Web Development & Design | Online Marketing
Unsolicited notes, links and advice from an online development firm in Kansas City.
The 7m figure had actually been rounded up from an actual figure of 6.7m. That 6.7m was gleaned from a 2008 survey of 1,176 net-connected households, 11.6% of which admitted to having used file-sharing software – in other words, only 136 people.
It gets worse. That 11.6% of respondents who admitted to file sharing was adjusted upwards to 16.3% “to reflect the assumption that fewer people admit to file sharing than actually do it.” The report’s author told the BBC that the adjustment “wasn’t just pulled out of thin air” but based on unspecified evidence.
The 6.7m figure was then calculated based on the estimated number of people with internet access in the UK. However, Jupiter research was working on the assumption that there were 40m people online in the UK in 2008, whereas the Government’s own Office of National Statistics claimed there were only 33.9m people online during that year.
And it goes even further than all that; the original study on which this house of cards is built was commissioned by the music trade body(!) BPI from a company called Jupiter Research. (Recently acquired by Forrester Research.) This is the real stink.
Statistically speaking, extrapolating the larger figure from a small sample size is fine (+/- 2% margin of error), but that’s only if the sample was truly random and the questions asked were unbiased. Considering that a music industry lobbying group commissioned the original study and then fudged on the source, that seems doubtful…
This is the music video for Again and Again by The Bird and The Bee. The entire video takes place on the desktop of a Mac running OS X Leopard. It was created by Dennis Liu. That link seems to be his portfolio site, but this video is not listed amongst his work. (It should be showcased, as far as I’m concerned. And Apple should send him a fat check.)
Wait for the KILLER call to action at the end, it’s perfect.
The record companies are clueless and scared, the RIAA is abusively litigious and crass. However the musicians are listening to their fans like teenagers who just heard Dark Side of the Moon for the second time, and we’re all exploring a plethora of new options.
The traditional marketing system for music has eaten itself over the last decade. Some would even say it’s been back for seconds. All with a public looking on, trying to care about the the people behind the music we love. I say trying, because we universally fail to give a crap when nasty corporations alongside acts like Metallica and Prince, start rattling their sabers.
You see, when millionaires argue with billionaires it’s hard to care. And I don’t mean like sudoku is hard, I mean like bench pressing 600 lbs is hard. Almost no one can do it, or even wants to try. Add the fact that the struggling musicians aren’t getting hurt in the crossfire, and you end up with a public that’s kind of enjoying the implosion. It’s like watching a bully finally get his ass kicked across the playground.
This has lead to/been caused by (It’s a chicken and egg thing) a bottom-up explosion in cheap distribution and marketing ingenuity; and a fan base that’s constantly being handed new ways to discover, and consume, music. Even some of the established acts are blazing trails away from the grasp of cuff-linked suits and into the arms of screaming fans. Fans that (surprise, surprise) are actually willing to part with their hard-earned dollars for good music, when they know that it’s not funding another round of music-mogul golden parachutes and ridiculous riders for the musical aristocracy.
Here’s what some of the established or semi-established artists are are doing differently… Read more