Tag Archive for: HD Radio

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You drive into any ghetto in the USA and you can find an 8-year-old kid selling crack on the street corner. The shoes he chooses to wear are usually the most expensive Air Jordan sneakers.

 

High-Resolution Air JordansBut the kid is 8.

 

That means he was born in 2009.

 

Michael Jordan retired in 1993, 16 years before the kid was born.

 

Odds are he’s probably never even seen a single video of Michael Jordan playing basketball.

 

Why then, are these shoes so relevant to him that he would spend $280 on a pair?

 

Answer: Because everyone else is doing it.

 

This is great marketing. The value to the kid comes from society, not the fact that he has any awareness of Michael Jordan.

 

Great marketing works on music and the price of music as well, more on that in a second.

 

Everybody in the industry complains about how there is no more value in recorded music.

 

They also bitch about the fact that consumers don’t know good sonic quality from poor sonic quality.  They seem perfectly content to settle for crappy sound. If they did know the difference and they all made their purchase decisions on the actual quality of audio, they never would’ve bought CD’s to begin with.

 

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Last week the industry ditched MP3’s for AAC’s both of which sonically don’t come close to competing with WAV files which pale in comparison to analog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consumers don’t purchase music based on the quality of the file for the quality’s sake.

 

It’s obviously about the song but we can be smarter. This doesn’t have to be negative.

 

I was listening to the hosts of The Music Biz Weekly Podcast discuss Pono Music’s plans to become a high-resolution streaming service. Every one of their points was spot on (I love this podcast) but they missed the boat one very important fact; consumers don’t shop based on value.

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We all like to think we do but we don’t.

 

We all shop by comparison.

 

The only reason music fans glommed onto the CD, a format quality which was exponentially inferior to vinyl, was because they were told to.

 

Equally so for the MP3. Steve Jobs sold a fancy new device called the iPod which could hold “1,000 songs in your pocket” but only if they were in an MP3 format.

 

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We loved 1,000 songs in our pocket enough to care less about the audio quality.

 

 

 

 

Yes, the sonic difference between digital and analog is certainly more apparent with dynamic music like jazz and symphonic music.

 

Modern music is so compressed only experts can tell the difference.

 

It’s also true that most consumers these days are listening to their music through ear buds which are drastically subordinate to a larger powered speaker with regards to the frequency spectrum.

 

High-Resolution EarbudsSo what?

 

It doesn’t matter.

 

The argument that all these factors are the reason that consumers won’t adopt better quality audio is hogwash.

 

It’s true, consumers can’t hear the difference!

 

It’s not as immediately apparent in the mind of the consumer as a brand-new car vs at rusted out piece-of-crap, although this would be an accurate sonic metaphor.

 

They can’t distinguish between superior and inferior sound quality because somebody (like Steve Jobs, for instance) never communicated the difference, made it cool, gave them a sufficient reason to purchase, and charged them more for the better quality.

 

High-Resolution Damn the Torpedoes

Music used to cost $3.00 per song. Tom Petty’s Damn the Torpedoes came out in 1979 and cost $8.00.  Put that into an inflationary calculator and that $8.00 in 1979 is worth around $29.82 today’s dollars.

 

 

 

 

But Petty’s latest release, Hypnotic Eye, can be purchased on iTunes for $10.99 just like every other record.

 

This is because one man, Steve Jobs, said so.

 

If consumers went down in price because they were told to, we can certainly go up in price. The trick is to affect the consumer mind to believe it’s worth it.

 

NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.

 

High-Resolution Pono Music

Too many industry experts naturally and understandably want to attach the “worth” of the format to a tactile, tangible value. Just listen to that Music Biz podcast and you hear all the intelligent arguments.

 

Herein lies the mistake.

 

I’ll explain.

 

Pono Music was the self-proclaimed “pet project” of Neil Young that he initially funded (at least partially) by a Kickstarter campaign. Pono Music offered (for lack of a better term) “Super-HD” 192k, 24-bit audio files for $3.00 per song.

 

This was a genius idea, in my opinion, right up until Young went old school and required you to purchase a separate, expensive, clunky device to play the unique audio file required to deliver the Super-HD file.

