FourSquare: The Next Big Thing?

Recently, some of my co-workers introduced me to this new thing called FourSquare. FourSquare is an application that can be used with the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Palm, and other mobile devices. According to its official website, FourSquare is “a service that mixes social, locative, and gaming elements to encourage people to explore the cities in which they live.” It is an app that lets you “check-in” to places, find your friends, and learn new things about places in your city.

Wherever you are, you can “check-in” with FourSquare to let your friends know where you’re at. Each time you check-in somewhere, FourSquare keeps track of it. If you check-in enough times at a certain location, you can even become the “mayor” of that place. (This gives you bragging rights to say you visit that place the most...although some places will hook up the mayor with some sweet deals). You can also leave “tips” about places (i.e. if there’s a 10% discount at Subway, you can tell others about it by leaving that tip when you check-in). After visiting certain places at certain times, you can even earn “badges.” (One of my co-workers received a Los Angeles Lakers Badge for going to the Lakers Parade).

Many people are skeptical about the whole idea because it seems somewhat stalker-ish. A lot of people ask, “Why would I want to tell people where I’m at? So they can come stalk me?” However, it can only be stalker-ish if you let it. FourSquare only allows your friends to see your location, and your friends, of course, have to be approved by you.

People need to see the bigger picture with FourSquare. As I previously mentioned, businesses can use FourSquare to promote deals. For example, a coffee shop may want to offer the mayor of the place a free drink or bread just for being the mayor. Businesses can also leave tips for customers, informing them of any promotions they have going on. Customers can benefit from the perks of being a mayor and from reading tips that others have left about places. FourSquare can be a really fun and beneficial tool if people get into it.

CDs/Music Downloads vs. Subscription-Based Music Services

A lot of people in the music industry are predicting that there will be a shift toward Subscription-Based Music Services in the near future. Subscription-Based Services are those like Rhapsody and Zune Pass, in which users pay a monthly fee to have access to millions of songs. Users can listen to music on their computer, MP3 player, and/or cellphone, depending on the service. As long as they are subscribed, they have unlimited access to the music.

This type of service has a few positive aspects to it. For example, users can download as much music as they like. They can download songs that they normally wouldn’t pay for to download. With this service, users can download a song, and if they decide they don’t like it, they can just delete it. A lot of new music can be discovered with unlimited downloads.

However, subscription-based services also have a few downsides. One of the drawbacks is that a lot of these services have limited catalogues. Although these subscription-based services offer millions of songs, they might not carry every single song users are looking for. Another disadvantage is that users do not have a hard copy of the music they download. With CDs, users have a physical copy—one they can play anywhere and can keep forever. Even with songs purchased on iTunes, they can be burned onto a CD. With subscription-based services, though, once the user stops paying, the music is gone.

So in a way, subscription-based music services are more like renting your music. It is going to be difficult making such a shift in a society where people like to own things.

Deterring Illegal Music Downloading

For years, music industry execs have been looking for a way to deter illegal music downloading. Thousands of people have been using peer-to-peer file sharing programs like LimeWire, Ares, Kazaa, and Gnutella to illegally upload and download MP3s. Others have used file hosting websites such as MediaFire, ZShare, MegaUpload, SupLoad, and UserShare to download and distribute music. As more and more of these programs and websites pop up, it is becoming increasingly difficult for record labels to keep track of where their music is being distributed illegally.

Of course, record labels want to put an end to such programs and websites. Universal Music Group Distribution (UMGD), in conjunction with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), has already set up a website to encourage the public to take action and voice their concern to Congress about illegal music downloading. The website is MusicRightsNow.com. In a statement to Billboard, UMGD president/CEO Jim Urie stated, “We want to make our reps in Washington understand that this is a serious issue and to encourage the ISPs [Internet Service Providers] to come to the table.”

But what about the people who use these programs and sites for legit reasons? Granted, a lot of illegal file sharing does occur over these networks, but that is not to say it is all illegal. For example, independent artists might want to use these programs and websites to share new material with their fans for free. They may choose to use these types of systems for their own self-promotion. People don’t even have to be musicians to use these file sharing programs. Ordinary people might want to use these systems to share their personal photos, videos, or audio clips with their friends and family.

It is going to be very difficult targeting and punishing those guilty of illegal music downloading. It will also be interesting to see whether or not Congress takes a stand on the issue.

USB Flash Drives: The New Way to Sell Music?

As I mentioned in my previous post, record sales have plummeted within the last few years. Recently, I discovered that record labels are trying out a new way to sell music: USB flash drives.

In May, Universal Music Group released a limited edition Lady Gaga USB flash drive. The USB contains the songs from Lady Gaga’s album, The Fame Monster, along with remixes, music videos, and a few digital extras such as a digital booklet, photo gallery, and links to websites. The USB sold out within 24 hours of its release.

Lady Gaga Limited Edition USB

It would be interesting to see how many units would sell if these USBs weren’t limited editions. What would sales look like if USBs replaced CDs on store shelves? Would people be more willing to buy music in this form because it’s something different and tangible?

The advantages to music on USB are that it’s something new and different, and USBs can hold a lot more than a traditional CD. However, the disadvantage is that USB sticks can’t be played in conventional form. The music first has to be uploaded to a computer and then played either directly from the computer or from an iPod or similar device.

It will be interesting to see what direction record labels take with USBs.

State of the Industry—State of Emergency

I remember back in the early 2000s, it was very common for recording artists to sell over a million records within the first week of their album’s release. For example, In 2000, *Nsync’s No Strings Attached album sold a record-breaking 2.4 million copies in its first week. Later that year, The Beatles’s 1 (a compilation of The Beatles’s greatest hits) broke that record, selling 3.6 million copies in its first week. A few years later, record sales were still up, with albums like Eminem’s The Eminem Show, selling 1.32 million copies in its first week in 2002 and 50 Cent’s The Massacre selling 1.14 million copies in its first week in 2005.

Even if an album didn’t sell a million copies in its first week, it would usually accomplish that within a few weeks or months. For example, in 2002, Britney Spears’s self-titled album sold 768,500 units in its first week, but within a month, she had already sold over 2 million. This was the norm—selling over a million records within the first week or so. Now these numbers are unheard of.

Today, going Gold (selling 500,000 copies) within the first week is considered a big deal. Drake’s Thank Me Later, one of the most anticipated albums of this year, was expected to sell a little less than 500,000 copies its first week. Eminem, whose comeback album, Recovery, was also highly anticipated, was not expected to do much better. After the Nielsen SoundScan numbers came in, we saw that the predictions were correct; Drake sold 462,989 albums in the first week and Eminem sold 753,870.

These numbers are nothing compared to what sales used to be in the early 2000s when the music industry was at its peak. Since then, record sales have plummeted. With albums being leaked left and right on the Internet, it is difficult to imagine sales up to those numbers again. (Yes, illegal downloading took away A LOT of potential album sales for Drake, with over 5 million copies of Thank Me Later being downloaded illegally online). The music industry has clearly come under a state of emergency.

WELCOME!

Hi all!

Welcome to my blog! My name’s KayJay and this is my first blog. Here, I’ll be writing about music, entertainment, and anything else that comes to mind! :)