Gadiel.com

Hello 2012

2012-01-01T13:01:00.000-08:00

Cousins

2011-11-24T13:51:00.001-08:00

Rest in Peace, Steve

2011-10-05T20:33:00.000-07:00

99999

2011-09-13T21:22:00.001-07:00

Searching...

2011-09-01T12:27:00.001-07:00

Oh dearest iPhone, what are you searching for?

The meaning of life? Salvation? An updated Sim card?

Please oh please start working again soon...

Hippy Fiasco Rides Again?

2011-07-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

Waves

2011-07-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

Derek Sivers: I Miss The Mob

2011-07-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

From "Anything You Want"

High Flying Sierra

2011-07-05T14:58:00.001-07:00

Introducing...Sami Ravyn Gadiel

2010-12-17T22:19:00.000-08:00

Sami Ravyn Gadiel
Born 12/17/10 @ 10:19pm
7lbs 4oz

2010-11-27T07:51:00.001-08:00

Yo Gabba Gabba!

2010-11-26T14:10:00.001-08:00

Jon Stewart is my Rabbi

2010-11-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

Jon Stewart - Moment of Sincerity

www.comedycentral.com

Rally to Restore Sainty and/or Fear

The Daily Show

The Colbert Report

Bridge + Ocean from Bus

2010-09-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

Alshee

2010-08-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

Phish

2010-08-09T13:27:00.000-07:00

2010-07-13T18:41:00.001-07:00

Arg!!

2010-07-09T02:00:00.000-07:00

The Ivory Tower

2010-06-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hanging out at the Zoo

2010-06-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

Mmm, Apples...

2010-06-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

Blue Sky

2010-05-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

SOMA Obama Traffic

2010-05-25T17:40:00.000-07:00

Sky

2010-05-24T18:31:00.001-07:00

2010-05-23T17:50:00.001-07:00

2010-05-23T17:44:00.000-07:00

Windows Explorer Hangs

2010-05-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

Just ran into an issue I wanted to document for the future, and others who might run into it.

On my Windows XP laptop, Windows Explorer would hang for 30-60 seconds whenever I would click around. It would literally just stall and not let me click on any folders and show "Not Responding" in the menubar.

The problem, as I've now discovered, is that one of the Mapped Network Drives no longer exists and it was timing out while trying to connect.

Disconnecting the network drive in Windows Explorer solved the problem.

I hope I've saved someone aggravation at some point down the line.

JamPad

2010-04-03T22:55:00.001-07:00

Correlating Actions and Results

2010-03-02T15:20:00.001-08:00

Whenever I play golf, which is maybe about four times a year if I'm lucky, I typically spend the first 4-5 holes just getting back into the game. It seems that no matter what I do, there's little rhyme or reason to what will happen to the ball. Swing easy, keep your head down, breathe out, turn, pause and drop...

It usually takes me half a nine before I can actually make little changes to my swing and see the result, and once that breakthru happens it becomes a whole new ball game. The last time I played I ended up par-ing the last three holes, which only makes you want to keep playing.

There's an analogy to business and product development in here somewhere, sort of the opposite of doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result, or somewhere in between that and the hedgehog/fox concept.

"Taking" Responsibility

2010-03-01T15:08:00.000-08:00

Seems like the m.o. these days is to avert responsibility and blame.

"you asked me to do that!", "i was just following orders", "the buck stops over there!".

Ironically, the successful boss would want to delegate responsibility and the Linchpin wants to take it, even though their defined 'roles' would beg the opposite.

Hmmm...

Where Y@?

2009-12-14T21:39:00.001-08:00

I haven't blogged in a while. Been busy with other stuff. If you want to keep up with me, the best place is on Twitter.

Marissa Mayer from Google said "creativity is a muscle" and that you need to practice to stay good. I agree. To start, I've been reading a lot.

