Seth Gilbert, 09-11-2008
Since being spun off from Clear Channel in 2005, Live Nation’s management has oriented the company toward a path of broad, vertical integration. Instead of being just an event promoter, they’ve aimed to transform from a narrowly focused promotion business to a comprehensive music services company. Non-essential (and non-music) assets have been divested. Ticketing and fan membership services have been acquired. People and assets have been shifted. This week, two more steps were taken toward the fulfillment of those goals.
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Seth Gilbert, 09-9-2008
As unpredictable as Apple can be, the marketing machine in Cupertino is also prone to keeping to a schedule. Since planting a flag claiming Tuesday’s as their own, every one since has been “iTunes Tuesday,” Apple’s branded day for releasing new music. Since 2005, Apple has also kept to a schedule with product upgrades. On either the first Wednesday (2005 and 2007), or the second Tuesday (2006 and this year) in September, new iPod Nano’s are released.
Today, at the much hyped, and wildly anticipated Apple press event in San Francisco – Apple delivered on time. As foreshadowed by early posters, and largely as predicted by the Apple -watching media: Steve Jobs took the stage to reveal slate of evolutionary changes to the iPod lineup.
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Seth Gilbert, 09-2-2008
Apple has as devoted, outspoken, and vigilant a fan base as any tech company. People love the products that come out of Cupertino, and maybe just as much, they love to talk about them. It’s: What they include, what’s inside, what’s missing and what’ll come next. It’s how they look, how they function and how they match up to competition. Apple’s marketing staff, and ring leader Steve Jobs, are not only aware of the phenomenon, they cultivate it. In each of the past two years, Apple’s tempted audiences at their July earnings calls with news of mysterious products shifts. They’ve then scheduled a September reveal.
Since this year’s announcement (“several more wonderful new products to launch in the coming months” was part of the official word), the Applevine has been alive with rumor, gossip and speculation. Crystal ball toting fans have forecast new Macbooks, tea leave readers have seen signs for new iPods. There’s been talk of iTunes subscription services, even a second iPhone.
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Seth Gilbert, 08-21-2008
Apple’s broken sales records in many of their recent quarters including the last but when forecasts were given for the current quarter, Apple was particularly conservative. Citing a “product transition” widely believed to involve Macbook notebooks, the company forecast only a Q4 earnings result of $1 per share on sales of $7.8b. Analysts were looking for $1.24 a share on sales of $8.3b. Midway through the quarter, some analysts are now starting to set out projections that turn Apple’s conservatism upside down.
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Seth Gilbert, 08-7-2008
From market research firms and trade groups, there are so many projections, forecasts and numbers thrown to the airwaves that it can become really difficult to keep track. To ease the burden, we periodically consolidate the info to one report. We’ve done comparative stats that put numbers in a context , and we’ve industry specific data dumps. This latest editionof the occasional "Metue: By The Numbers" report is a buffet from across the media, entertainment and technology sector. There’s a little on publishing, a little on web usage, some gaming data, TV… something for all interests. Metue By the Numbers:
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Seth Gilbert, 08-6-2008
Market research firm NPD Group is known for systematically tracking retail sales. Among other things, they periodically report on gaming and music. This week, the company announced their compiled list of the top five U.S. music retailers for the first half of the year.
Assembled from six months of MusicWatch surveys, the list measures the best selling retail stores in the U.S. across the combined digital and brick & mortar landscape. By methodology, twelve downloaded singles are counted as the equivalent to one CD.
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Seth Gilbert, 07-9-2008
Looking back through centuries of history only a short list of communication technologies have fundamentally changed the way people and societies share information; things like written language, the printing press, the telegraph, the radio, and television. Each, over years of evolution, utterly disrupted existing practices, pushing aside the antiquated and expanding the depth of possibilities. Each, in developmental years, had critics predicting there’d be little long term value. Each also has had champions who eagerly predicted the innovations would drastically reshape the world.
The Internet falls in to the same exclusive club but its functionality and contribution are still evolving. It will take decades before the breadth of its impact and transformative power are fully understood. Still, that won’t stop many from predicting where things will go or how the Internet will continue to shape our world along the way.
Monday, Lehman Brothers took a stab at such a prediction. Citing the disruptive power of the Internet, and its likelihood of changing business economics in the entertainment industry, they downgraded stock ratings on several companies. The recent history of the music industry was cited as one partial justification.
The view seemed extreme. This METUE review takes an in-depth closer look.
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