SeeqGeist

What we Learned at the SF MusicTech Summit - Notes from the SeeqPod Team

Yesterday, SeeqPod joined hundreds of members of the music and
technology communities at the SanFran MusicTech Summit.

Overall, it was a great day. The discussions were far reaching, touching on issues that both the music and technology industries are facing, or need to face. What is clear, is that everyone wants quality content, to see artists to get paid for their work, and distribution models that meet user’s needs. Technologists can stand to learn from the old school music folks and industry experts, and the music executives are quickly learning that social networks, widgets, search and discovery engines/services, and other enabling technologies are going to change the model forever, and in a positive way.

Here is a shot of Kasian listening to fellow panelists recite Haiku as a means for introducing themselves, per Dave’s instruction.

Photo via Crazywanda on Flickr.

Here are some of the highlights of the day’s discussions; we’ll continue to post updates with additional notes:

“Digital Thought Leaders” Panel

The opening panel featured representatives from Mozilla, Gracenote, andother companies closely involved in shaping the future of music. Much of the discussion was spent identifying the characteristics of a successful music product in the contemporary economy. Some of the characteristics that were mentioned:

*A successful music product should trust consumer preferences (e.g., for online delivery)
*It should be easy-to-use, with the fewest clicks possible to obtain and play (no DRM)
*It should provide continuity of experience, i.e., the playback experience should be identical on mobile and desktop platforms, and
*Users should be able to easily and immediately discover related music and content to hear (read, etc.)
*Users shouldn’t have to spend a lot of time administering their music experience
*It should be easy to find, tagged with sensible and relevant metadata

The Old and The New

Later in the day were two fascinating panels on the role of new technologies in the music industry. The first panel consisted of members of, or people with close ties to the existing (”label”-based) music
industry, notably former Gang of Four bassist Dave Allen (check out his blog Pampelmoose). The second panel was made up of a very different crowd: those associated with the latest in music marketing, a group taking full advantage of contemporary web technology to replace the traditional music marketing and distribution channels wherever they are ineffective at getting
artists paid. Some of the highlights of the discussion (interesting to note the differences in opinion about the role of a label):

From the “Record Labels and New Technologies” Panel:

*Labels need to pay more attention to what artists and consumers really want
*Labels fulfill a marketing/distribution need that artists would rather not focus on
*Discovery and trusted recommendations are important for artists to get heard
*Revenue for labels will not come from media sales
*Music from professional producers (e.g. via a label) is of higher fidelity, and provides a better listening experience

From the “Marketing and Branding in the New Music Economy” Panel

*Effective web marketing by artists and specialized marketing agencies delivers lets of money directly to artists via fan clubs, merchandise
sales, etc.
*Labels sometimes prevent deals that are beneficial to artists because they are not lucrative enough to the label
*Boutique brands and discovery will bring attention to lesser-known artists
*Brand integrity will help maintain the staying power of well-known artists
*Music can be independently produced, then marketed and distributed via innovative internet channels

A quote From Dave Allen is a Point of Unity Among These Two Discussions:

“Bands are not in the CD business, they’re in the t-shirt business… Get into the t-shirt business and attach all that [album sales, tours, etc.] to it.”

For archived video of the summit, see UStream’s SF MusicTech page. During the marketing panel, the term “New Music Economy” was defined by the audience and panel. The definition will appear on Wikipedia, and we’ll post it as soon as it is up (Update: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Music_Economy).

Brian Zisk has done a smashing job organizing the second SF MusicTech Summit , scheduled to take place all day Thursday, May 8th at the Kabuki Hotel . The first one was so well attended—and included rousing banter, great panel discussions, and rewarding lobby socializing—that he had to do it again.

SeeqPod is pleased to be a part of this event, especially since we are acutely aware that San Francisco has been devoid and screaming out for an event like this for some time now. Smaller, locally organized events like SF Music Tech draw a qualified audience of people who are genuinely interested in the topic at hand, and tend to have something valuable to contribute to the conversation.

Here is what we can expect:

On Thursday May 8, the SanFran MusicTech Summit will bring together the best and brightest developers in the Music/Technology Space, along with the musicians, entrepreneurial business people, and organizations who work with them at the convergence of culture and commerce. We will meet to discuss the evolving music/business/technology ecosystem in a proactive, conducive to dealmaking environment.

The SanFran MusicTech Summit will bring together digital thought leaders from the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as from all around the country to the region which currently leads the way in innovating (both socially, and technologically) new ways of interacting with both music, and musicians. We will be working long term to help enable a sustainable, ongoing, Northern California based music and related technology market.

To that end, the discussion that we’ll be a part of at 1:50 PM Thursday, entitled ‘Social Networking Platforms & Music’ in the main presentation room, will address the importance of reaching an audience that is hungry for the content and the tools to help them find it. Widgets and social networks are key enablers in this ecosystem of matching users with content and with other people with the same taste, thereby creating community and surrounding marketplace that is driven by the end-user. This is a win-win for the search engine, technology provider, platform, content creator, promoter, and end-users. It’s about choice, access, and immediacy. We know that our technology is well matched for any type of content, or ‘Playable Search’ so of course it’s a natural fit for audio content to start.

Click here for a full schedule of panels and activities for the day. Let us know if you are planning to attend – email info@seeqpod.com.