Music Syndication - embrace the inevitable: Project Playlist, Seeqpod and... Sonific
Just as Sonific, my own company plying the Music Widgets turf, is about to release its new, shiny, fantastic, network-rattling music2.0- inspiring Playlist feature (check this blog to be sure not to miss that... next week!), this whole turf seems to explode (which is good for us, I think;): witness Fairtilizer, SoundPedia, Jamendo, Project Playlist, and now... Seeqpod.
Apart from the rather odd name (hello, branding guys... what are you thinking?) it is quite an interesting app, see the players below; essentially searching MP3 files from whatever MP3 blogs are out there, and sucking the MP3s off them, and creating playlists that can be widgetized to anywhere.
Not exactly a new idea (see project playlist) but nicely ajax-ed and well-done.
So, I can't resist... here are 2 thoughts on this stuff:
1) this is essentially meta-distribution of MP3 files that have been embedded in 10s of 1000s of MP3 blogs around the world, i.e. it's feeding of their blog posts, their servers, their gray-zone legal status (and I say this with great appreciation - I love what they are doing!).
Currently, however, most of these MP3 blogs are kinda ignored by the actual rightsholders or shall I say the major record labels (since most of the indies do seem to like the mp3 blogs a lot), but THIS kind of super-distribution of those 'tolerated' MP3s will rattle their cages fairly quickly. Because, let's face it, this is essentially on-demand, interactive play of single tracks which they have always maintained is subject to a license fee.
I mean, yes, of course that idea is an illusion, too, but still: look at the recent Imeem - WMG lawsuit etc etc - and this is also, of course, the very reason why Sonific does not yet have a lot of current hit artists on Sonific.com. We just don't feel like giving up a big chunk of our company, and some nice chunk of VC-provided cash (which we don't have, anyway) for the merely theoretical grant of rights to include some of their catalog that is licensed based on a commercial deal that looks just about as bad as selling weekend trips to the moon (*no implied meaning that Imeem did suffer that fate - just talking about ourselves, here...)
But anyway, what do you think will happen if these guys (projectPL and Seeqpod et al) gain a real audience (meaning... millions of users and embeds in most social networks)?. Well, it's simple: the MP3 blogs that feed them - willingly or not - will get take-down orders; or rather, the top 3 blog services (blogger/ google, typepad / livejournal / vox / six apart, wordpress) that host most of them, will get take down orders for ALL MP3s that are hosted on their millions of blogs, and that will be the end of us enjoying things like fluxblog or hypemachine. I am not so sure these MP3 blogs should be, or are, so happy about stuff like Project Playlist or SeeqPod. Tell me if you know more.... (comment, below)
2) Now, as to the MAJOR LABELS, talk about facing a new reality: Super-Distribution of Music is HERE. NOW. You will not be able to plug these holes, and insist on up-front license fees for on-demand streaming or interactive radio applications like these. You can only PARTICIPATE and share revenues. You need to fuel the fire not look for a firehose. I am willing to bet you 100 copies of my book that if you were to actually license all those web-music-social-2.0 companies that want to use on-demand, interactive, streaming-only widgets for their music-driven social networks, you could start to generate some serious money from advertising revenue shares and e-commerce click-thrus, PLUS you could use them to market your music extremely efficiently (well... for free, really!). And NO, this would not replace your CD-Sales (ehem... if you still have some, within the next 12 months) or your digital sales (provided you'll be smart enough to finally get out of DRM before your tanker hits the cliff).
So, to end the pontification part of this post, here are 2 playlists: one with Pat Metheny who I really like, and the second one with all major label content - just to make sure you -maybe- get the picture ;)
Comments