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Hello guys and gals. I’ve been on hiatus from my blog in August, feverishly working on my new book about blogs and blogging. Once it’s ready I’ll give you more details.

In the meantime…here is a video presentation of Gerd Leonhard on the Future of Music. Gerd is the head of Sonific, a streaming music application. He calls himself a Music Futurist and has written several books on the subject. Rick Rubin recently quoted some of his ideas on subscriptions services in an article for the New York Times. I have not read any of his books but based on this informational video, he knows his stuff.

Pay close attention to his new paradigm of purchasing. “It is no longer a pay first paradigm.” How true.

A friend of mine that manages bands had a few things to say about my post “Do I really need a manager???” Since the band he manages is one of the biggest bands in history and he has done some impressive deals with their catalog - I figured there might be some credence in his words. So, here is what he had to say:

“A band in todays music business needs to do a lot on their own - this is important! After the basics (strong fan base, selling records, filling local venues, etc.) are in place - a manager then becomes necessary. Bands can accomplish a lot self-managing, and they should. But, a band probably isn’t going to be profitable without a manager. Here’s how I see it - I don’t know how to write amazing songs, but I know how to license music. A great band knows how to write amazing songs, but doesn’t know how to license them! A talented, hard-working band and a smart manager can work together, utilizing all the awesome tools available today, and do it all themselves.”

And I couldn’t agree more…

Cruxy is a new service that provides tools for the musician and filmmaker to market, distribute and monetize their assets. It was sent to me by a friend in the tech world, where there is apparently a buzz about Cruxy. However, from a music world perspective, they are lacking a credible music community. It is worth keeping an eye on their progress. If they have a solid platform that delivers what it promises, it may catch on.

Here is a description of the company from their ABOUT page:

“Cruxy provides powerful marketing, monetization and performance tools for digital creators, whether filmmakers, musicians or artists of any kind. Cruxy’s tools give artists the power to share their work on Cruxy or across the web using the Cruxy Social Player. Cruxy also gives creators the ability to sell their work as digital downloads. The artist chooses the retail price and the file format. Cruxy registers the work with search engines, generates thumbnails and previews and handles all aspects of the financial transaction. Cruxy also provides a robust set of analytical tools so that creators can track and improve their progress.”

They also help you sell your wares in virtual worlds like Second Life. Included in their services are a real time analysis of your sales and Internet buzz. Valuable information for any band self-managing. And…you can monetize any asset that can be made into a digital file; drum beats, video clips, ringtones, and photos. The Long Tail model for bands is emerging.

Thanks to my good friend Luci in Portland, OR for tipping me off to this story:

Beaverton mother sues recording industry, could make history
12:59 PM PDT on Tuesday, June 26, 2007
By kgw.com Staff

A Beaverton mother who was accused of illegally sharing gangster rap music online and sued by the Recording Industry Association of America is fighting back by suing several major record labels.

If Tanya Andersen wins, her case could make history, experts say.

Two years ago, the RIAA sued Anderson for file-sharing. Anderson believes it’s a case of mistaken identity.

The single mother denied their claims and filed a counter suit alleging fraud, racketeering and deceptive business practices by the record labels, according to technology news Web site Ars Technica.

The RIAA dropped recently dropped their suit against Andersen.

“The RIAA is also accused of trying to contact Andersen’s then eight-year-old daughter without her knowledge” in an attempt to dig up knowledge implying Anderson was guilty, the article on Ars Technica reported.

“The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the District of Oregon late last week and accuses the RIAA of a number of misdeeds, including invasion of privacy, libel and slander, and deceptive business practices,” the article stated.

How will music be profitable in the future? In the recent Rolling Stone article, “The Fall of the Record Business: What Next?” five music industry pros theorize on possible scenarios.

Theory 1: Ad-Supported Music
Yahoo! Music General Manager Ian Rogers says all music will be free - paid for by ads - and any song by any artist will be accessible from anywhere in the world.

“I can imagine a future where you just consume a hell of a lot of music - just hit ‘play’ on any player, and hear music. There’s an ad experience there, and we’ll pay the labels a percentage of that ad revenue. All devices will be connected to a network and we can find anything we want and hit ‘play’ without connecting our device to our computer and dragging a physical file over. People are going to have the expectation that they can get to anything whenever they want to.”

There is already evidence to support this idea in companies like We7 and the number of media sites integrating the model of ad revenue sharing. Another theory in the article speculates labels will change their stripes and take on more management and publishing roles. A solution that makes sense, but not likely to see this in the near future. Terry McBride, who I am usually a big fan of, presents the idea that consumers might become retailers. I see that as a logistical nightmare. Read the other four theories here.

For well over a year I have been encouraging bands to start their own blogs. I even started this blog to give advice on how to start one and what to do once it’s up. So it gives me great pleasure to see two of my most beloved bands listening to my advice.

The Upsidedown and Saturna. I have worked with both bands on and off over the last four years. I’ve watched them go through band members, image changes and recording records that take years. Now, I get to see them be some of the first bands to embrace the new world and start their own blogs. And they are doing a marvelous job with them!

The Upsidedown - This blog is not only gorgeous, but reflects the personality of the band to a tee. I know everything about them (well, I like to think I do) and still, I want to see every page. Fantastic job guys.

Saturna - A simple, clean and informative blog. They are smart about how they structure their headlines (always using their name - good for search engine optimization) and the content in their post. Lots of links, photos and thank yous! Brilliant!

If you are in a band and are still not sure of how to jump into the blogosphere - use these bands as examples. They are doing it right.

LAMbCase enables artists to sell their entire CD in a digital file using a technology similar to Win Zip. They were featured in the CMJ newsletter today. Here is what the company has to say about their product:

“LAMbCase is the name of our patented container format which allows easy distribution and payments of digital products. Using our system, content owners can sell retail equivalent CD and DVD titles along with web based formats such as MP3 and iPod compatible video.

Our services are intended for content owners serious about delivering digital goods with the quality and standards consumers expect from retail products.

Our system works in 3 easy steps:

Your content is stored under a dual layer AES 256 shell! This is double the security used by governments using password protected Zip files.

We provide sellers with extra features such as:

A HTML badge which can be placed on your website or MySpace page:

And advanced features such as real-time payments and “point of sale” split payments for up to 3 partners!

“

In July Spin.com will be featuring unsigned musicians as Artists of the Day. To post your band’s profile, music and videos go to Spin.com

We7 is a company that is taking on the world of FREE music with a new slant. By placing an ad in the digital file, they can make DRM free MP3s available for FREE download AND the artist gets paid. Once the file has been played a few times, the ad disappears. Sounds good, right? Check our their site here - We7.com

Let me know if you like it.