Archive for March, 2009
Top 10 best ideas in Classical Music- a review
Mar 26th
Sorry for the feast and famine blog posts, but I am especially motivated this week. I was delighted when a colleague sent me a link to a new classical music blog (well at least new to me).
This blog, “The Dutch Perspective” written by Marc Van Bree is a refreshing take on cultural affairs and PR from the perspective of a non-profit PR and social media specialist. Not only did the title of his latest blog post excite me, but the content was quite exciting as well. The title, “The ten best ideas in classical music online” says it all, but as I read his David Letterman top 10 list, I realized that I (moreover Naxos) have much to do with several of the initiatives mentioned in the list.
If you are curious about the whole list, please feel free to read it and Marc’s other posts here.
I will spare you the details and go into the movements and initiatives that I/we had something to do with.
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra gives away memberships to Naxos Music Library with subscriptions to the new season
“The BSO enthusiastically proclaims “Imagine leaving a concert and wanting to go right home and hear your favorite parts of the music again and again…Well now you can!” on its Web site. And rightly so. This is a perfect example of a smart collaboration that adds value to the orchestra experience.” ## That’s right folks. We did it! We are partnering with not only the BSO, but a slew of other great Symphonies to offer the highly acclaimed Naxos Music Library as a value-add to season tickets purchases. The opportunity to work with these great orchestras offering this value for their subscribers has been a wonderful experience. Hopefully more will jump on board for next season!
Keeping Score / Beyond the Score
“Although they have distinct differences, I would put the San Francisco Symphony’s Keeping Score programs and the Chicago Symphony’s Beyond the Score programs in the same category of innovation. If it wasn’t for the negative connotations, I would be tempted to use the term “infotainment” to describe the presentations. Check them out and see how you would describe them.” ## While I have nothing to do with the beyond the score project (which I think is a phenomenal endeavor), I have worked with the good folks at the San Francisco Symphony on their initiative for a few years now providing licensed music for their educational CDs and am glad that their series is garnering recognition.
Classical music on Twitter (Toronto Symphony, Aspen Music Festival, London Symphony, Atlanta Symphony)
## Along with these great Symphonies, Naxos also has several Twitter accounts. We have found that these are a great way to connect with our customer base. In case you were wondering, you can follow the official Naxos Twitter account, Naxos Direct, Naxos Music Library account, or my personal account.
I think it’s pretty exciting that we are involved with 3 out of 10 of these initiatives. I enjoy being a part of a forward-thinking leader in the Classical Music World. That’s all for now.
Mobile SMS Business Cards?
Mar 25th
So today I am sitting at the Leadership Music Digital Summit networking with a few new media/developer dudes and upon our obligatory card exchange was taken quite aback. As I asked the gentleman for his card he simply replied “text my name to 50500 and you will have my info.” To me, this sounded like “these aren’t the droids you’re looking for.” What Jedi mind trick had I just stumbled upon…?
contxts.com
This fantastic service actually allows you to create your own “business card” that can be texted to contacts via SMS. I went on immediately and created my own. In case you were wondering… text “randallfoster” to 50500.
All in all, I must say the site was quite easy to use. I am a fan of web simplicity and this is definitely a simple interface. It appears that there is more development to come that will help you keep the contacts you have collected and I look forward to seeing those changes. For now though, the site is FREE, simple and it works well. Plus, you’ll never have to worry about leaving your cards at home again.
Check out this review on Mashable… or if you are a tweeter, you can follow them at http://twitter.com/contxts
The Music Industry’s New Digital Problem
Mar 10th
I was recently sent this article from Business Week speaking of the growing digital issues facing the Music Industry.
Streaming VS Downloads… that is the question…
My take on this is that Streaming Services need to be paying the right’s holders whether it be through a pro-rata share of advertising profits, PRO’s, or what-have-you. I wonder though… Is it the streaming media’s fault for declining sales, or are the declining sales are part of a larger shift in the music purchase paradigm? It would be arguable that terrestrial radio could have ruined record sales in the earlier parts of the 20th century… No-one was complaining then. What is so different about streaming internet radio and other services? I guess that answer will help us get to the bottom of this sinking music industry economy.
Virgin Megastores All Closing… well most of them anyways.
Mar 3rd
Although reports indicate that Virgin is closing all remaining stores, I have an inside source who has confirmed that only three of the remaining six stores will close. Apparently the real estate is simply too expensive in Times Square (go figure). The other three appear to be solvent at this point in time. It is a sad state of affairs when we lose the Virgin Times Square, Union Square, and West Hollywood stores…
The article goes on to say that this leaves J&R Music World to be the last music superstore in New York…
I hope we fix this mess (our economy, our industry, our planet) soon.