I'm a Finalist in the Long Tail Definition Sweepstakes

A couple of weeks ago I published a blog post titled Are You Wired to Profit from The Long Tail? In it I discussed an article written by Wired magazine's editor-in-chief Chris Anderson, who is now writing a book on the subject and posting regular additions to his blog.



Last week, Anderson solicited suggestions for a succinct way to describe what the Long Tail is. I posted a phrase along with dozens of other blog readers.



Well, what do you know: Anderson listed me as a Long Tail definition "finalist" in this Jan. 9 post. Look under the Best Definitions heading. Very cool. By the way, here's my suggested definition:



"The Long Tail is the story of how products that were once considered fringe, underground or independent now collectively make up a market share that rivals the bestsellers and blockbusters."



I'm preparing my acceptance speech now :-)

The Future of Music: Flowing Like Water?

Gerd Leonhard and David Kusek, coauthors of the new book "The Future of Music," have some strong views on the current state and future direction of the music business. Their book is described as a "manifesto for the digital music revolution."



Here are some thoughts from Leonhard in an article he wrote called "Music Like Water: The Inevitable Music Ecosystem":



"I strongly believe we are heading into a 'music like water' future, based on this very simple fact: today, there are more people in more places around the globe that are tuning into music with more enthusiasm and sheer determination than ever before, and they are using a myriad of their own particular ways and means to get what they want. And to a large degree the 'traditional' record industry is simply no longer invited to the party - the bottom line is that consumer empowerment has finally reached the music business, and many consumers have now taken charge of their own entertainment."



Leonhard asserts that flat-fee, subscription-based services will be more attactive to music-hungry fans (and better for artists) than the iTunes-like, pay-per-download model.



"Once we can subscribe to music just like we subscribe to water, the music business will EXPLODE and we will enter a new ecosystem that will make the previous music industry look like NY taxicabs from the 30th floor of the BMG building ...



"There's only one thing: we MUST stop asking the consumers to fill up their bath tubs with Evian, or to use Pellegrino to boil pasta -- they have already discovered the tab water! So let's just sell them tap water, via cheap flat fee deals, AND the Pellegrino, as well -- and this does not equal a flat-out, wholesale devaluation of music; quite the contrary. Ubiquity is a very powerful thing, and will create a nice pool of money for all involved parties -- a pool which will only be the very first starting point for a much increased monetization of music.



"Once music is unleashed and we can stop the dinosaurial fight for the simple privilege of having access to it, distribution seizes to be a barrier to entry: all music, all artists and all writers will be in those pipelines. Then, however, artists and their representatives will be facing the real challenge: getting anyone to pay attention to them, and surviving in this world of 'digital darwinism', since the old marketing mantra of Exposure + Discovery = Sales (Income) will be even more pronounced in a Music-Like-Water world.



"Ultimately, of course, people will consume, or shall we say, use more media (music) all the time, yes, but the real limiting factor is people's TIME. Simply put, all of the world's music (and its creators) will be competing for attention in this new ecosystem, and everyone will want a piece if your precious time. THAT will be the real challenge going forward: getting exposure and being discovered -- the rest is already build into the pipeline. So, brave new music ecosystem -- yes, but not a build-in goldmine."



Read the entire article at www.futureofmusicbook.com



What do you think? Agree with him? Have an opposing view? Post your thoughts here.

Update: Stream Your Music with Webjay

A big thanks to Lucas Gonze, who runs Webjay.org, for responding to my Friday, Jan. 7, post on How to Stream Audio From Your Web Site. As I've discovered, there are a lot of quirks with using m3u files from your own server.



Lucas made me aware of a nifty little utility on his site that can "make these problems go away." What Webjay.org does is help users create playlists of media files across the web. It doesn't host the files. Instead, it links to them and creates streaming playlists of the songs you choose. Very cool.



Here's how to use Webjay to stream music from your own web site ...



