[opendtv] Interesting TPV article on music

From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2008 18:44:08 -0500
Looks like The Perfect Vision is ending with the current issue, is
merging with Playback, and is available only online:

http://www.avguide.com/the-perfect-vision

"To maximize our coverage of the world of home entertainment, The
Perfect Vision will merge with Playback, our newest online magazine,
which offers extensive music and movie reviews, as well as reviews of
home audio and theater equipment."

I can't seem to find the last issue, January 2008, online. But there's
an interesting article on music distribution in it, towards the end.
Here are some main points, or at least those that struck me as most
interesting.

Radio is still the most popular medium for discovering new music, it
says. Some 70 or 80 percent of new music is still now being discovered
by terrestrial radio.

It says that in spite of what the RIAA likes to say, putting people on
guilt trips for "stealing" music files, those who lose most with this
sort of activity are the record labels, not the artists. The article
says that artists view radio, CDs, the Internet, etc., as *promotional*
media. Their revenues come primarily from live performances.

It says that satellite radio is reaching a plateau. Growth is slowing
down.

It talks about some new schemes to deliver music via 3G cell phones,
with monthly subscription fees in the $10 to $15 range. Apparently,
there is pushback to this idea. People don't seem too anxious to pay
that much. Ditto for all those schemes where you pay to download music
online, it says. They are not very successful and only constitute a tiny
percentage of music downloads anyway. And, his point is, they shouldn't
be necessary. Because they do not exist for the sake of the artists.

It also talks about "HD Radio." It says that this has not yet created a
lot of excitement, but the reasons the article cites sound absurd to me.

The claim is that HD Radio advertizing does not explain why people would
want it. The author says that the ads talk about the extra stations you
can receive with HD Radio but (get this), the ads don't explain why you
want those extra stations. His "explanation" seems even more absurd when
you read that one of the claimed benefits of satellite radio is that it
gives you plenty of options for different music genres.

Perhaps the author believes that the listening audience is too
dim-witted to figure out that more choice over terretsrial radio means
more genres of music can be offered? I can't fathom his logic.

As a matter of fact, at least some of the HD Radio stations in this
market *do* explain what is available on their multicasts. Possibly,
what the author thinks is that more of these specifics are needed in the
ads. I might buy that.

He also says that auto companies are starting to offer HD Radio. If this
becomes a staple item, he says, then possibly HD Radio will succeed. I
have to agree with this. After all, a huge percentage of radio listening
is done in cars, and he even made that point.

Anyway, still today, it looks like terrestrial radio is doing fine,
accepting the fact that so many other options exist. I think HD radio is
super. Maybe the radio stations can be more specific about what their
listeners are missing if they still use analog radio.

Bert
 
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:

- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at 
FreeLists.org 

- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word 
unsubscribe in the subject line.
[opendtv] Interesting TPV article on music

Other related posts:
