snapshot 4/21/08

Social networks prepare own music services
What helped the widget trade to boom in the first place was that MySpace and Facebook didn't offer such services to artists and fans directly. But now that MySpace is readying a full-featured music service of its own, and Facebook is rumored to be working on something similar, what happens to all these widgets that filled that void? So if MySpace doesn't block overlapping services, what happens then? Here's a quick snapshot of the main services MySpace Music plans to offer, the existing providers of the same and how this might shake out in the months to come.


How to save the album
Artists, producers, songwriters and A&R folks: Rise up to the challenge and make your album so good that fans will want to buy the whole thing. I realize every album can't have six or seven top 10 singles, like Michael Jackson and I were blessed with on "Thriller" and "Bad," but you've got to try. If it's good enough, the fans will buy it. Maybe they'll want to whet their appetite by only buying a track or two at first, but if you keep coming out with good tracks and pique their interest, they'll be back.


Music Web site Buzznet expands online portfolio
Not content to let MySpace, iLike and Facebook take all the online music thunder, Buzznet is roaring into the Music 2.0 market with a vengeance. According to GM of music Scott Boyd, this flurry of activity is all focused on a single goal: create an online music destination for the fan, by the fan and of the fan.

"There's a void out there," he says. "You see music fans jumping from site to site to piece all the information they want together . . . Our goal is to put that all together into one place and have an experience that is largely programmed by the users of the community. Not just user-generated content, but really creating the whole experience."


Madonna Album ‘Hard Candy’ Leaked
… Seven songs from her upcoming album have been leaked… Listen to Madonna Hard Candy.


Microsoft Zune To Get Audible Technology?
Sources are confirming that the Microsoft Zune digital media player will receive an update in the near future allowing them to view Audible digital books. Although, this feature will certainly help Amazon more than it will help Microsoft, it still gives Ballmer something to rant about…


Second Life Slowly Turning into a Record Store
Keiko Takamura has figured out a way to sell her music inside the Second Life virtual world. Using a rough approximation of an iPod that she calls the myPod, Takamura allows Second Life citizens to preview her music and buy songs in the MP3 format using Linden dollars. The transaction happens entirely within Second Life, but the customer walks away with an MP3 that can be played outside the game. For artists who want to try this but don't want to put together their own myPod, SecondTunes offers a similar service to anyone who wants to sell music in Second Life.


2 for 1: Digital coupons on mobile devices are coming
Well, coupons are now poised to enter the digital age. Advertisers are beginning to invest in mobile coupons, according to The New York Times. The idea is to have discounts sent to consumers via text messages or other means (more on this below), which the consumers would opt-in to receiving.


French Supermarket Giant Carrefour Plans Movie Download Store
Latest to launch a movie download store - and the latest amongst the supermarkets to try their hand - is France’s Carrefour. The world’s second largest retail group after Wal-Mart is to offer download-to-own and download-to-rent films and TV shows in France, Spain, Belgium and Italy. President Christophe Geoffroy (via THR): “It’s very important for Carrefour to have more than one point of sale. We have to be in contact with the consumer in their homes as well as in-store. We know full well that the market forecast for VOD is low at the moment, but we are convinced that it will develop over the coming years and we want to provide a legal solution for customers to see the best possible content.” In the UK, Tesco plans to begin offering movie downloads, but it’s not yet clear whether supermarkets can replicate their impulse in-store DVD purchases in to specific online sales.


Beta Records: Not So Beta Anymore
Enter Beta Records (betarecords.com), a Hollywood-based outfit that just overhauled itself. The company first started in 2004, recording and signing independent artists while touring the United States in a mobile recording studio. More recently, Beta has been rather low-profile, though the company is now pushing an ambitious version 3. So what's the model? On the content side, the company has aggregated roughly 100,000 independent and unsigned artist profiles, complete with recordings, ringtones, photos, and various other assets. "That's more content than ReverbNation," chief experience officer Chris Harper told Digital Music News.