I wish Doug Morris were here to listen to this guy. He would have learned how it really is, as opposed to how he wants it to be.

The old model is market the hell out of diminishing quality. Whereas in the Net era, you focus on quality, marketing is secondary.

Ian told a great story. He went to a teen leadership conference. There were in excess of two hundred kids there. He asked them how many had seen "Lazy Sunday". Every single kid raised his hand. Every single one. How many had seen the original broadcast, on SNL? Almost none. How many had seen "Superman", the blockbuster being hyped at the same time? Fewer than ten. Why had everybody seen "Lazy Sunday"? Because it was FUNNY!

And that tells you almost all you need to know about today’s media world. Kids are only interested in quality, and they’re going to consume it when they want to, not on your schedule.

Ian Rogers runs Yahoo Music. He used to try to play by the rules. But the rules didn’t work. The Yahoo subscription service? A couple of hundred thousand customers. Whereas Yahoo gets four hundred million surfers a month. Ian asked, do you want to monetize the couple of hundred thousand or the four hundred million? Ask yourself.

Greg Latterman said he was flipped out, that kids thought music had no value.

Ian said AU CONTRAIRE! Music has TONS of value. But the record companies always make the price too high. iMeem can’t make money at a penny a play. But he’ll make a fortune at half that price.

Who’s gonna take that deal? Marty Bandier? Doug Morris? Who’s going to venture into the new world and make it work?

Meanwhile, iMeem, now that it’s streaming music, makes you register. Stop with the roadblocks. I don’t want a page, I don’t want to be forced to be a member of your stinking club. Let ME decide if I want in.

We had a good time mixing it up about the future of the music business. Vince remarked that ten years ago, we were all complaining about not being able to get on the radio. Now, no one talks about radio, not those in the new world, not those here, not those in the business of developing acts. Radio’s for dinosaurs.

And the major labels… They’ve cut back so far they’re not in attendance.

And I’m thinking that the major labels are just going to continue to sink. Music is gonna be akin to Google. The search is free, but they make money when you click on ads. Musicians will use computer tools to create their works, which will be distributed on the Web. The way the big boys are going, the music will be free. But, the fans of QUALITY STUFF will give the acts ALL their money.

Ian’s for open standards.

The labels are for scarcity.

The days of scarcity are done. DRM is done. If you’re not thinking how to enable your fans, get them to spread the word on great music, you’re probably sitting in an ivory tower pissed that people aren’t paying twenty bucks a CD. You’re on your way to extinction. You need to go out, you need to spend money in order to survive. The labels have cut back so far, everybody in the business has cut back so far, that they’ve surrendered the future to newbies. If you were here, you would have learned this. But, don’t worry, just watch. As the new world emerges and you’re sidelined.

P.S. Ian said his seventeen year old comes home and never watches TV, she goes STRAIGHT TO THE COMPUTER! Shit, the writers are right. That’s where all the money’s gonna be. Must See TV? Thursday night? It’s gonna be WHENEVER YOU WANT IT TO BE! If you want to watch it at all.

When I was a teenager, my sister rushed home and got on the phone. The goal was to have your own line. Sure, a kid wants a cell for texting, but when you get home now, your house is silent. Your kid is on the computer. Everybody under twenty knows this, how come the oldsters don’t?