Yesterday I received many indignant comments on my post; The Myth of Music Discovery. The comments were unusual in number and tone so I figured another blogger must have picked up and written about my post.
That blogger was David Jennings of Net, Blogs and Rock'n'Roll. I think David wrote a really good critique of my post. (A more simpatico post appeared at Weekly Examiner.)
I would like to make a few points in response to David and those who left flaming comments:
- I never said that music discovery was not an important phenomenon. I said that there isn't a business in services whose primary objective is music discovery. Those who read my blog regularly know that I don't write about music. I write about aspects of the business of music related to advertising.
- One of the commenters to my post had this to say: "i look to the internet for new music or through word of mouth. the same stands for the majority of people i know. this "study" you've done is incorrect unless you're applying it to the masses who only care about what the media tells them to care about. fail." Yes, I am applying my comments to the masses. I believe the masses drive the music business, not the music elites.
- David was right in saying that the last point I made in the post (about ad-supported downloaded music being a superior mode of music discovery) was not very well presented. Upon further reflection it might not be. I guess I just can't help plugging ad-supported downloaded music whenever I get the chance.
1 comments:
Hi Marc,
I think we have some areas of convergence here, for sure.
I too am unsure about "services whose primary [or sole] objective is music discovery". I do think supporting music discovery can enhance and add value to services, and businesses that do this well will be more competitive and attractive than those that don't. Alternatively, on the other side of the argument, you could say that Google started out as a service whose primary objective was web resource discovery -- and they did OK.
One difference I have is that you say the masses drive the music business, not the elites. I say that the dynamics and interaction between masses and the elites drive the music business. I think of it like areas of high pressure and low pressure in the atmosphere: its the differences and dynamics between them that 'drive' our weather.
Finally I should apologise for the lack of courtesy in posting about your post and not letting you know directly. I was writing late at night and in a hurry. (In the old days trackbacks would have provided an automated 'alert'...) Thanks for being gracious and not calling me on that slip up.
Post a Comment