A (santa) aliança rádio-industria musical...

A internet, nas suas diversas expressões, veio pôr em causa a santa aliança entre rádio e indústria discográfica (entendida no seu sentido mais vasto e amplo).
Até à Internet, essa santa aliança reflectia-se de diversas formas (os exclusivos, os apoios à divulgação, a promoção dos concertos, entrevistas e luta pelo air play, o payola): as rádios divulgavam os grupos e as músicas e recebiam em troca conteúdos quase à borla em doses massivas (apenas tinham de pagar os direitos de autor). Os músicos apoiavam as rádios, através da sua disponibilidade para participar em concertos, que dariam receitas e dimensão à rádio, cobrando apenas as «despesas». Com esses «radio-promoted concerts», os grupos estavam também a investir numa ligação duradoura e mais eficaz com a rádio. Ou seja, era um investimento que se traduziria em retorno. Neste sentido o «payola» é apenas o maximizar da aliança. A partir do momento em que nos EUA se banalizarm os promotores independentes (contratados pelas editoras para conseguirem divulgação nas rádios), o dinheiro começou a circular...

Muito disto aconteceu porque a industria musical não tinha uma alternativa válida ao gigantesco outdoor publicitário em que se transformou a rádio musical um pouco por todo o mundo (grande exposição por pouco dinheiro, apenas com a desvantagem de ter de disputar um espaço limitado e muito...disputado, sobretudo nas rádios mais ouvidas). A internet é essa alternativa. A rádio pode continuar a divulgar, mas a internet não é limitada (pelo contrário, é infinita), também tem custos baixos e não há um director de programas a decidir. Além do mais, os potenciais clientes estão lá... 

 

«80 % dos bilhetes vendidos na Internet»

Se, como diz Passman, «80% de todos os bilhetes [sobretudo para concertos] são agora vendidos através da Internet» (2006: 344), é óbvio que esse capital de notoriedade não pode ser desperdiçado. Os interessados estão lá. É lá que deve acontecer o marketing. E não, como acontecia, até agora, através da publicidade convencional em jornais, rádios e, nos casos mais relevantes, televisões.

PS - o mesmo autor chama a atenção para o facto de, no arranque da Net, muitas editoras terem registado os domínios na net para muitos dos seus grupos (que provavelmente ainda não tinham descoberto esta realidade). Isso teve como consequência que os sites oficiais são hoje propriedade das editoras, que os controlam, gerem e ainda cobram pelos conteúdos («After the predictable shouting, tugging, and gouging, most deals now provide that, during the term, the company will have an exclusive license to set up the artist's website, and the artist is allowed to set up an "unofficial" website. After the term, the rights go back to the artist, although companies keep the right to have an artist section on their website. Companies want to recoup the costs of creating and maintaining the artist's website», Passman, 2006: 135)

PASSMAN, Donald S. (2006). All you need to know about the music business, Free Press, Nova Iorque, 6ª edição

Características da «geração iPod» em Portugal

A partir de um artigop na Visão («IPod, logo existo), 23/11/06, pág 86):

Partilha de canções; escuta simultânea; gravações colectivas por oposição à reclusão social (alheamento à interacção social; sejam colegas ou não)

Sobre a realidade dos LAD em Portugal

(de um artigo da Visão, «iPod, logo existo», 23/11/06, pág 86)

- venderam-se em Portugal em 2005 365 mil leitores de mp3 (LAD); para 2006 espera-se vendas de 650 a 700 mil (quase dois mil por dia);

- Creative lider em Portugal; Apple a 2ª

Aumentam os rumores do iPhone (patente registada)

«An iPod phone now appears inevitable, and bets are being placed on details like pricing, release date, and form factor. Just recently, Apple filed a patent outlining a mobile device that "may correspond to the iPod," a development that largely confirms earlier speculation. The filing, recently made public, was originally filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office in August. The application describes a "tube-like" player constructed with "zirconia" and "alumina," and a device that would be "cost effective, smaller, lighter, stronger and aesthetically more pleasing" than competitive mobile music phones. So when will the device hit the streets? Predictions vary, though some are pointing to an unveiling at the Macworld Conference & Expo in January. Others suggest a later date, though most expect a release within the first two quarters of next year. It appears that Cingular Wireless will carry the device within the United States, though the mobile company refused to comment on the possibility. Meanwhile, the player is likely to combine the iconic iPod scroll wheel with a traditional telephone keypad, and the form factor could resemble the iPod mini.»