Here's a few posts that have caught my eye recently:

What Matters Now - marketing guru Seth Godin has curated an incredible group of thought leaders for a free ebook
Derek Siver's Blog - CD Baby Founder has an inspiring way with words - especially http://sivers.org/trust and http://sivers.org/walkways
Action Oriented - good post from VC Fred Wilson
EFF's take on Facebook's Privacy Changes - Facebook made sharing with everyone the recommend default option for things that used to be private. Umm...
Jason Fried's Favorite Quotes - Basecamp Founder's collection of good ones. His Signal vs. Noise blog is also awesome.
Fake Steve Jobs nails AT&T

That's enough for now. Happy Portal Week.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T22:53:00.001-07:00

Bubby

2009-09-15T11:29:00.001-07:00

Schmooey

2009-06-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

2009-03-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

Zero Chester's '98

2009-03-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

Eleven years ago...

http://www.archive.org/details/zero1998-03-20
http://www.archive.org/details/zero1998-03-21
http://www.archive.org/details/zero1998-03-22

I honor the anniversary of these legendary shows every year by dipping back into the archive and replanting myself in that tiny shotgun bar in the northwest corner of Arkansas.

My brother, friends and I made the 10+ hour journey from Chicago, drawing on our experience traveling the country for Dead & Phish shows. While Zero was not quite packing the same amphitheaters as our aforementioned rock gods, they were still commanding the attention of our musical receptors, and what better way to honor the potential than with a three night run road trip!

The band played what amounted to 3 sets per night, pouring through their repertoire of blues, funk, covers and of course the epic melodic peaks of glory.

My personal highlights include:
3/20: Sun Sun Sun opener, Running on Faith, Anorexia, Tangled Hangers!!!!, Nancy Germany, Golden Road, Horses.

3/21: Into the Mystic > Chance in a Million, Kissin' the Boo Boo, the ENTIRE second & third sets + encore.

3/22: Cole's Law, Gregg's Eggs, High & Lonesome, Up on Cripple Creek, Catalina

Cripple Creek reaches true escape velocity, one for the ages.

Catalina experiences a complete and total musical convergence, producing light energy drawn forth from the ground. "Pumping Oil"

These shows also had a special significance to me as it was one of the first overnight musical adventures I'd taken with my brother, who had turned me onto live music years earlier. It was also here that I would meet one of my best friends and future room mates, as well as have the honor of interviewing Meester Martin Fierro in his hotel room before the third show. One of these days I must get around to transcribing it and posting it along with the video online.

I can also unequivocally say that these shows validated the power of live music and provided true inspiration to take my burgeoning musical hobbies and turn them into a real life devotion, and exactly a year later launch JamBase.com.

Enjoy.

"Catalina, seek and you shall find."

The Mothership

2009-03-06T15:20:00.000-08:00

Perfect Guitar Solos

2009-02-23T15:49:00.000-08:00

Perfect Guitar Solos

Compiled by my Twitter and Facebook Friends :)

Alex 5 Months

2009-02-22T10:06:00.001-08:00

Dog vs. Feather Pillow

2009-02-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

Schmooey

2009-01-27T08:59:00.000-08:00

Bear Down!

2008-12-22T23:05:00.000-08:00

Alex's First Flight

2008-12-18T05:28:00.001-08:00

Wednesday December 17th, SFO > MDW, Southwest Flt 225

He did great! Ate during takeoff and landing, slept for a couple of hours in the middle and didn't cry too much. The people around us were generally pleased that they didn't have a screaming kid in their row. Thank you! :)

Note: Soothie pictured above is the only style pacifier he'll take, and he loves 'em.

You Enjoy McLovins

2008-12-14T07:19:00.001-08:00

Been sent around a lot so you've probably already seen it, but saving it here for posterity.

