Episode 9: A Musical Masterpiece
Listen (22 min, 54 seconds)For this weeks episode we take a look at the creation, distribution and consumption of music in a digital world. This episode we are fortunate to have some amazing guests as well as a scoop on some local news.
We are joined this week all the way from the US of A by Tim Westergren, the founder of US-based music service Pandora. He talks to us about the change in consumption habits from pre-packaged content to on-demand music using services like his. Pandora’s iPhone app is now the largest downloaded in the world, and the Pandora service gets over 2 million tracks played per day.
We also speak to Jake Larsen, the head of the soon-to-be-launched (April 24th) South African Nokia Music Store. He gives us all the information on the store including what devices it can be used on and gives us a scoop on the pricing. That's right, we are the first place to provide the pricing information.
Finally, local musician Verity tells us about how she managed to turn the recording industry on its head and got her album published by selling it online before it was even created.
Regular feature, The Blogedge is about the Facebook Terms of Service issue, and Stonewall is this week’s “Agency of the week.”
Remember, you heard it first on The Digital Edge
Guests:
Tim Westergren:
Tim Westergren founded Pandora in January 2000 and now serves as its Chief Strategy Officer. Tim is an award-winning composer, an accomplished musician and a record producer with 20 years of experience in the music industry. He has recorded with independent labels, managed artists, owned a commercial digital recording studio, scored feature films, produced albums, and performed extensively. His main instrument is the piano, but over the years he has played the bassoon, drums and clarinet and his musical background spans such genres as rock, blues, jazz and classical music.
Jake Larsen:
Jake Larsen’s involvement in the music industry started at the tender age of fourteen when he started his first mobile music business, which soon blossomed and saw him handling major events at various venues and working as a DJ in clubs a year later. The company was named Euphoric Perception and ultimately evolved into a production house concentrating on the rave scene in the nineties. Following a career in music retail at various national and independent outlets both in South Africa and abroad, Jake established ModaMetro - an entirely South African owned independent record label. Jake has completed studies in both Marketing Management and Project Management is currently pursuing the completion of an MBA with a specialisation in Strategic Focus.
Verity:
Verity is a singer/songwriter who decided to take a very unique tack in a highly competitive industry. Instead of signing a contract, Verity created a business model to fund the recording costs of her debut album. 2 years ago, Verity starting pre-selling her album to fans and believers through her website www.iamverity.com. Verity also decided to donate 10.6% of each sale towards artist upliftment and women empowerment in South Africa. Ideate met up with her to find out about her soon-to-be-launched album.
Ben Wagner:
Ben Wagner is CEO of Stonewall+ Digital Marketing. He has led the company since 2005 as strategic and marketing head, growing it to be one of the leading digital agencies in the Southern African industry, and servicing leading brands.
Links:
Pandora (not available locally): http://www.pandora.com
Nokia Music Store (International): http://musicstore.nokia.com:80/
Verity: http://www.iamverity.com/index.htm
Stonewall: http://www.stonewall.co.za/
Jarred Cinman: http://jarredcinman.com
Heather Ford: http://www.hblog.org
Saul Kropman: http://saulk.co.za
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