 

High-Resolution pono Neil Young

 

 

This was an incredible missed opportunity.

 

 

The audiophile market has always been extremely small and certainly NEVER in the mainstream.

 

When vinyl was the ubiquitous format for music, there were sonic enthusiasts who would purchase insanely priced speakers and amplifiers to interpret their favorite recordings at a higher fidelity level than any normal market equipment.

 

High-Resolution SACDDuring the CD age, we had SACD formats which also provided high-resolution audio but you had to purchase a $3,000 – $20,000 CD player to hear it.

 

This was inconvenient obviously for the prohibitive cost, but also because the SACD wouldn’t work in the car.

 

Therefore, only audio elitists would spend that kind of cash to listen to the superior sound quality because they could hear the difference.

 

That previous statement is partly true. I personally know more than a few dudes who only had all the hottest audio products because someone told them they were the hottest audio products and they had the money to spend and people to impress.

 

High-Resolution SACD PlayerWhat Neil Young and Pono Music should have done was taken the hint from Gillette; GIVE them the razor and sell them on the blades.

 

 

 

Right now, the music industry has the capability to make everyone feel like and want to be an audiophile, or at least expand that market exponentially, while returning the value of recorded music to its original price at the same time.

 

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See how they show you it’s worth it?

 

The industry can do this because, for the first time, it can be convenient for the consumer to actually be an audiophile if we would just be smart enough to make it that way.

 

 

For all the attention to detail that Jobs and Apple are known for in their superior quality products, they completely failed by installing the Quicktime audio player in the iTunes software.

 

High-Resolution QuickTime Equals Poop 2There is not a bigger piece of crap out there. Total disaster.

 

If you’ve ever listened to a stereo mix of a song in a recording studio as it plays in Pro-Tools (or any DAW) and then uploaded that same mix into iTunes and listened again, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

 

It’s like somebody hung some thick wet towels over the tweeters. It’s horrific! (Seriously, what Quicktime family member married someone from Apple to allow this to happen?)

 

For this reason, there is a company called Amarra Music Software that makes a plugin for iTunes which disengages the Shitateous Quicktime player and sends the signal through their high-resolution audio player.

 

 

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The difference is astounding.

 

 

 

 

 

Everything is digital now, and outside devices are dead (even the iPod isn’t around anymore).

 

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Why doesn’t the record industry GIVE consumers an Amarra-like app for free? This app would allow consumers to play all their normal audio files plus the 192k 24-bit high-resolution files.

 

If we tell them the audio is better, and it truly is, they will purchase it provided it will work everywhere.

 

Simple.

 

 

 

I’ve done it, by the way. I have proof this will work.

 

We tried a psychological marketing experiment on the Bailey James’ fans.

 

Follow me on this.

 

Everyone on Bailey’s list got there by downloading a free MP3 file of her latest single (at the time).

 

We sent out an email with the subject line “I have another gift for you”. In this email, Bailey explained in a video that she needed their opinion on something. She talked about how there was all this chatter regarding high-resolution audio with Jay-Z and Tidal, how HD Radio says they broadcast higher quality than XM-Sirius Satellite Radio (it’s true), and you can get high-resolution streams on the premium Spotify subscription.

 

 

Bailey then offered her stamp of approval and told them what to think (intentional neuro-linguistic programming here) by explaining that she’s been in the studio enough to tell the difference between an MP3 file and an HD file (HD file was simply a WAV but we branded it with a term that consumers would immediately understand). She illustrated how she could hear the bigger low-end and smoother highs when she cranks the song.

 

 

High-Resolution Them Finger MEMEThen, without asking for anything, she made it about them. She stated, “It doesn’t matter what Jay-Z, HD Radio, Premium Spotify users, or I think, it matters what YOU think.” She told them that she had attached a free HD download of the same single they already have. She was giving this to them because she wanted their feedback.

 

The only thing she requested in return was for her fans to CRANK the 2 files back-to-back and reply to her via social media as to which one they felt was better.

 

As you can easily imagine, EVERYONE thanked her for the second free track and clearly favored the HD audio.