Let's say the full URL to your MP3 file is http://mydomain.com/mysong.mp3



What you do is add that URL to the web address http://webjay.org/insta.m3u?url=



So the final link in your HTML would be http://webjay.org/insta.m3u?url=http://mydomain.com/mysong.mp3



Once again, I'll use my own audio as an example. Only this time, I'll stream a couple of original songs. This first one was just recorded last month with my friend Mike Silverman. I was aiming for a Crowded House/Squeeze vibe on this song:



Sin On Your Face (note that it's Sin and not Sit)

Listen HiFi OR Listen LoFi



Yes, I wrote the song and that's me on vocals and guitar. And here's a more rockin' tune from my old band Roomful of Jimmys, circa 1998:



Another Day Behind Me

Listen HiFi OR Listen LoFi



Did that work better than the streams on my previous post? I think it's a pretty cool utility. Thanks to Lucas Gonze and Webjay for providing it!

How to Stream Audio From Your Web Site

This should be no secret to a web-savvy music marketer like you, but I'll state the obvious anyway: You must give music fans a way to hear your music on the Web. And to really prove that you're a smart cookie, you should give people the option of streaming your audio clips or downloading them.



One of the easiest ways to do this is to send people to your page at CD Baby or GarageBand or some other music site, since these services usually automate the process for you. However, I just discovered a fairly simple way to set up both options from my own web site.



(Note: The streaming option works when using Internet Explorer, but for some reason it doesn't work with Firefox, which is growing in popularity. For now, though, most people still use IE.)



Okay, here's what I did. Follow these steps with your own audio files:



1. Using the free MusicMatch Jukebox, I took a spoken word segment from my Artist Empowerment Radio show and converted it to a 32kpbs MP3 file. I reduced it to that rate to make it easy for people with dial-up connections to stream it. I named the file make.mp3



2. I opened a new blank Notepad file (any simple text editor will do) and entered the complete URL of the MP3 file on my server, which is



http://www.bob-baker.com/musicpromotionblog/make.mp3



I saved this file with the name make.m3u



3. Then within the HTML of this page that you're reading, I used this code:



<a href="make.m3u" type="audio/mpeg">Stream It</a>



Note that it links to the simple .m3u text file I just created and includes a message to let the browser know that this link references an audio file.



I also added the following code that links directly to the MP3 file -- for people who want to download this file to their hard drives:



<a href="/make.mp3">Download It</a>



4. Then, using my FTP client, I uploaded the make.m3u file using ACSII and the make.mp3 using the Binary setting. Both files were placed in the same folder on my server as this page.



And that's it. Ready to try it out? Click the links below:



Stream It or Download It



Note: You might want to make a separate 128kpbs MP3 version for the downloadable file. The 32kpbs version is easier to stream, but the sound quality is considerably less.



Here are some other resources that cover delivering streaming audio on the Web:

• http://www.spartanicus.utvinternet.ie/streaming.htm
• http://www.deliveryourmedia.com/article-audio-primer-5.html
• http://nunzioweb.com/streaming_audio-example.htm

If you have any tech tips on how to make this work better, please post a response here or send an e-mail to Bob AT TheBuzzFactor.com -- be sure to replace AT with @.



Also, soon I plan to try an inexpensive software program called MP3 Sound Stream, which uses Flash-based streaming files. Many people rave about it. I'll keep you posted.

How to Do Your Own Music Publicity

Ariel Hyatt, of Ariel Publicity, has a number of good articles on music PR posted on her web site.



Be sure to check out How to Be Your Own Publicist, described as "a step-by-step guide to garnering maximum attention for your band."



And this article spells out the three PR components you should include on your web site.



Here's Ariel on persevere:

"It may take a few passes through in each market, but the more a writer sees you over time, the more likely he will write about you. And don't let voice mail discourage you. I have placed hundreds of articles, mentions and photos without ever speaking to the writer.



"Writers usually respond much better to e-mail -- it's free for them and does not take too long to respond to. If you are sending e-mail followups, put a link to your site, or the club's site if you don't have one."

Sage advice.

