itunes set to launch variable pricing

On April 7, itunes will increase the rate of some downloads from .99 to 1.29. In all, prices will range from .69 to 1.29. I'm not sure raising prices in a recession is going to help the bottom lines of the major labels. Why raise prices when you are competing with free or zero?

Why not really shake things up and price music all over the place, depending on the demand of the song?? It would be nice as a consumer to have a low-risk way to purchase new music. Yes, we can sample 30 seconds of a song before purchase, but the labels should strive for volume and raise demand by offering attractive price points, say .05 to .25 for more obscure songs.

What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Back to the Future

Once upon a time, box office receipts served as a marketing platform for the upcoming DVD release. If a movie performed poorly at the box office, producers and executives could still count on DVD sales to recoup their investments and make money. The recession, as well as a saturated DVD marketplace and the prevalence of internet streaming, has caused the film business to rethink that strategy.

Over the last year, the Box-Office has seen double-digit increases in audience attendance. DVD sales are down dramatically over the same time period. Studio execs that have come to rely on DVD sales, now have to depend on the performance of theatrical releases.

On a positive note, the audience will benefit from fewer releases and an emphasis on quality.

Ping.fm

How do you update your social networks in a snap?

Very simply, try ping.fm. One status update takes care of all of your social networks.

See for yourself: Ping.fm.

WeFollow

WeFollow, a new user-powered Twitter directory has entered the scene. The site is a side project of Digg Founder, Kevin Rose. Well-organized and clutter-free, the directory aims to locate Tweeps with similar interests. Hence, each user is allowed only three hashtags. So far, the site has added 2500 Tweeps to the directory in the last 24 hours.

You can find me here on Twitter and in the directory at WeFollow (#tv #film #bizdev).

Social Mention

Social Mention is a social media search engine that allows you to track what people are saying about brands and products in real-time across the social media landscape.

Since companies and organizations need to track mention of their names and products, they may find Social Mention to be useful.

As an aggregator, social mention saves time and crawls blogs, twitter, friendfeed, etc. Why search the web, when you can find highly targeted threads across the social networking sphere?

Mashable Acquires Blippr

Mashable, a social media blog/guide has acquired blippr. Blippr is a microblogging platform for music, movies and games reviews. The Blippr reviews can be posted on Twitter, Friendfeed, MySpace, etc.

Social Media has surpassed email in some countries such as the UK and it is clear that Mashable is riding that wave. While Blogs still matter, short comments can efficiently build a community around like-minded tastes.

Studies have shown that peers trust peer recommendations, especially when it comes to activities such as going to the movies, and purchasing games and music. Mashable will offer the best of both community and editorial.

Happy Blippin'

Measuring Buzz - Twitter Search Part 2

A few weeks ago, I discussed tools to monitor conversations or threads on Twitter in real-time. Today, Twitter "officially" integrated search into the home page of every user.  Heavy users on Twitter were probably already customizing their own topics of interest.  Now, however, the search function is available and accessible to all.  

While Twitter can be overwhelming to the novice user, the ability to search in real-time provides a user-friendly and productive experience.

I'd love to hear what others think of the new home page.

Music As A Service

It's no secret the music industry is going through a major transition. Music is moving away from physical products and towards services. Artists derive most of their income from touring, not recorded music. However, music still has the ability to draw a large audience and sponsors.

In fact, music consumption has never been greater. The artists that focus on widespread digital distribution will have a greater chance of success of reaching fans and building a community. There are music discovery sites, music recommendation services and music marketing solutions. All to the benefit of stakeholders - the bands, the tech platforms and most of all, the fans.

This is a time of great experimentation. We should celebrate artistic innovation and creative expression and stop trying to maintain the status quo.