 

Because we told them to.

 

When Bailey’s EP was released, we offered the normal downloads you’d expect on her web store, but we also offered HD (WAV file) downloads of each song as well as the complete EP.

High-Resolution Bailey Store 2We charged the standard .99 cents for an MP3 file but $1.49 for an HD single.

 

Over 80% of all the music sales in Bailey’s store were HD audio files.

 

 

 

We told them it was cool and got them to tell each other that it’s cool. That made it cool.

 

If we all purchased our products solely on price, functionality, and real value, we’d all drive the same cars, wear the same shoes, and tell time on the same watches.

 

But we don’t.

 

We shop by comparison.

 

That kid selling crack in the ghetto wears $280 Air Jordans because he thinks it’s cool. He thinks it’s cool because everyone he looks up to is wearing them.

 

High-Resolution P.T. Barnum MEME

“Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd.” – P.T. Barnum

 

 

 

 

 

If it’s convenient, and it’s perceived to be cool because “everyone is doing it” then we can sell Super-HD audio for $3.00 per song.

 

No, they won’t be able to tell the difference, especially on super compressed pop music but that DOESN’T MATTER.

 

They will feel like a baller for only $3.00. It’s not that much money.

 

What would music sales look like in 2017 if every label re-released Super-HD audio files of all the best-selling records?

 

Oh, and you know what makes those Super HD files sound even better?

 

A killer expensive set of powered speakers, or headphones, amplifiers, etc., but I digress.

 

 

Stay

 

In

 

Tune.

 

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Music Change Comedy Tragedy masks

We can all agree the market has changed in the music industry. If the market has changed then so must the marketing methodologies. Alas, the industry hasn’t changed and the record sales are a direct reflection of this lack of adaptability.

Music Head in the Sand image License Peter

Photo: Peter
License: http://bit.ly/1jxQJMa

 

 

 

This is part one of a two-part article that dissects exactly how the market has changed and how consumer behaviors have changed.

 

 

 

Leon C. Megginson was paraphrasing a concept out of Charles Darwin’s book Origin of Species when he said, “It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.”

 

Music Time For Change Chalkboard image

 

This also applies to artists like you.

 

 

 

It’s not the strongest, the most intelligent, the richest, the most talented, the most well-known, the most creative, the most original, the best songwriters, or best musicians that will survive; it’s the most adaptable to the changing environment.

 

 

Let that sink in for a second.

 

Do we have a changing environment or what?

 

This means that if you focus on marketing as an artist, REALLY focus on marketing, your audience will be there when you’re art is ready. It also means you’ll be ONE OF THE ONLY PEOPLE with a grip on connecting to and creating relationships with audiences in the new music industry. This, in turn, means that your audience will be the most loyal as well.Music RIP Mass Mktg 2 Collage

 

That’s a pretty big advantage.

 

Marketing in and to the mass media is essentially a dead exercise; just like 1,000 previous dead religions and dead languages, it’s hardly pragmatic these days. It’s not really useful. Mass media/mass marketing will become the highbrow discussions of intellectuals 30 years from now, 50 years from now, even 200 years from now.

 

This is because you need reach a “mass” of people to make “mass marketing” work. The crowd plays a significant role when influencing the masses.

 

The masses are eroding in the market place.

 

Music Network Collage

In 1979 there were 3 major TV networks and 228 million people watching television. If your show sucked and was in 3rd place, you probably still had 30 million people watching it. That’s still massive exposure.

 

 

Competition back then was about being number one, the most popular programs brought in the largest advertising dollars, but there was an Music Super Bowl 50embarrassment of riches to be had.  (Think about the Super Bowl today. We are blown away by the cost of a 30 second ad, the network can charge these astronomical prices, and companies happily pay because there are so many people watching. I submit to you that the Super Bowl is one of the last big mass marketing audiences)

 

 

 

 

Music Smaller Audience CollageNowadays, there are hundreds of channels and the biggest hit TV shows are lucky to have 3-5 million people watching them. Mathematically, with 330 million people in the USA, that is roughly 1% of the population watching a huge hit show vs. 7.6% for crappy 3rd place in 1979.

