• Clearspring API’s going Away – What to Do Next?
  You have about 100 days left till April 5^th, 2010 when your Clearspring widgets will stop working (unless you switch to their AddThis platform, Gigya or another widget sharing provider). 
• New Quantcast Web Analytics Tab for Widgets!
  Recently we have added a family of web analytics tabs which rely on both public (Alexa.com, Compete.com) and internal web analytics (Google Analytics, Omniture) information that can be incorporated into a Widgetmatic widget.

©2012 Metablocks Sound and Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

• Do Something Interesting, Better Still Compelling!
  Lady Gaga’s Facebook application was unnecessarily basic! There is some beautify in simplicity, but when possible, applications need to be compelling! Yes there is power in the brand and some people believe fans will do absolutely anything, but marketers need to ask themselves a simple question “Why will a fan want to use this application”. Try the application and judge for yourself. The last reaction you want from fans is “I don’t get it”.
• Allow for More Customization
  There was very little to control in the application (especially when compared to something like RE5′s Mijini Makeover which uses our photo composition). The more control you give users over their content creation, the more “ownership” they feel. The more “ownership” they feel, the more likely they are to promote it. The more they promote it…you get the idea.
• Play Something and Sell Something
  Make “buy” links for digital music prominent! The goal of most (if not all) of our Facebook artist applications is to sell digital music (or even physical product)!  If you get the attention of a music fan, we feel it is important to convert that exposure to a purchase if possible. The easiest way of that (what we call ‘solving the easy problems’) is to expose the fan to the artist’s content, generate a level of demand, and then fulfill that demand via iTunes or Amazon as quickly as possible. This application could have be improved by a stronger call to action. Unfortunately the only “buy” link was hidden in the body of user posts (and unfortunately it was plain text and not even a link).
• Give Them a Reason to Share
  The Lady Gaga Facebook appliation assumes that once you finished the simple photo creation process you will immediately turn around and share it with friends of Facebook. There is no marketing copy, no call to action, no reason to act, no incentive, no payola, just a  simple blue “Share” button! Always ask yourself “Why would someone share this?”. Is it funny or entertaining? Does it build the poster’s self-esteem? Does it let the poster express themselves creatively? Does it allow them to further their cause or the cause of others?
• Keep Them Coming Back
  If possible, when building Facebook applications try and give users a reason to come back! This is a difficult problem to solve, and we (and our clients) are sometimes complicit in this matter. Like many Facebook applications, the I’M A FAME MONSTER app is designed as a “single-use” application! Always try to create “multiple-use” applications that engage fans, keep them coming back, and getting them involved in interacting either with the artist’s content or other fans through the application. Try and create a connection with the user and create opportunities for “re-infection”!
   

©2012 Metablocks Sound and Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

• Artist.com: What Should I build my Music Website On? (Widgetmatic)
• Custom Facebook Applications for Music Artist (MetaBlog)
• Warner Music, Sony BMG, Universal and Drupal! What Gives? (M2)
• Country Music Fans and Digital Music Sales – Interesting Numbers (M2)
• Music Artists and Widgets: A Guide (M2)
• Altantic Records and Social Media Marketing (M2)
• Beware of Twitter Spam: An Overview and Guide (MetaBlog)
• Understanding the “Widget Space”: A Simple Guide (Widgetmatic)

©2012 Metablocks Sound and Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Many of these labels have built large multi-site capable of hosting hundreds of artist on the same platform (similar approach to Widgetmatic widget platform hosting hundreds of artist widgets on the same platform) and all of these labels, for the most part, are using a content management system called Drupal, so what gives and what is Drupal?

Drupal is a free open-source content management system written PHP that is used to build robust, personalizeable, content driven websites. In recent years Drupal has been a popular platform in the music industry for building artist websites. Unlike perhaps WordPress, Drupal is clearly targeted to developers.

Warner Music is a big Drupal user and the company has a multi-site setup that allows each artist site to share the same codebase.  This Artist Service Platform (called internally The Platform) powers the websites of Remedy Drive, My Chemical Romance, The Veronicas, Randy Dravis and many others.

Sony BMG Records is also a fairly big Drupal have have put together a Sony BMG Records’ multi-site that host such artists as Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson, Paula DeAnda and others. Sony’s MusicBox community site also runs on Drupal.

We do custom development for both Drupal and WordPress, so here are some of my thoughts:

• Setup and Management
  As an artist here are a couple of things you should know. Drupal is great and power platform but it more easily deployed and managed by large organization (with a decent IT budget and staff) than a “webshop” or much less an individual. If you label doesn’t have a multi-site platform, check out other options.
• Development Customization
  For music labels, Drupal is a great way to go (if you have the IT staff). Drupal can be customized (I avoid using the words “easily customized”) through custom themes, its supports multiple-languages and much more. That said, have build custom themes for both WordPress and Drupal, customizing Drupal is a lot more difficult.  
• Usability and Intuitiveness
  Probably some will see this as a downside to Drupal and many developers have complained about its learning curve and major releases are not always backward compatible, ouch! This is more a problem for the label than for the artist since if you are using a multi-site, chances are someone else is responsible for keeping it updated.