2008 Mix

2008-12-13T13:11:00.000-08:00

Some songs I couldn't get out of my head this year, and others I discovered for the first time

Your Mama's Mama's Mama's Band

2008-12-01T13:56:00.001-08:00

Rex Foundation: Sweet Music Everywhere - December 13th

2008-11-27T12:46:00.001-08:00

On December 13, The Rex Foundation will once again fill San Francisco's Warfield for an evening of music, connection and helping. Bring your friends and family for some dancing in the streets to celebrate what the Grateful Dead started 25 years ago and all that we can do together in the next 25 years.
Billed as "Sweet Music Everywhere," this festive evening features Peter Rowan Family & Friends, Jackie Greene, Michael Kang with Panjea, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, The Brass Mafia and more.

Sweet Music Everywhere will be another special gathering in the tradition of Rex Foundation Warfield events that started on December 1, 2001 with the benefit concert, The Healing Power of Music, to launch the Rex Foundation's renewal.

For more event details and to purchase special pre-concert party and premium concert seating tickets call 415-561-3135 or visit www.rexfoundation.org.

Concert Words

2008-11-17T19:15:00.001-08:00

Tonight on the bus ride home my mind began to wander, as it's often known to do, to words associated with Concerts.

I put out a note on Twitter:

Thinking about concert words: soundcheck, setlist, setbreak, encore, house lights, stage, crowd, PA, mics, monitors, soundboard, what else?Quickly the responses started coming in through the various communication channels:

band, fans, dancing, spinning, venue, tapers, backstage, green room, amps, pedals, guitars, gear, front of house, crew, roadies, stage right, stage left, feedback, front of house, laminate, load in, lout out, backline manager, house mix, escotr, backstage, ticket, bouncer, gear, load-in, roadies, fans, scalper, taper, VIP, beer, lyrics, opener, closer, segue, jam, cover, first time played, special guest, floor, seats, band, green room, roadcase, craft services, house music, stage call, tuning, venue, glowstick war, Load in, load out, catering, hospitality, backstage, guest list, shore power, bus parking, settlement, backline, local crew, loaders, stage left, stage right, upstage, downstage, setlist, PAGESIDE!, stage right, stage left, upstage, downstage, center stage... load-in, load-out, doors, support act, headliner, B Stage, spotlights, spotlight operators, stagehands..., doors...curfew...load-in...load-out..., aisle, gobo, scaffold, points, truss, skrim, Jerry's side, Phil's side....Shakedown Street...,cattle, front of board (fob) , back to paul (btp), official taper section (ots), rail, TAPER'S SECTION!!, groupies, GAFF Tape!!!, Zip ties, Load In, MORE COWBELL!, taper, afterparty, rider, opener, closer, rodie, rail rider...,segue, Vendors!, um, don't forget your Ticket! ticket stub, tickets, Front Gate, Backstage, Staging, Tomcat roof, Amplifier, Guitars!, monitors, front of house, backstage, drum riser, roadies, soundboard, laminate, crew bus, merch table, smoke.

neat

President Obama

2008-11-04T21:26:00.000-08:00

Happy Anniversary!

2008-10-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

10 years ago today, The Disco Biscuits, Mike Keneally and Beer for Dolphins, Oteil and the Peacemakers and The Slip played a show at the Wetlands together to celebrate the release of Dean Budnick's new book, Jambands, and the launch of Jambands.com

It's been an unbelievable decade. Enjoy the show from The Disco Biscuits

Powell Endorses Obama

2008-10-19T10:18:00.001-07:00

Big Light's Bonebreaker

2008-10-17T12:07:00.001-07:00

we like you alllllready gone...

Drill Palin, Not Alaska

2008-10-17T11:49:00.001-07:00

If you could drill Sarah Palin w/ anything, what would it be?

Troublemakers- If not Barack Obama then what?

2008-10-14T22:26:00.001-07:00

Do you know about twitter search?

2008-10-14T14:08:00.001-07:00

Seth says it better than anyone, so I might as well just quote him. I've literally found myself getting my breaking news from Twitter Search for the past week.

From: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/10/do-you-know-abo.html

Warning: addictive, disheartening, thrilling or banal... often in combination.

