Musings of The Brain

» Music & Video Games Share a Special Link

You guys know I love articles about music and video games. Here is another good one. Highlights include the fact that the Smashing Pumpkins are the first artist to release their newest single exclusively on Guitar Hero and this quote below about how people buy music of new bands that they hear in these games.

“Yeah, I’ve bought like three bands’ full libraries and some songs off iTunes after hearing them in-game,” said Brandon West, a high school sophomore from Mechanicsville, Md. “It’s a great way to warm up to play, too.”

Comments (View)

Postcard.fm allows you to send audio postcards to your friends. Just pick a photo, an MP3, and a friend. Enjoy!

Comments (View)

» Another Spin for Vinyl Records

Very cool article about vinyl. Makes me want to go out and by a record player.

Comments (View)

I haven’t done one of these in a while. Here’s thesixtyone.com. I think the concept here is pretty interesting, and if someone explained it to me, I’d like it. But, when you go to the site as a first time user, it’s so overwhelming. Below are my thoughts.

Summary:

thesixtyone is all about music discovery. Using the idea of the “bump,” thesixtyone lets listeners pick their favorite songs on the site. The points get confusing, and I’m not sure if I would spend the time to figure out the site if I weren’t doing a competitive analysis. Nevertheless, it’s a pretty cool idea when you start using it.

Pros:

You get a lot of points and don’t feel like your actions on the site are useless
The radio player is continuous and doesn’t stop when you change pages
The advertisement is not intrusive
Lots and lots of music
Easy to search by genre
Game play is very developed with different levels and achievements to accomplish and receive
Easy registration process

Cons:

Initially overwhelming on the homepage with lots of text, music, columns
No explanation of what a “bump” is when I get to the site although a “bump” is at the center of the site
- Have to take the action to learn what it is
Website is confusing and doesn’t help walk me through how to use it
- The About and FAQ are hard to find also
Points are confusing
- Hard to understand what I get points for
- I can get points for referring people but I can only find this out in the FAQ
The navigation for my profile page is above an advertisement and close to the header of the site
- Makes it hard to find it

Comments (View)

» Music industry wants bigger slice of Guitar Hero, Rock Band pie

The music industry execs are vultures!

Comments (View)

» Dave Matthews Band Saxophonist Dies

Sad news that many of you have probably heard already.

Comments (View)

» Ringback Tones Sales to Triple in Four Years

Interesting article on those songs you hear while you’re on hold.

Comments (View)

» Is the Music Industry Digging Its Own Grave?

Good editorial type article about what’s going on with Pandora, Muxtape, and the music industry in general.

Comments (View)

» Perhaps Pandora Must Be Our Sacrificial Lamb

Without a doubt, you all have seen this news. I think this sucks. What’s funny to me is that record labels are missing the point with Pandora - it’s a way to get people to hear and discover new music.

What’s the problem? If I hear a new artist on Pandora and go out and buy some music, then Pandora has created a valuable service. Record labels should find a way to embrace the internet and not screw it.

I love Pandora. I’d be sad to see it go.

Comments (View)

» Allman Brothers Band sues record group for $13 million

Claiming “digital exploitation,” the Allman Brothers Band is suing UMG in order to raise their cut of digital shares.

Record labels…. ewwwww

Comments (View)