ContentSphere - Music & Media in an Online Culture

[Deutsche Version] Earlier in March, I mentioned Michael Masnick was about to hold a keynote presentation at Leadership Music Digital Summit 2009 in Nashville. He announced to update the case study on Trent Reznor (= Nine Inch Nails) he presented at Midem, which was simply brilliant. So the expectation of extending a presentation of this quality requires full attention.

I was hoping for another video of the presentation, and yes, finally here it is. While the first one ran 15 minutes, the keynote clocks in at almost 30 minutes – and every second is worth it. After Midem’s presentation, one of the main issues many people had was about how Reznor’s business model could not apply to less known artists building upon a much smaller fanbase. Hence, Masnick’s pays tribute to this and takes into account several musicians from different success levels.

No spoilers here, just sit back and watch it. And have some good laughs.

Unfortunately, if you’re a major label’s executive chances are you might not be amused at all.

This video is essential for learning.




Leadership Music Digital Summit 2009
Mike Masnick keynote address, 3/25/09
from Leadership Music Digital Summit on Vimeo

At this year's Midem, Mike Masnick from Techdirt gave a presentation focussed on how Trent Reznor/NIN is doing music business. It is worthwhile watching the video. Masnick's accompanying article can be found here. You will find additional comments there.

Unsurprisingly, there are some issues mentioned which might be familiar if you read my previous articles on here. Discussing the "Ralph Lauren Model" I pointed out how important the added value to a generic content is. Masnick again summarises the five most important facts:

• Motivate consumers by involving them.


• Add real value to generic content.


• Create hype to promote the product in the long run.


• Implement a pricing strategy that makes use of long tail strategy.


• Most importantly: There's a wide variety of strategies to choose from. Be creative.

In case you are reading this within your email feed, the video might be missing. Do yourself a favour and visit my blog to watch it.