Visiting twitter search will allow you to track what the anonymous masses are saying about you, your favorite politicians, your brand, whatever...

You can grab an RSS feed of any search you do, so your rss reader will be always updated with what's going on with the buzz on things you care about.

It's sort of like a 24 hour a day focus group, a never-ending riff on what people are buzzing about. Don't say I didn't warn you.

PS if you use twitter, remember that what you say is not just seen by your few followers. It's seen by anyone who searches.

Twitter Search

RIP Good Times

2008-10-12T00:20:00.000-07:00

Sequoia Capital on startups and the economic downturn

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: depression recession)

Why Wouldn't You Vote?

2008-10-04T13:52:00.001-07:00

Phish Returns

2008-10-01T02:04:00.000-07:00

03/06-08/09 Hampton, VA

Happy Birthday Trey!

2008-09-30T16:36:00.001-07:00

Gary Vaynerchuk

2008-09-24T09:31:00.000-07:00

Jerry Phil & Bob - She Belongs To Me

2008-09-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

Hope

2008-09-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

It's a Boy!

2008-08-30T13:34:00.001-07:00

Alex Rhodes Gadiel
Born 8/26/08 1:01am
6lbs 2oz, 19"

Ubiquity

2008-08-29T23:45:00.000-07:00

The web is a connective medium, yet still incredibly disconnected.

While everyone has or is building an API for interoperability between sites, it still can be a abit of a pain to perform basic combo routines, email information around or search for data online.

Enter Ubiquity: a plug-in for Firefox which enables a flurry of commands and add-ons that make navigating the waters of the web a bit more interactive, connective and fun.

You can subscribe to the JamBase search command here

Check it out for yourself at:
http://labs.mozilla.com/2008/08/introducing-ubiquity

Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

Outside Lands Fest in San Francisco this weekend

2008-08-22T15:04:00.001-07:00

Most of our office has cleared out as folks make their way westward into Golden Gate Park for the first ever Outside Lands Music Festival.

I won't be going, as my wife and I are expecting the birth of our first child any day now and the last place I want to be when her water breaks is in the middle of a field of 50k Radiohead fans (radioheadheads?) with limited cellphone reception.

To assist or combat my FOMO (fear of missing out), I'll have plenty of distractions to keep me tuned into the action all weekend long:

AT&T Blueroom will be webcasting many of the sets from the weekend.

Crowdfire will be updating with words, photos & videos

Twitter has a bot which will send out any message sent to @osl back to anyone following. I built this based on the wonderful success of the @nojf bot we used for JazzFest. If you've got any ideas for an automated twitter group, let me know and I can add it to the queue.

If you're going, be sure to check out the JamBase booth in the CrowdFire tent in the Polo Fields. Tell 'em I say hi! :)

Whether you're there or not, enjoy your weekend, and give thanks for all you've got.

Phish Friday

2008-08-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

In honor of so many Phish anniversaries today (Clifford Ball, The Great Went, Lemonwheel, Coventry) I streamed my iTunes Phish library all day today

We had about 50-60 people listening and chatting throughout the 8-9 hours I was broadcasting while at work.

It was pretty cool, since I was going to simply honor the day by listening to Phish in my headphones. Now I could do it while sharing it with some friends on the web. People had some great suggestions and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

I don't have a full setlist, but we played a bunch of Great Went, Dayton 97, 5/14/92 Fluffhead!, the OJ show, Divided Sky from Greatwoods '03, and a YEM from 86 to close.

I'll hopefully do it again sometime in the future.

Thanks to everybody who tuned in. Happy Phishiversaries.

-Andy

O CHUTUP

2008-08-09T00:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.archive.org/details/zero2008-08-08.flac16

Happy Birthday Jerry

2008-08-01T00:02:00.000-07:00

Google Idea: Eureka!

2008-07-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

Here's an idea.

It's all about the "search" for information, right? Well, Google knows what I'm searching for, and they know which links I'm clicking on.

If I go to a webpage and don't find the answer, chances are I'm going to search again.

