Here Is How Facebook Will Save The Music Industry

Metronome Review

There have always been social networks, but until now there haven’t been any massive ones like Facebook with its 850-million-plus users. This is likely why we’re seeing a ton of new digital music startups that look like they could grow into real businesses, and with the blessing of the labels. Because word of mouth marketing at scale is priceless promotion for record labels.

The idea is that if their music isn’t pushed on people by advertisements or radio Djs, but recommended by their friends or someone who’s taste they trust, a sale is more likely. With the rapid growth of social media enabling real-time sharing of massive amounts of content, the music industry has found it’s holy grail – word of mouth marketing at scale.

Skeptics could easily say “here we go again” because social media driven digital music companies have launched before only to be crippled by label licenses that proved unprofitable for companies that couldn’t compile a very large number of users. We think it’s different this time around.

Imeem and iLike, launched in 2003 and 2006 respectively, were social media music sites that were very similar to those launching today – platforms for listening to music where friends can share playlists and recommendations. However, neither were able to grow very large audiences to support a digital music business at scale. Both sites had trouble surpassing the 15 Million monthly unique visitor mark. When Spiralfrog launched in 2007 it was hailed as a company that had found a way to pay for free music downloading with advertisements. It shut down a couple years later after accumulating a couple million users and way too much debt.  It joined Ruckus, an ad-supported streaming service focused on college students in the digital music graveyard.

The difference this time around is that digital music companies are not bothering to build their own social networks anymore, they are building their businesses on top of the biggest social media site, and soon to be biggest website, ever – Facebook.   With now almost 1 Billion users who spend an average of seven hours per month on the platform, digital music companies can tap into an audience almost 100-times larger than those they could build on their own social networks just a few years ago.

Spotify uses Facebook Connect to enable users to integrate their friends into the service and have recommendations sent to them according to their friends’ listening habits. In addition, the company partnered with brands like Coke in the US to give away thousands of free subscriptions through the brands’ Facebook pages. Deeper integrations are expected.

Competitor Rdio has integrated sharing tools on Facebook and Twitter directly into its playlists and players, which it says has led to increased subscriber growth since its launch in August 2010. Recently the company has hinted at even deeper integration within Facebook in order to attract a more mainstream audience.

Recent entrant, Turntable.FM, only allowed beta users who were invited by their Facebook friends to use the service. It has since become a bit of a darling in the press and even attracted Lady Gaga as an investor.

In fact, Facebook has long been rumored to be launching its own music service in partnership with digital music companies like Spotify and Rdio. In July CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook’s future lies in enabling entrepreneurs to build services on top of the Facebook platform, with music being an important one.

Streaming music is not the only digital music company to leverage social media. Ticketing is a natural fit too as word of mouth is often the driving force behind successful live shows. Startup Ticketfly has raised a total of $15 Million after seeing rapid growth in demand initially. Ticketfly offers ticketing services for venues and bands anchored on social media distribution and marketing.

Many digital music companies are leaving 2011 flush with cash. According to Digital Music News digital music companies raised a whopping $400 Million during the first six months of 2011 with some of the larger rounds going to companies with robust social media features or platforms.

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Eaton Unveils "Things Have Changed" Marketing Campaign at VMworld Highlighting …

RALEIGH, N.C., Aug 29, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation today unveiled its
“Things Have Changed” marketing campaign, an initiative that underscores
the company’s expertise in information technology (IT) and data center
solutions while positioning Eaton as a company that ‘gets IT.’ The new
campaign, launched at VMworld
in Las Vegas, includes advertising, a social media strategy, direct
marketing effort and a revamped website. It allows Eaton to directly
engage with IT professionals and drive new lead generation opportunities
for key Eaton(R) PowerAdvantage(R) resellers.

“Eaton understands the intense demands of the IT community and we want
to introduce more customers to our comprehensive offering of power
management products and services,” said Herve Tardy, vice president and
general manager, Eaton Distributed Power Quality Business Unit. “This
campaign is designed to console the pain points of long hours at the
office while highlighting the intelligence and wit of typical IT
professionals who work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep businesses
operating in a world of constant IT evolution.”

Leading the campaign is a call for entries for the “Space Lift”
sweepstakes in which one company has a chance to win a customized
package of Eaton power management products valued up to $10,000 and a
workspace makeover consisting of an additional $10,000 in prizes, such
as high-definition headphones, touch screen monitor and ergonomic desk
chair. All IT professionals and PowerAdvantage partners are invited to
enter their employers and customers, respectively, in the sweepstakes
through December 1 at
www.SwitchOn.Eaton.com .
If a PowerAdvantage partner nominates a customer who wins the grand
prize, the partner will also win a server start-up kit including Eaton
solutions valued at up to $10,000 and a Falcon gaming computer system
valued at up to $5,000.

VMworld attendees will catch a first look at the new creative aspects of
the Things Have Changed campaign — the loyal desk toys of the IT
manager. Whether it is a finger puppet monster or mini Triceratops, the
campaign will introduce a new perspective on the modern day realities of
IT power management through the voices of these figurines. At VMworld
booth 1246, Eaton will also feature various demonstrations to showcase
its power quality products designed to make IT and data center
professionals more efficient, such as the latest Eaton
5PX uninterruptible power supply (UPS), 9390IT
UPS and Intelligent
Power(R) Software Suite, which is compatible with VMware’s
vSphere(R) 5 application for virtualized environments.

To get the latest news, tips, special offers and interactive features
including a desk-toy caption creator from Eaton’s Things Have Changed
campaign, become a fan on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/SwitchOnEaton ,
and follow the Twitter handle, @SwitchOnEaton.
To learn more about Eaton’s power quality products, visit
www.eaton.com/powerquality .

Eaton’s electrical business is a global leader in power distribution,
power quality, control and automation, power monitoring, and energy
management products and services. Eaton is positioned, through its
Cutler-Hammer(R), Moeller(R), Powerware(R),Holec(R), MEM(R), and Santak(R) global
electrical product series, to answer today’s most critical electrical
power management challenges.

Eaton Corporation is a diversified power management company with 2010
sales of $13.7 billion. Celebrating its 100th anniversary in
2011, Eaton is a global technology leader in electrical components and
systems for power quality, distribution and control; hydraulics
components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment;
aerospace fuel, hydraulics and pneumatic systems for commercial and
military use; and truck and automotive drivetrain and powertrain systems
for performance, fuel economy and safety. Eaton has approximately 73,000
employees and sells products to customers in more than 150 countries.
For more information, visit
www.eaton.com .

SOURCE: Eaton Corporation

        
        Eaton Corporation 
        Mike DeCamp, 919-870-3264
        

Copyright Business Wire 2011

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