Upcoming topics in music, copyright & marketing at ContentSphere

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 19:48:00 +0200

Having conceptualised a good part of Berlin music conference all2gethernow's discussion topics (and organised even more), I suddenly find myself with heaps of thoughts and content not published on ContentSphere. Even worse, ContentSphere has been almost plain blank while working on those topics.
It just would be a shame to not make use of it. More than that, these topics are dealing with issues and they are raising questions. I contributed them to a2n because of their relevance in today’s music business.

The abstracts of those topics you will find on a2n’s schedule which is still accessible. The link to each of them I added to the list below. I’m trying to flesh out at least some of them in the near future to give you a bigger picture of what I intended them to be.

As you might have guessed, I was able to witness only very, very few of the events I drafted. But a large number of a2n’s discussions have been streamed, which makes me curiously waiting for the finalised and edited videos. I hope them to be published soon as a part of our documentation, so I can add the actual video of the discussions to my articles.

But – what are those topics and issues I contributed to a2n? Let’s see:

Please don’t get me wrong – the storyline might have been set by me for those panels and workshops. Though, it has been the moderators and speakers who did a brilliant job in breathing life into some sketched out thoughts.

You want to know which ones didn’t make it? Here they are. At least the ones I drafted.

Reforming copyright: Necessity or nonsense?
Collecting societies - foot on the brake or guardian of the Holy Grail?
YouTube - whuzznotup? The Black Screen of Death on behalf of GEMA.
Fail & Success - are traditionel business models the only to survive?
Branded art - when music becomes added value
DIY is a dead end
DIY marketing: The real world
DIY and direct-to-fan marketing - cameo role or serious market factor?
Direct-to-fan marketing
Artists’ perfect 10 in digital distribution - how does the perfect platform look like?
No charts, no breaking - what does it take to become a “breaking artist”?
Workshop: Site design for artists
Fuhgettabout the producer - we can do that ourselves!
Music production on iPhone/iPad? WTF or OMG?
Technology for the masses - does common access increase music quality?
Convergence or transition: About TV, internet & hybrids.
Music collecting: No options to revamp a bad habit beloved?

Why they did they fail? It’s been the usual reasons. Cancellations, invitations not being answered, and most of all - too much content. Some issues were merged and survived, others had to be abandoned. But, you never know… you like some of the ideas and would have loved to see the panel? Please tell me. I’d appreciate it.

Looks like an awful lot of work. Happy to do it. Gonna be fun.

Free Music Archive Hosts all2gethernow Compilation of Creative Commons Music

wolfgang.senges@contentsphere.de (Wolfgang Senges) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 12:37:00 +0200

Recently, I introduced you to all2gethernow’s Creative Commons’ compilation. I told you, we soon would change the main host for the files - due to GEMA (Germany’s collecting society). Hosting the files myself would make my blog a shop - even if the download’s for free. Plus I would have to report the hosting to GEMA, despite the fact it’s all Creative Commons music. It’s crazy but it’s a fact.

And here we are! At the a2n event, I met Jason Sigal. He’s the man behind Free Music Archive. FMA is based on a brilliant idea: archiving free music under making it accessible at a kind of one-stop service. He opened the archive for our compilation of Creative Commons music and invited us to being hosted at Free Music Archive. More than that - he blogged an article featuring all2gethernow. Thank you Jason.

I changed the link to all2gethernow’s Creative Commons music compilation in my post, but here it is once more for direct access at FMA.

Just have a look yourself at the whole thing - currently, there are about 25.000 (!) songs available at FMA. It’s legal, and it’s free. All curated by different people like netlabels of course, Creative Commons, and a whole bunch of others. So you will only find selected content. Music that is worth listening to. There’s charts, information on the artists etc. - it’s beautifully done by people like Jason. Guys who love what they’re doing.

Take your time and enjoy FMA.

ContentSphere - Music & Media in an Online Culture - Interviews

Upcoming topics in music, copyright & marketing at ContentSphere

Free Music Archive Hosts all2gethernow Compilation of Creative Commons Music