70% das rádios CBS (EUA) estão na net (streaming)

«Remember when CBS wanted little to do with Internet streaming? CBS Radio said it now broadcasts 100 stations online, or 70% of its stations. The most recent is WRKZ(FM) in Pittsburgh. “Extending its audio content to an online platform is an ongoing initiative that CBS Radio began with the launch of the streams of its all-news stations in March 2005,” it stated. “To date, CBS Radio has amassed close to 4 million registered users of the company's online properties.”»

fonte: «CBS Says 70% of Its Stations Are Now Streaming», 30/11/06 Rwonline

 

Há cada vez mais telemóveis a dar música...

«"Individually, cellphones and music players have been among the most favored Christmas gifts for years. For many holiday shoppers, this may be the season that they merge."Wireless carriers are offering a huge array of gadgets that combine both functions, with a variety of shapes and sizes and growing music libraries. The new dual-function handsets are often low-priced, and sometimes free, with a two-year service contract. (...)

"Cellphones that double as music players are already posting strong sales around the world. Sony Ericsson... says that it has sold 15.5 million Walkman music phones in a 14-month period ended in September. Motorola Inc. said in its third quarter earnings call that it shipped 15 million high-quality music phones in the past year. Nokia Corp., the world's largest handset maker, says that it is aiming to sell 80 million music phones in 2006, making the company the world's largest manufacturer of digital music-players.

"The new devices target phone users who want to make impulsive music purchases when on the move and will offer some services that iPods don't provide, such as wireless downloading...»

fonte: «New options make this the season for mobile music phones», WSJ (subscrição), via RAIN, 1/12/06

O DAB, cada vez mais britânico (bem e mal)

Os sinais são evidentes:

«UK media regulator Ofcom today kicked off the race for the UK's second national digital radio multiplex. The license will allow the winning bidder run up to 10 national digital radio stations for a period of 12 years. The spectrum being auctioned can also be used for a range of other services, such as mobile television, said Ofcom.» (AFX News Limited, Ofcom to auction second national digital radio license
12.01.06, 8:27 AM ET)

«The RadioScape RSC03 is a complete DAB/FM clock radio subsystem that only requires an external DC power supply, speaker, LCD display, button board, and enclosure to complete the product. The need for a motherboard is eliminated as the power supply and audio amplifiers are fully integrated into the subsystem. This reduces the manufacturing steps to just one assembly run. Its construction and compact form factor makes it suitable for many enclosure designs.»

Mas nem todos positivos:

«(...) Many British listeners - especially aficionados of classical music stations - claim that DAB sounds worse than FM radio. The problem for broadcasters is that quality costs money and they are under pressure to make savings. They must balance the importance of sound quality against the cost of providing new services. BBC engineers originally estimated that 256 kbit/s was about right for a high quality stereo broadcast signal. But in the end they only had enough bandwidth to provide five stereo services at 192 kbit/s and two mono services at 96 kbit/s. Some commercial stations are even managing to run services at 48 kbit/s, which is roughly AM quality. On the plus side, this means more choice, which apparently is what the vast majority of listeners want. Londoners, for example, can choose between more than 50 DAB services, many of which are not available in either AM or FM. Consequently, there are more DAB radios in Britain than anywhere else in the world. An obvious solution would be to upgrade to a more efficient codec, but the UK is paying the price for all its early success with digital radio. British DAB uses a relatively inefficient MPEG-1 Layer II codec, although the World DMB Forum (formerly the World DAB Forum) is promoting AAC+ .» (fonte: «The future of radio»)

O podcasting não é inimigo da rádio; pelo contrário

Mark Ramsey lembra que desde o início defendeu que:

«First, that abundance of podcasts was not the same as interest in podcasts. Second, an unfair proportion of the most popular podcasts - the "hits" if you will - will be from the same big media players that podcasting was supposed to put six feet under. Third, podcasting was radio's friend, not its enemy»

Agora tem mais certezas ainda:

«Some 12% of internet users say they have downloaded a podcast so they can listen to it or view it at a later time. However, few internet users are downloading podcasts with great frequency; just 1% report downloading a podcast on a typical day»

alèm disso:

«About half of iTunes' top 100 podcasts are from existing media companies. That's in spite of the fact that the vast majority of podcasts are produced by independent podcasters, says [PodTrac co-founder Mark] McCrery. "In comparison to the overall podcasting universe, there is a disproportionate number of podcasts produced by existing media companies in the top 100."»

coinclui:

