The Optimist Blog is my place to share what I find personally fascinating -- it might be media, technology, entertainment, the world, the universe... My wish is that this simple blog contributes to the open discussion about making the world a better place.
Follow me here and on Facebook and Twitter!
++
Nick Passig is an Internet entrepreneur and web media consultant based in Denver, Colorado.
Last year (2011) at the Ibiza International Music Summit, Beatport's CEO Matthew Adell presented a keynote about the future of the music industry.
He discusses why access models may cannibalize the relationship with fans and why the listening behavior should be examined in other ways for monetization. I'll go more into why this video is important in a moment.
If you haven't read my blog before, I have spent the last 18 years working in digital media industry focusing on music and film -- including experience with some of the worlds largest labels, studios, and providers of entertainment content. I have explored the industry in a variety of ways right here on this blog. This video spoke to me because I feel that it is straightforward, honest, and "optimistic".
I haven't been ashamed to say what I really feel about the industry before...
If you're not familiar with Beatport (beatport.com), they are an industry trendsetter for the music market. As dance, electronics, sampling, and everything else moves more to a "digital" sound, Beatport continues to become more influential. Along with iTunes, Beatport has been around since the beginning, always evolving and adapting to market conditions, geographic restrictions, piracy, etc...and they have been the go to place for "what is hot". To provide full disclosure, I was a product manager at Beatport for quite awhile and got a full taste of what this company means to the future of music. Anyone who works in the music industry may gain from studying Beatport's evolution and approach to "transaction" sales. They are masters at building a loyal fan base in both the listener segment but more importantly in the tastemaker segment of world class DJs. In addition, they have focused on being international, which means a huge variety of music and customers. And for those that always ask....yes, working for Beatport is as "cool" as people think (if you love music).
Matthew Adell is no newcomer to the music industry and puts things into perspective quite well.