Alternative Technologies:
Most people will agree that Drupal is clearly more powerful than WordPress (and other pure blogging solutions) given that it is a true CMS, but given the cost and complexity that come with Drupal, it definitely isn’t the best solution for everyone. So know your many options.

• WordPress and Blogs
  WordPress is a PHP-based blogging platform and is probably the biggest single contender to Drupal in this area. It is also probably the best option for any artists who owns and operates their own website (directly or through a website provider). It takes a little know-how and a lot of plug ins (plus a good custom theme) but running an artist website on WordPress if perfect fine and acceptable (and great for SEO purposes). For example, the Widgetmatic website runs on WordPress and we have build dozens of custom wordpress plugins to enhance “website” functionality for clients who use run their site on WordPress.
• Joomla
  Joomla is yet another content management system or CMS. Personally I have not seen it used a lot in the music industry but I heard it can be done and there are event stories out there of people who have done it. Some claim Joomla is faster than Drupal, but there are ways to to improve Drupal’s performance considerably via caching and compression. Overall, Joomla seems a bit dated – just an opinion.
• Ning
  Ning is not software but an online community. I would consider Ning more a community site builder than a website builder. A number of music labels have been using Ning (in conjunction to their websites) as a community builder (ThisIs50.com, T.I., Good Charlotte). Ning is (somewhat) customizable and many of the artists and labels I have spoken to seem to like the level of community activity they see on Ning.
• Other Third Party Communities
  Many of these exist. Usually the true purpose of these “platforms” is to build some sort of music community, so they are open to giving away their services and bandwidth to artist in exchange for building a more “cohesive” community around the artist. These includes communities like Buzznet (Britney Spears), Zoecity (TobyMac), and others.

Be sure to check out Widgetmatic’s: Artist.com: What Platform Should I Build my Web Site On for a whole list of website development options!

©2012 Metablocks Sound and Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

50% of core country music fans do not have the Internet at home. And 42 percent of those respondents report they have no desire to change that.

Here are some of the high level numbers from this and other surveys that deal with Country music and the Internet:

• 40% of adults between the age of 18 and 54 are country music fans
• 65% of county music fans prefer to buy CDs, versus 35% who prefer digital
• 38% had illegally copied a CD and 23% got pirated online copies
• 25% of fans attended a country music concert in the last year
• 50% of hard-core country music fans have Internet access at home citing access or cost
• Hard-core country music fans are between the age of 25 and 39
• Country music category was among lowest (6%) of downloaded digital albums in 2008 – Nielsen/Soundscan (this number as 4.9% in 2007, below both Latin and Gospel)
• In first 5 months of 2009, Country album sales experienced the smallest decline of all the major music genre’s (4%)  and lead in growth for digital album sales – Nielsen/Soundscan
• Country fans skew female (54% vs US population), they are more likely to be married, Caucasian and from small towns, and find most of their new music via Country radio stations

So what do all these numbers mean? When examined in light of the fact that in a 2008 survey by Nielsen, 80% of all U.S. homes have a computer, and almost 92% those homes have Internet access – these numbers mean that going after country music fan’s online is hard work! The music industry acknowledges that – according to Sony BMG Nashville Chairman Joe Galante in a Washington Post article: “The lack of interest in the Internet  tells you that it’s not as easy to reach the hard-core fans as it might seem”. Capitol Records Nashville President, Mike Dungan sound even more worried, saying “if a sizable portion of our audience has no access online, then we’re out of business.”

Here are some conclusions and perhaps some marketing insight into what these numbers may hold:

• Broaden your Fan Base:
  The post gives the examples of older bands like the Oak Ridge Boys, going after a younger audience on MySpace and Twitter. Reba McEntire has attempted to do the same in recent years.
• Continue Your Online Investments
  In spite of the fact that 42% of those surveyed claim they have no desire to change their situation, the underlying causes given included lack of access and cost, two components that will eventually go away. Remember, 58% (a majority) of this group do want Internet access in the future! So Internet is still the way to go. In an article in CyperGrass, Heather McBee, VP, Digital Business, Sony Music Nashville says “Two years ago, an artist could succeed without a digital strategy. Today it’s become a key component to the marketing plan that builds a presence for the artist and helps establish a meaningful relationship with fans.”
• Internet Access is the Key to Getting Fan’s “Hooked”!
  A more in-depth look at the report, revealed that for the 71% who has Internet access, the Internet becomes the central medium. Not surprising, once they they became digital music consumers, they contribute very little CD revenue. Overall country music digital sales (Nielsen) have continued on a growing trend since (2006) and in spite of market dynamic look like they are growing steadier than perhaps some other genres of music.
• Promote the Internet as Way to Lower Cost
  Perhaps the key to going after hard-core country music fans is lowering their cost. As previously mentioned, hard-core fans are extremely cost sensitive. They cited cost as a key reason for not having Internet access, they also complained about being “ripped off” by the price of merchandise and frustrated by the cost of concerts.  60% of country music fan said they were financially challenged and as a result are spending less on music. The Internet has long promised to lower consumer cost and some of that is true. Digital tracks cost a less than CDs (although MP3 players don’t). Considering ways of using and promoting the Internet as way for fans to cut cost (free giveaways, concert video, i.e.).

©2012 Metablocks Sound and Pictures. All Rights Reserved.