 

Competition has now become about survival.

 

If you lost in 1979 you were humiliated but you were still fat, you still ate. If you lose now you’re dead, you’re starving.

 

This dynamic has happened because consumers have choices. When consumers have choices they exercise them.

 

This development is also happening in terrestrial radio. Think about the SHEER POWER terrestrial radio used to have in exposing the masses to a new artist.

Here’s a real world example:

When you get in your car and turn on the radio what do you want to hear?

You want to hear “your jam”.

You want to hear something you KNOW, something your familiar with.

In Milwaukee, WI there were 2 rock stations when I was growing up. I would go to my favorite rock station and (assuming there wasn’t a commercial on) 1 of 3 things would happen:Music Yes No No Collage

  1. They would be playing my jam (So I would stay on that station)
  2. They would be playing something I was familiar with and hated (which resulted in me changing the station)
  3. They would be playing something I was unfamiliar with (which resulted in me changing the station.)

 

There was a 66% chance that I would move down the dial to my second favorite rock station.

 

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Once again, the aforementioned subroutine was engaged and there was a 66% chance I would go back to my first and very favorite station, cross my fingers that they would play my jam next, and LISTEN to whatever they were broadcasting at that very moment.

I was exposed to many new artists that way. Some of them I loved, some of them not-so-much but I had to listen.

 

 

Here’s the rub:

Now, with automobiles having 4G LTE Wifi capabilities, equipped with Apple Carplay or Android Auto technology, my “next station” choices as a consumer are infinite.Music Apple CarPlay COLLAGE

 

I can keep changing to other stations, Pandora, Spotify, Deezer, Slacker, IHeartRadio, HD Radio, Sirius/XM Satellite Radio, etc. until I find my jam.

 

Think about that.

 

Music Consumer Choice MEME

 

 

That means I’m going to keep looking until I find something familiar to me.

That means Radio has now lost the power to expose the masses to new artists because consumers have choices.

 

 

 

Consumers like choices and consumers like familiarity (it’s kind of a dichotomy, don’t you think? We all used to “suffer” through the bad songs and unfamiliar songs to get to our favorite familiar songs. The “suffering” was the exposure-to-new-music process).

 

The translation I’m hoping that y’all are getting is that artists are not “breaking” on the radio anymore.

 

I submit to you that rock radio and pop radio have not “broken” any new artists in the last 5-7 years.

 

All the new artists “broke” somewhere else like TV, YouTube, Soundtrack, etc. THEN rock and pop radio started spinning them because they had to. The artists were now popular and in demand.

 

Country radio is still breaking new artists but those days are numbered, man.

Yes there are exceptions to the rule.

No, it is not smart to pin your hopes, dreams, blood, sweat, and tears on a business model that requires you to be an exception to the rule; don’t be an idiot.Music NO Powerball Lottery MEME

 

So how will you be exposed?

 

What is going to be the most effective methodology for artists to actually connect with future fans?

 

How will consumers become aware of your existence?

 

How will YOUR song become MY jam?

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The music industry keeps trying to invent new ways for consumers and artists to connect and do business.

Spotify, iTunes, Pandora, Bkstg, Reverbnation, Bandzoogle, etc., created new ways for consumers to do business with the artists they are aware of, but these platforms essentially do nothing to expose new music and artists to these consumers. None of these platforms would have ANY TRAFFIC if there were no multi-million dollar brand names on them.

What I’m focusing on, and what you should be focusing on are the reasons why consumers will like you.

If consumers are aware of you and they like you, THEY WILL FIND YOU wherever you are. So the platform really isn’t that important, rather it’s secondary.

 

 

Think about how easy it is to find something or someone who wants to be found these days!!

 

I seriously just screwed up a keystroke writing this article by unknowingly using “Ctrl” + “T” which changed the indent of the next line. Ugh. In 30 seconds I googled what happened and discovered the antidote.

Music Buzz Is Better MEME

Piece of cake.

 

Traffic is what’s important. Buzz is better!

 

Stay

In

Tune (part 2 next week!)

 

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