#bandwidthsf
Live coverage from Bandwidth 2010, San Francisco.
Please note that this is a presentation and open discussion format, not a conventional panel. So, lots of dialog among dozens of people. Some we know, many we do not. Jeremy Welt (SVP of New Media, Warner Bros. Records) holds the discussion, which is focused on visual formats in music.
Streaming music (both audio and video) is totally dwarfing song and album downloads (according to BigChampagne data). More specifically, Welt shows a chart showing that MySpace audio streams and YouTube video streams absolutely eclipse their paid equivalents.
Hello Music CEO John Boyle relays that YouTube is their hub. Welt also notes that "their search is better," and people can find what they're looking for on YouTube. Another points to an interesting shift in the way that music is consumed - "they take the visual aspects and bring it back to the audio experience."
Then, here's a crazy one: "Youtube is the #2 search engine in the world." And, the top most-viewed videos of all time are almost all music videos.
One exec notes that the demo is clearly younger, probably 9-14 y/o girls.
MTV, in its prime, played 30-40 videos in rotation. Top videos got played 30-40 times a week. "It was tough to get on - if you weren't one of those 30-40, no one knew what you looked like."
Photos... more stats from Welt...
2.5bln photos uploaded to FB monthly. 30bln a year. "I used to be asked for 6-9 approved photos. Now it's 3-400 hundred for a campaign." (that is, he asks for that much). And, getting 400 professionally produced photos is incredibly expensive - Welt wants prices from photographers to go down.
Another executive, "if you can get that much from your artist and art dept., hats off to you".
Welt: "On artist websites, our number one section is usually photos." Also, the user session lengths often depend on how many photos are actually there - people will take the amount of time to see all of the images.
And, this is a universal principle across different genres.
Apps - Welt poses - why are artist apps doing so poorly?
Welt: over 3 bln apps downloaded. Selling artist apps is very tough, and "it feels untapped to me," according to Welt. T-Pain seems to be the extreme exception, the others "have struggled."
One executive asks if this is too targeted of a crowd - you need to own an iPod, Android, etc., and those that buy apps are another subset. "We haven't tapped into something that people want," Welt comments.
Bill Wilson, NARM, notes that creating really creative, game-oriented apps are incredibly complicated from a rights and agreement perspective.
Also, another talks about tapping into an economy, for example one based on virtual poker chips.
And, from a release cycle, others notes that coordinating an app within a release cycle is really difficult. A lot of variables - like development, QA, etc., "trying to get that alongside radio" and getting the timing to work - that's tough. In the case of Linkin Park, it worked and helped the band stay fresh - it's a game ("8-Bit Rebellion")...
... but, Welt is currently also focusing a lot of energy on getting artist music into existing apps that are music related.
And, it is even harder for a new artist. Major label artists like Linkin Park - they have a major team, momentum, money, etc. Another idea: what about an app focused on more of an artist scene? that seems more of an allure than one artist. The issue also plays into the behavior of a superfan - does this include deep-diving into an app?
Welt: what makes a great app? Most apps are "doing less than 100,000," (without free/paid breakdown) according to Welt though one executive noted that most of those apps are full of the "usual" things like photos, streams, etc.
Another angle: lots of artist apps don't make sense for typical listening habits. "I'm not buying a-la-carte books anymore, I'm putting them into a reader," and "we have a really narrow lane to play with."
And development cycles: Welt notes that the Linkin Park app "took a really long time," as in, "more than a year".
Also, the iTunes LP...
Welt: they "sell very well," possibly something for more exploration later.
But back to the artist app process... how to simplify? Another exec, "we need a more cookie-cutter approach" to make it easier. And, describing an app to a fan can be difficult.
What about extra content? Another says, "document everything you do," and "get a hi-def camera."
More on the visuals... So many other possibilities. Webisodes is one example (Welt cites Devo). "We're all in the TV business to some degree," Welt notes. Another points to serious engagement potential here.
Kelli Richards, online video is "the MTV of this generation." Another exec, "if there's an arc to the story, that's awesome."
Also, Welt points to cover songs on Youtube. "It used to be a bad thing, we never used to want to start an artist off with a cover," simply because it is about the song and not developing the artist. Now, "fans seriously seem to like it" if you do a good version, and the visual aspect has changed this category tremendously.
Some successful examples:
John Boyle of Hello Music pointed to a bizarre story related to Alien Ant Farm - whose "Smooth Criminal" cover shot them to stardom, but they quickly crashed after that (and also, a bus crash apparently didn't help). But then, there has been a small resurgence on YouTube that really helped the group - then helped to increase plays of the cover on other formats.
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