Wired Weekend

by Allyeska on flickr

Due to my need to spend a lot of time on public transport over the weekend to see my friends across this lovely city I got enough time to read the key articles in the latest Wired. Awesome as usual but there were a couple that really stood out.

Datascraping
I brought this up with my colleagues a few months back for a pitch. I heard or read it some where and thought how great it would be to use for brands. I highlighted how brands could do deals with the top publishers like MSN, Facebook, Flickr etc whereby users could sign in and OK their images to be utilised. It was to address an emotion for a brand, so it was about making a brand website aggregate all these happy memories. It avoids the problem of privacy laws which the article brings up a lot. Could be an interesting way to gain UGC content quickly and for something specific through quite simple data software.

ARG
I have been in love with this one for a while. Art of the Heist is just pure genius if you ask me. Also I didnt know the amount that was actually include in the Nine Inch Nails launch. It had so many elements that keep people interested and involved. It is also apart of the first to know objective I keep banging on about

Music Industry
But my favorite article cleared up my understanding and interest in the music industry. David Byrne discusses the different models of the music industry and the increase in technology and the lowering of costs of production has just not been picked up by the major labels. I dont think its that bad. I could almost compare it to the advertising industry. Production is cheaper but as an industry we have to move to charging clients for our intellectual property not what we produce. If the music industry take their IP in marketing (which isnt that great) , distribution and more into how to build a brand and future for their artists maybe they might do alright. They will have to get some real expertise in digital... not just from a marketing perspective but also as a distribution model and revenue generator. Surely it is better.... less costs and more revenue if its modeled properly
Im still getting over hearing how EMI paid their scouts for finding talent.... not how much the talent make.... and I will never get over the huge amounts they upfront artists before they make any music. The whole business model is just wrong.

We will see in the future I guess