K. Lewis

New iPhone App Could Boost Sirius XM's Cash

If a move like this is so great for them why are they not creating ( and profitting from) their own mobile app? Any exec with a calculator could see the value. License this app to the mobile manufacturers directly and own another income stream.

I don't see the influx of cash the author paints a picture of in this article. Sounds too good to be true. While I would consider subscribing for this delivery option, I don't think many other non-subscribers will join. That's where the money is.

Blockbuster, Sonic Solutions Partner to Lead On Demand Movies

Blockbuster is again playing catch up to Netflix. Unlike Microsoft, which tends to get better with each iteration after jumping in late, Blockbuster has simply been moving side to side and contradicting itself with each step.

No way I'd buy into this iteration of whatever delivery method they are pushing. They've yet to show me that they can deliver and have the market will respond.

Are New Digital Music Payments Enough?

I agree with Activision. The game play is the driver for the sale. You could easily substitute the music with indy songs and still have hit games. Just look at the model on television. CBS revived their label just to feed their shows. Cable stations bypass the high priced option altogether for independent music.

Activision is in such a position of power that they could probably start their own boutique label and have bands gladly jump at the opportunity. There's at least one move studio I know of that's looking to do just that in order to bypass paying labels for including their acts music in major motion pictures.

The labels must adapt or perish along with their antiquated business model.

Warner's 'Harry Potter' Sequel Pushed Back to July

WOW! I usually maintain a professional demeanor with my posts but as a Potter fan this is just messed up. Financially, I get the move but don't buy the writers strike angle since post production is reportedly complete.

Will Music Sales Be Profitable for Record Companies in Ten Years?

There's a major disconnect in perception here. The labels have a lot of room to squeeze profits out of their music products. They don't HAVE to spend so much on signing, recording, and promoting acts that it requires 500,000 sales to be profitable. The emerging so-called 360 deals are an attempt to do things differently but even they are front loading the bet against a proven talent that may or may not pay off. The cost model has to change to put the money where it counts instead of spraying cash hoping to hit the target. Put simply, the labels spend to much on the hope of a products potential rather than shifting that spending to a later point in the product life cycle to focus the spending on products that are actually performing.

The labels have access to big media outlets to promote their artist but do so inefficiently. They can profit just fine if they stop wasting so many marketing dollars. If my label can profit beginning at 1500 sales, why can't theirs? If I can ramp up marketing spending based on a products performance why can't they? Of course the scale is different but the math is simple. Spend smarter.

Music Downloads: You Can't Regulate One Industry and Leave Another Alone

The many forms of this problem and the attempted solutions are, to me, wildly entertaining to watch as a student of business and marketing in mass media. The only certainty I can predict is that the consumer will ultimately win. The content controllers who survive and prosper will be the ones smart enough to pan for gold in the stream rather trying to build dams and levies to fight a losing battle against nature. As a songwriter, musician, and independent label owner, I'll be spreading the net far and wide to be sure my content is available whenever and where ever people look for it. Sometimes the folks looking won't want to pay and I'm sure they'll find a way to partake without doing so. That's part of doing business in a changing digital landscape if you ask me. It's only my problem if the seeker who's willing to pay can't find my work. For the folks intent on theft, I'll leave that up to karma.

A Satellite Radio Giant's Surprising Small Audience

IF the line about not having internal audience data is true, I find that almost negligent. How do you justify paying anyone anything with metrics supporting their worth. Again, IF, that line is true (the only interesting line in the article to me) then things should only get better. Introducing actual audience listening data to the mix can only help the bottom line by allowing management to improve ROI versus the guessing exercise you have to do without data.

Rhapsody's New e-Music Download Service Takes on iTunes

Many of the articles and comments I read on this subject take the stance that there will be one winner and many losers. I believe Apple will remain the largest player in this space until someone offers EASIER access to a media library that plays on the iPod. I use an iPod and every time a new service is announced, I check it out. If there was a library available as big as iTunes that I could access unrestricted via subscription, I would use it. What will probably happen is that as soon as that level of service becomes a reality, Apple will match the offer. That'll be a great day for me.

Will Today's Music Fans Buy What Nokia Is Selling?

This appears to be another attempt make money by selling something people aren't buying. Why is it so impossible for the media companies to just look at how people are consuming their products and build a paid, open alternative to the folks who'd rather not steal?

Access to an infinite, open, media library is ALREADY there if I want to illegally download the content. The big media companies simply need to build the store where the people already shop, so to speak.

Marvel's in for a Hulk of a Lawsuit - Barron's

So will all this hold up production of Mavel's stellar run of upcoming movies?? Let's get to the important data here.

--signed IronManFan

MySpace to Launch New Music Joint Venture With Big Labels

Interesting to note how no independent labels were included despite much of MySpace's rise in popularity being due to independent bands embracing the platform. This deal effectively excludes the entire long tail.

Classic Lakers - Celtics Final Great for Disney

I'm a lifelong Lakers fan and while I enjoyed watching Shaq and Kobe win 3 rings this STILL tops those final even if they don't win. I can't even remember who Shaq and Kobe beat but I remember the Lakers Celtics matchups in the 80s. I'm grinning with anticipation over this matchup.

Netflix's Roku is Doomed to Fail

Another very short sighted view of one move Netflix is making among many. Netflix NEEDS a hardware solution just to be in the game with Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, etc. They don't create content so their business is adding value to a delivery channel. The box does that for the years between now and the day flat panels connect to that mythical wi-fi network that can stream hd movies directly from the Disney vault to your home - on demand.

Also, the idea of them hitching their business to a Microsoft product would be monumentally stupid as MS would have no incentive to honor the relationship. What does Netflix really offer MS in that deal? Netflix doesn't own the content and MS could at some point in the future, license that content directly and cut Netflix out without impacting the MS customer base at all. Once that deal is done, they'd have a built in hook to the customer base Netflix would have handed them. Not smart.

Napster's DRM-Free Music Store Will Struggle

A valid subscription service for iPod users is a value add to the available options if you ask me. Apple's model provides nothing for music fans looking for legal access to a vast array of music at a set monthly price. They will eventually have to once one of their competitors gains some traction. It may be Napster. Who knows?

Will 'Free' Make Money for Netflix?

This appears to be smart business in a big picture not many are considering. This business segment, similar to music, is in flux and the endpoint is still unknown with no clear winner or even dominant market leader like Apple/iTunes. If Netflix want's to play through, they need to be in every channel rather the betting on one or two models. When customers invest in a content delivery channel, it's hard to get them to switch. If they can afford it, they're smart to spread their bet and subsidize the losers rather than jumping in late like Blockbuster or Microsoft.