«The fact is that people don't consume audio the way they consume video. Audio is not "grazed" the way video is. It takes a thousand words to equal one picture and a lot of time for that audio "picture" to be rendered. And time means trade-offs between the time-consuming task and the tasks which take less time but promise a quicker hit of entertainment. Just ask yourself how many viral videos you've seen. Now, how many viral audios have you heard? This is not to suggest that podcasting is "bad." I happen to think podcasting is terrific. In fact, I'm in that scarce 1%. But so what? The bulk of the audience is not. For radio this means what it always has meant. Podcasting is a terrific way to promote program highlights, introduce listeners to shows they haven't heard yet, and facilitate time-shifting for fans crazed enough to value it.»

fonte: «The Podcasting Revolution will not be televised» Hear2.0 29/11/06

 

A convergência acelerada vai mudar os actuais conceitos

... um exemplo: a nova rádio via satélite nos EUA (e Canadá) vai evoluir para um serviço multimédia.

«Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI) expects to offer a live television service in cars by late 2007, and deals with content providers may be set as early as January, CEO Mel Karmazin said Thursday. In an interview at the Reuters Media Summit in New York, Karmazin said the mobile video, likely to be available in 2008 model lines, would be geared toward young viewers sitting in the back seat. (...) "We have three content deals that are very close to being finalized. I don't know if they will be done by CES, but that is what we are shooting for," he said, referring to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. "We will have video in the rear seat of the car up and running." Sirius has touted the possible launch of such a service for years. In 2004, it said it would offer video services by mid-2005, adding at the time that the timing depended on automakers' wishes rather than Sirius' capability. It later said TV service would launch in '06.» (fonte: USA Today, 1/12/06, Sirius plans to offer TV service in cars by 2007)

Ou seja, mais concorrência oferecida no espaço que era da rádio, o carro.

Mark Ramsey não tem dúvidas: «The future of satellite radio is becoming just a wee bit clearer.And it is mobile media. Prediction: the term "satellite radio" will cease to exist by 2010.»

O primeiro despertador bluetooth

«phones, headsets, and speakers getting Bluetooth, it was inevitable that alarm clocks would get them too. iHome's iHC5 dual-alarm clock radio has wireless capability that lets you both stream music from your PC/phone and act as a speakerphone for your cell. The upside? You won't need both an alarm clock and speakers. – Jason Chen»

fonte: Gizmodo

A memória dos leitores; infinita?

«The iPod currently tops out at 80GB, and Archos tipped the scales with a 160GB player late last month. But what will future storage capacities look like? Storage prices are dropping, media collections are increasing, and the rest is just math. According to a prediction by Google vice president of European operations Nikesh Arora, the iPod of 2012 will be capable of handling an entire year’s worth of video releases. And within ten years, the same player may be capable of carrying every commercially-released song.»

fonte: Digital Music News, «Next-Generation Media Devices Promise Massive Storage», 29/11/06

Editoras de música, o mercado digital e o iPod

«Universal issued its per-device demand just days ahead of the Zune launch date, putting Microsoft in an incredibly difficult position. That was an aggressive move by Morris, and Steve Jobs may be far less conciliatory. During an earlier renegotiation round with Apple, major labels were unable to secure a key demand related to variable pricing on the iTunes Store, despite a great deal of posturing. Once again, Universal holds the trump card of its catalog, though that was not enough to bend Jobs during the last round. iPods are projected to cross the 14-15 million threshold this holiday quarter»

fonte: «Universal Music Group, Morris Could Target iPod Next», Digital Music News, 29/11/06

YouTube nos telemóveis

Mais cedo ou mais tarde...

«YouTube is coming to mobile phones — or, to be more precise, a small slice of YouTube is coming to some Verizon Wireless phones.

While its explosively popular Web site is free, YouTube’s phone-based version will require a $15-a-month subscription to a Verizon Wireless service called VCast. And instead of choosing what to watch from a vast library of clips, VCast users will be limited to an unspecified number of videos selected and approved by the companies»

fonte: New York Times Online, «YouTube Coming Soon to Cellphones», By MATT RICHTEL, Published: November 28, 2006

«A geração Youtube»

Algumas características:

- El joven de la Generación Youtube (GY, a partir de ahora) quiere interactuar, se aburre con algo que dure más de cinco minutos y, sobre todo, no tolera los anuncios. Por tanto, el modelo mediático tiene que cambiar.

- Se sienten más a gusto con SMS y con el messenger que con el teléfono.