The website which has the answer I'm looking for will likely be the last one I click on during the last time I search for those terms.

Over time, and with a lot of data, they could correlate search terms with websites based upon which ones caused people to stop searching, and raise their rankings.

They could also see which sites caused people to search again, and lower their rankings.

The feature could be called Eureka! (aka "I have found it!")

Phish Great Went Bathtub Gin Jam

2008-07-26T14:36:00.001-07:00

one of the all-time greatest.

Thanks Mr. Miner!

Geographic Annotated Lyrics

2008-07-24T21:24:00.001-07:00

Tea Leaf Green's Annotated Songs got a heady upgrade this week with the inclusion of custom Google Maps.

How many songs are there in the world which evoke the sense of traveling across the country from town to town, written by artists shoving themselves in a bus and carrying their music on the back.

You can check out the initial implementation for the song Let Us Go which happens to open their latest album, Raise up the Tent.

Nice work DGold!

Wilco Song Requester

2008-07-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

We're doing a ticket giveaway contest at JamBase for Wilco's summer tour, and while I was enjoying the link to our site from Wilco's homepage, I noticed another link for "NOW TAKING REQUESTS FOR UPCOMING DATES"

Curiously thinking this would take me to their booking agent's page where I could arrange for the band to play my town, I was pleasantly surprised to find a song request form, along with which show I'd be attending.

This is a cool way to engage the audience, collect email addresses (although no opt-in) and get people to be part of the process.

Bravo Wilco!

My suggestion: Either Way

Bus Window + Fog Bubble make bridge look curvey

2008-07-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

Gordo!

2008-07-04T19:32:00.000-07:00

CA Wildfires Map

2008-06-30T14:00:00.001-07:00

View Larger Map

Big Light

2008-06-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

The Slip meets Wilco meets Neil Young meets Fred Torphy & Bradly Bifulco.

http://play.rhapsody.com/biglight

Be sure to stick around through Bonebreaker.

They're Touring this month in support of Surprise Me Mr. Davis.

Heading Home

2008-06-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

Bike > Ferry > Work spare the air day!

2008-06-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

Grateful Dead - 6/17/91- Giants Stadium

2008-06-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

17 years ago yesterday. Eyes of the World opener (rarity), Dark Star tease before Masterpiece. Ledgy.

Firefox 3 Download Day

2008-06-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

Firefox 3 has been released. Go download it now!

<3 Kimock

2008-06-06T21:07:00.000-07:00

Lists, Politics & Reunions

2008-06-05T20:26:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week. Must be Portal Week

A few thoughts...

Lists
I keep a lot of lists at work centered around ideas, features and products we want to build for JamBase. What I'm finding lately, though, is that lists are the death of product development. By definition, they're a pile. And by putting something "on the list" you're throwing it onto the pile, making it heavier, harder to get your head around and tougher to get through.

Lists don't really get you anywhere. You could spend all day organizing and re-prioritizing lists, and you'd still end up the same place you started. Maybe you'd feel a little more organized, but in reality you've just reshuffled the deck.

What a list fundamentally lacks is timing, or a sense of movement. WHEN are you going to get something done is the most critical question to answer when organizing your workload.

So this week, instead of organizing my lists, I'm making a "ROADMAP". Every near term idea gets slotted for a specific time period, and has a deadline. It's not about when you think you can get it done, but rather whether you can get it one by (insert deadline)

I'm not entirely sure this is going to get me anywhere, but I'm giving it a shot. I'll let you know how I did.

Politics
For how unbelievably anti-climatic the Democratic primaries became, Obama sure did deliver a rousing speech. My two favorite parts was when he gave him wife a knuckle punch (knucks) just before starting, and then towards the end where his voice rose above the cheering crowd. However you feel about his views, experience or potential as a leader, ya gotta give it up for his public speaking abilities. It is nothing less than inspiring.

