DMN: Live@Bandwidth (Day 2): Ted’s Talkative Lunch…

August 20, 2010

Live coverage from Bandwidth Music / Technology Conference continues…

Ted Cohen’s Lunch.  Lots of free-form discussion and open dialogue…

Artist development. Does it still exist?  Larry Weintraub, “it just doesn’t exist” in the sense that labels are not able to put huge amounts of money behind specific artists.  Now, the connection between the fan and the band is a greater opportunity, not focused on before.  “Now it’s 101,” before opportunities were squandered.

Retail. Question posted to Jim Donio, head of NARM.  Will physical exist?  Donio says yes, “in some form,” but NARM is attempting to be responsive by being more full service, more encompassing.  Looking at “more of the business spectrum” [this organization has a lot of reinventing to do].

Release cycles? One executive notes that “everything is 24/7,” there really aren’t structured release cycles anymore.

Heard of Acapella Records?  The founder started it in a dorm room in Santa Cruz, former Apple executive, excited at the success of Glee.

Also, most seemed very positive on the Bandwidth format, which is highly collaborative – most “are learning something” though specific takeaways were tough to get.

One Interscope executive noted that certain functions have been “normalized,” like iTunes.

Frentik lead singer – Emily Jaye – discusses having two different pages – one for the band and the other for the artist. People want the artist connection with an individual, not the band as that seems a bit impersonal.

One executive from the San Francisco Symphony (SSO) notes that technology is now engaged so actively – quite exciting how much it’s being used to connect with fans.

Bill Wilson, NARM, “music is becoming like one giant SDK,” also noted the importance of “embracing the chaos.”

Permalink: http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/082010bandwidth5

Posted by Ted • Friday, August 20, 2010 .