How to Make This Year (and This Month) Great for Your Music Career

While at the public library last week, a U.S. News & World Report magazine cover jumped out at me. The large typeface screamed "50 Ways to Improve Your Life in 2005." I picked it up, thumbed through a few pages and was so impressed I immediately headed to the nearest bookstore to buy a copy. Luckily, the entire issue (Dec. 27 - Jan. 3) is posted online.



The 52-page section covers practically everything a human can do to live, work and play better. From setting priorities and learning to meditate to quitting your job and listening to new music. There are even sections on why you're better off when you fix your finances, master your data and have more sex. Sounds like a good plan to me.



If you haven't read it in a while, this would be a good time to revisit 10 Ways to 'Make' This Your Best Music Year Ever, an article I wrote a year ago, filled with some timeless music success concepts. (Sorry, I haven't yet updated this page with the new design of my site.)



Also, are you taking advantage of January? This is a month when a lot of people make purchases -- books, music and more. Your fans have Christmas money to spend, they may be getting cabin fever in winter and need a little boost to spice up their lives. Plus, this is a month you can stand out, since the major labels usually ignore the post-holiday season.



What should you do? Promote yourself more vigorously this month. Make special offers. Have a limited-time discount sale. Offer free shipping. Announce a special buy-two, get-one-free sale. Do something cool. In fact, I'm doing this very thing this month with my own New Year's Buzz Bundles.



Your fans need something to keep them going now that the holidays are over. Why not help them with your music and merchandise?

Ten Tips on Setting and Reaching Your Goals

Ready to make the most of your music in 2005? To help you rev up your ambition engine, I'm sharing this great article from Gary Ryan Blair, also known as the Goals Guy.

Ten Mind Munchies from the Goals Guy



1. A goal is created three times. First as a mental picture. Second, when written down to add clarity and dimension. And third, when you take action towards its achievement.



2. Focus creates a powerful force: goal power. The moment you focus on a goal, your goal becomes a magnet, pulling you and your resources toward it. The more focused your energies, the more power you generate. There is a seismic shift in performance that takes place when you move from decisiveness to focus. The shift is caused, enhanced, and accelerated by the intensity of your focus.



3. If how you play or perform were all that mattered, then why do all sporting activities have some form of scoreboard? Keeping score and inspecting your progress is important, not only in determining the ultimate winner of a contest, but also as a measuring device by which a person, team or company can gauge itself against the competition.



4. Nothing of any lasting value was ever created by someone who was reasonable. It is the unreasonable people, those discontented with the status quo, the dreamers and visionaries who nevertheless have their feet planted firmly on solid ground who improve people's lives and advance society.



5. From eureka to achievement, the evolution of a goal begins in the mind and immediately takes shape when pen is put to paper. The goal progresses from thought to sketch, from sketch to action, and finally from action to achievement in real time. The achievement of a goal is an exemplary tale of power, purpose, and potential.



6. The essence of success is a narrow focus. You become stronger, your vision clearer, your resolve deeper when you reduce the scope of your options. You can’t stand for something if you chase everything.



7. Why you want to achieve a goal is more important than the goal itself. Before taking action on anything it is imperative that you ask yourself this key question: "Why do I want to achieve this goal?"



8. The success of your life is not measured by one extraordinary achievement but by the consistency by which you go about all matters.



9. The truth will prevail, one way or another and usually sooner rather than later. It is better to face facts and reality at the planning phase, and to convince others to do the same. This is not for the sake of building character or maintaining mortality. It is a matter of survival. Whether or not you face it, truth will create consequences!



10. There will never be a day that will not require dedication, discipline, good judgment, energy, and the feeling that you can improve. Each day offers an opportunity for improvement. Each moment an advance or retreat in the pursuit of your goals.



Gary Ryan Blair is President of The GoalsGuy. A visionary and gifted conceptual thinker, Gary is highly regarded as a speaker, consultant, strategic planner, and coach to leading companies throughout the globe. Visit The GoalsGuy at www.GoalsGuy.com.