As for the media, what has happened to the 24/7 News Channels is that they've gone from legitimate reporting to becoming color commentators at a sporting event. Literally following every nuance like gossip-hounds and parsing every word to extract some sense of meaning, it's gotten beyond ridiculous.

When the News Media has starts making the news, it's time for a Time out.

Which leads me to...

Reunions
Phish rumors have flared up again amidst a flurry of statements by Trey, Tom Marshall and predictions from the bliss-seeking public. They're even taking bets over at Twitter.

It's exciting to think about the possibilities of what can be created when so many people are paying attention to something.

Mmm...Apples

2008-06-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

Live From The Garden Shed - Moonshine

2008-06-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

Trevor Garrod
Live From The Garden Shed
"Moonshine"

Beach Day!

2008-05-24T19:45:00.001-07:00

Special Comment

2008-05-15T10:42:00.001-07:00

part 2:

It's Not Too Late To Register to Vote

2008-05-11T22:03:00.000-07:00

Primary fever got ya down? Well, if you've recently moved or just haven't gotten around to registering to vote, there's still time.

Most states have until mid or the end of September to register.

Find out all the info at HeadCount and get involved.

This has been a public service announcement...

Phish

2008-05-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

Umphreys Rocking HOB

2008-05-03T01:34:00.000-07:00

Prof Longhair

2008-05-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

JamBase is Hiring

2008-04-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

If you or someone you know fits any of these descriptions (and knows all these acronyms by heart), drop us a line:

Web Developer: .NET C# SQL AJAX IIS6 CSS

UI Designer: Photoshop, Illustrator, Optimization, CSS, SEO

Twitter at JazzFest - Where Y'at?!

2008-04-26T09:53:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of music, and of new technologies.
I'm really a fan of applying new technologies to music.

So when VC Blogger Fred Wilson started a Lyric of the Day group on Twitter, I immediately started to consider ways to apply this new technology to the live music universe.

Allowing people to connect in real life at shows and Festivals, as well as let those not fortunate enough to be there get a glimpse into what was going on in real time seemed like a good enough idea.

The @lotd tech head Whitney McNamara was kind enough to publish his script code which powers the lyric group online, and I've adapted it into Classic ASP and made it available for my group.

The New Orleans JazzFest & Heritage Festival is currently going on in the crescent city, and while the first weekend is underway right now, I won't be making my voyage down there til next Thursday.

So, without further a-do do...Introducing the JazzFest Twitter Group.

Here's how it works. Simply follow the @nojf user on Twitter, post messages with @nojf before them and they'll be picked up and re-published on http://www.twitter.com/nojf and sent back to anyone following that user. Simple enough!

Fun if you're at to JazzFest, going to JazzFest, or home wondering what's going on at JazzFest.

Here are some example posts (which will very likely become real)

We can use this first weekend as as test while I'm home and go big next weekend.

Seeya on the Fairgrounds!

The Schwaggin' Wagon

2008-04-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

Michael Liskin is traveling up from Los Angeles to San Francisco this week for the Web 2.0 conference with a mission. He's riding in style in the Schwaggin' Wagon, a van designed to collect all of the "Schwag" (stuff we all get) from the conference that people might throw away. They're going to recycle the goodies and even donate the items to needy shelters.

JamBase is proud to sponsor this endeavor. Bravo to Michael and his crew for coming up with a brilliant idea for a conference and also being available to drive people from party to party!

Seeya tomorrow...

L'chiam!

2008-04-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

Freeeeeedom!

2008-04-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

Asphalt Funk

2008-04-17T14:37:00.000-07:00

Elephant Self Portrait

2008-04-16T20:56:00.001-07:00

9 Years Ago Today

2008-04-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

Phil Lesh and Friends 4-15-1999 featuring Trey Anastasio and Page of Phish from gigpedia on Vimeo.