- Quieren escribir sus vivencias, igual que los más adultos nos las contábamos oralmente. Esto es el resultado del acceso a tecnologías (fundamentalmente, el blog) que permiten ampliar mucho el radio de difusión de los mensajes, además de perpetuarlo

- Utilizan el ordenador socialmente. Muchos adultos todavía tienen la imagen de un niño solitario que se pasa el día pegado a la pantalla del ordenador jugando o viendo cosas indebidas

- Confían en que los blogs, la Wikipedia, Menéame y otros medios 2.0 puedan acabar con el monopolio de los medios tradicionales y sus mensajes teledirigidos y ultra-controlados por los poderes fácticos. Algunos, entre los que figuran muchos adultos, creen incluso que las nuevas tecnologías sociales van a terminar con muchos políticos y empresarios poco participativos y anclados en el pasado

Tudo aqui: Como es la generation YouTube?

Wi-fi no Montijo (numa praça)

«A Câmara Municipal de Montijo proporciona a partir de dia 5 de Dezembro, aos munícipes e visitantes do concelho, acesso livre e sem fios à Internet, através do sistema Wi-Fi Montijo.

  Todas as pessoas que possuam um computador portátil ou PDA, com acesso Wi-Fi, podem, na Praça da República, aceder à Internet sem qualquer custo. Futuramente, o Wi-Fi Montijo será alargado a outras zonas do concelho.

   Este serviço está disponível 24 horas por dia, para os utilizadores cujos equipamentos já possuam o sistema Wi-Fi. Quem necessitar de uma placa Wi-Fi pode requisitá-la no Gabinete de Organização Informática, da Câmara Municipal de Montijo, entre as 9h00 e as 15h30.»

fonte: CMMontijo, «Internet para todos» 28/11/06

 

Suécia acaba com o DAB

«El hecho que este sistema de radio digital no haya calado entre los usuarios,  además de los pocos y caros receptores que tras varios años de desarrollo había en el mercado, han llevado al Gobierno de este país nórdico a cerrar el grifo.Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, ministra de cultura del nuevo Gobierno sueco de centro derecha, no cree que el sistema DAB pueda llegar a ser rentable y ha decidido no apostar ni económica ni políticamente por la tecnología. Suecia, país pionero, había gastado cientos de millones de coronas en desarrollar la radio digital DAB en todo el país, pero hace un año, el anterior Gobierno socialdemócrata ya tomó la decisión de parar el desarrollo de esta tecnología que permite recibir el sonido de la radio con calidad de CD, aunque las emisiones en DAB ya se emitían en casi todo el país. Se da la circunstancia que hace dos años había más trabajadores empleados en las emisoras digitales que oyentes.

En Noruega sin embargo, a pesar que los expertos consideran el DAB una tecnología obsoleta, se ha decidido mejorar la red de emisores de tal manera que, al menos el 80% de la población pueda recibir las señales.»

fonte: «Suecia cierra la radio DAB», 27/11/2006 18:06:45,Miguel Mielgo, DINAMARCA

Rádio despertador para... iPod

«XtremeMac ha añadido un nuevo accesorio a su gama de productos para iPod: Luna. Un reloj despertador con pantalla LCD, sistema de navegación con menús y que a su vez permite escuchar la música almacenada en los iPod con conector de dock»

O iPod no carro

«70% of 2007's U.S. car models will have built-in iPod connectors»

«the biggest challenge for all of the satellite broadcasters is only now emerging: Apple Computer’s iPod appears to be disrupting the broadcast business. Back when satellite radio systems were, literally, on the launching pad, the iPod did not exist and the main competition was conventional commercial-cluttered radio.

Now more than 67 million iPods have been sold and Apple has generated more than US$1.5-billion in revenue from downloaded songs. Analysts expect Apple to sell between 16-20 million more iPods in the current quarter alone, dwarfing the total satellite audience of 12 million, built up over the past five years.

Another important indicator is Apple’s new lineup of friends: Some 70% of next year’s U.S. car models will have built-in iPod connectors. And earlier this month, six major airlines announced they too would install iPod connectors and chargers at every passenger seat.

Conventional radio broadcasters, already in decline for several years, are showing signs of further weakness attributed to the iPod, with young U.S. adult audiences down 13-15% since 1999 according to Arbitron. Some stations are closing, some are being sold and some are changing their tune to mimic the "iPod shuffle" by playing a more random selection of music of different genres.

Given their high debt, high capital expenses and lack of profitability, satellite broadcasters would seem to be in an especially risky spot. A string of satellite industry bankruptcies including Iridium, ICO Global Communications, Motient and Telesat Mobile following a boom in the 1990s highlights the risk.»

fonte: «Urlocker: How Satellite Radio Can Survive the Age of the iPod», Michael Urlocker, Financial Post, Published: Sunday, November 26, 2006