Phil and Friends - 4/15/99 - The Warfield, San Francisco, CA

Phil Lesh (bass)
Steve Kimock (guitar)
John Molo (drums)
Trey Anastasio (guitar)
Page McConnell (keyboards)

Art & Commerce

2008-04-13T22:26:00.000-07:00

Ethan Kaplan from Warner Brothers Records wrote a wonderful blog post this weekend asking the question: "How do we value art?"

Michael Arrington at Techcrunch jumped all over it and shot it down, referencing the recent idea of a so-called music tax for ISPs.

I don't think Ethan's questions were mis-directed. I think he genuinely wants to open up the discussion and figure out how artists can get paid for their art. The fact that he works at a major record label which has contributed to some of the directions were seeing in the industry might make him an easy target.

In case you haven't noticed, the trend in recorded music (and much of the online world) has been for everything to go free. As you can imagine, this has come much to the chagrin of the major record labels.

One of the fundamental ideas around Sales is the concept that something is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. Part of someone's "willingness" to pay for something clearly has a lot to do with the physical controls that have been placed on acquiring the product. I guess that's true for any business, since if you left the grocery store unlocked at night you might come back in the morning with empty shelves. Or would you?

Does the fact that it happens online, instantly & easily, and that a lot of people are doing it, and that there is no real physical interaction or evidence make file-sharing acceptable in the public's eye? (See The Onion: Kid Rock Starves To Death - May 2000)

Historically, the recorded music industry has controlled the value of music by controlling and limiting it's physical distribution. The Record, The Tape, The CD. You couldn't easily copy it and you couldn't give it to someone else without you not having it anymore. All that of course changes with the creation of the MP3 and the industry has been trying to dig itself out of a hole ever since.

Stuff really started to heat up when some Record Labels and Artists sued their fans. While perfectly justified in their own eye, it's difficult to recover from something which serves only to alienate your most passionate and loyal fans. Although I suppose the argument could be made that if they weren't willing to pay for the music, then are they really all that supportive?

Which brings us back to the topic of the value of music, and how to support the artists.

I think there are some things which the music business has forgotten over the past few years:

The fan is the most important person
The fan is the only person in the music business that doesn't get paid (money) for their involvement. In every business, at some point, someone needs to pay for something without getting paid. They're the consumer, remember them?! They fuel the entire system. If there's no consumer, and people are just passing money around like a hot potato, then it's just a fancy Pyramid Scheme.

While advertising models are being floated to supplement free consumer behavior, it still doesn't solve the issue of who in the end is going to pay for all this stuff. The advertising business is a huge one, and I appreciate it's impact and need, but as my marketing mentor Seth Godin likes to point out, advertising works when it's anticipated, personal and relevant. I'm not sure playing a commercial before I listen to a free song is any of those things.

The music fan can be the greatest advertisement for a band in the world. In how many industries do the customers do the work for the marketing department? How many times have you walked out of a concert and told anyone who would listen how incredible it was? Instead of trying to figure out how to shove something down people's throats, it would be a lot easier (and potentially more effective) to give the fans a megaphone and let them go to town.

The market decides
People want to consume music in their own way, and forcing them to buy into a system which doesn't work for them anymore is futile. As Ben Folds says, "You've got to give the people what they want" - Rockstar. Sure, he also says: "You’re a slave to these people who don’t even know you, you think they adore you, they do, then they throw you away", but that's a point for another post.

There was a movie released in 2001 called Josie and the Pussycats. It was kinda cheesy and Hollywood-y, but the sub-plot was that the record industry was controlling consumer behavior by including subliminal messaging in pop songs. "Green is the new black" and everyone would go out and buy Green. I don't completely discount the premise.

But I digress. Back to the original topic: I still believe people are willing to pay for music, but I think it's becoming much harder to control consumer behavior. There are just far too many distractions.

I think people are willing to pay for quality, convenience and access.

There is a reason that Apple is the #1 Music Retailer. They understand the consumer. They've made it fun and easy to buy music.

Now if we can just figure out a way to support those pesky artists...

Sensitive Toilet

2008-04-12T20:26:00.000-07:00