Tag Archives: music

Survey Results

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I collected the survey results to see how potential users view our potential service. This provided us with information that informed the development of our site. The results are  summarised below. So far our total response is 94 though only 32 people have completed the survey. You can find the survey here.

Question 1.1 : Age Group

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Ages vary between 16 to over 30 though, more opinions of teenagers would have given a better balance to the survey. This survey may reflect the opinions of adults.

 

Question 1.2 : Gender

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The balance between men and women is ideal. the survey may reflect unbiased opinions at least from view point of gender. This is useful information as we would like to provide information on the gender mix at events which is useful to party producers but also to users who attend the event, as this sometimes affects the decision to attend, especially for young people. Think Ladies Free Night!

Question 1.3 : What is your country of origin?

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The survey consists of 10 countries. Although those variety will give us international viewpoints, there is no English origin. Although the web site will be implemented in UK, this survey may not reflect the opinions of domestic users, but reflect international views of users living in UK.

 

Question 1.4 : How often do you attend concerts/parties?

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The average times those surveyed attended concerts/parties is 6 or less. The potential users of the site will be those attending parties at least “1 or more times per month”, which is 9 out of 32. although it is assumable almost everyone will listen to some music, attending music events are different from just listening to music.

Question 1.5 : How do you access music? Select all that apply.

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This is a multiple choice question and people could tick boxes more than once. As expected YouTube is used by 1/3 of people. Highlighting the importance of not just music but video. 40% of people use some kind of downloading service which is a mainstream way of accessing to music today. The ability for people to add their YouTube Videos to the site will be useful as well as the ability for them to upload videos directly from their mobile. Though ensuring copyright is adhered too will be problematic.

Question 1.6 : Do you find these services satisfactory?

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It looks like almost all have no problem with the way they access music, there are only two opinions about previous tools. “it doesn’t help me to discover good songs. It only features and advertises popular songs not the music of my taste.” and “can’t download music and always my favourite videos are erased.” Those are also complaints on the inability to customising music by their own taste.  By giving freedom of selection of music taste on miXXerS, we may attract many potential users.

 

Question 1.7 : How do you discover new music? Select all that apply.

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Here we enjoy variety of answers as it is also multiple choices. Finding new music from social media gained 20%, which is comparatively a rather large share of replies. There is enough potential to enlarge this share by creating a useful site. We also can add people answering “By going to concerts operas.” if we succeed to take them to our site by providing enough concert information. Other reply “Blogs” could potentially be included into our site.

Question 1.8 : Do you find these services satisfactory?

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Written answers are “discovering new music is always difficult unless you have friends who knows a lot about the music.” “Because I still find it hard to find out about good new/ unknown artists” and “It would be nice to have a forum that could make new and innovative music more accessible instead of being lost in the clutter”. This sounds like finding new music is not easy since existing media may provide unfiltered information of new songs only. People need to have customized information which our site may provide. It seems that users are also constantly searching for new artists and new music, so being able to more easily have access to this via the miXXers site would be important. Connecting the dots between music and musical events will be an important component for this and so we believe miXXerS is on the right track.

Question 1.9 : Would you consider using a service that combines the following:

Being able to listen to new and existing music online,

Connecting with musicians and DJs and,

Provision of information about their upcoming events,

Connecting with friends and people with similar music/event taste?

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It is nice that almost 80% people agreed to use the service such that our site will provide.

 

 

 

 

Question 1.10 : What features would you suggest for such an online service?

The following are replies.

  1. Real-time
  2. Music-oriented social media, like Instagram as being the picture/photo-oriented one.
  3. Less public social connections but more private social connection
    if my favourite musician will come to my area, I d like to know that asap to get a ticket. Maybe they should send me an email of notification for events in a particular area.
  4. An online community or forum which show the different genres and artistes for ease of searching. The community would give people a stronger reason to stay connected.
  5. Try before you buy
  6. The tracks, live chat with artistes and dJs as well other fans.
  7. Short impression of the atmosphere, artist and their music. In a short film or so, that can experience right away, and get in the mood. And then book with one clic.
  8. music, gossip, promotion
  9. better sound quality, longer duration of watching/listening youtube.
  10. Spotify, Facebook
  11. Unsure. But an ability to pay and receive music instantly or to trial listening before buying would be good.
  12. Isn’t this similar to Soundcloud and Spotify? It does not seem like a new service.
  13. Suggested bands/artists based on your own tastes
  14. User friendly interface, compatibility with other social networking sites.
  15. Suggesting similar artists according to the music gender
  16. Come out with lyrics
  17. Advertise on YouTube, Facebook and in the MV.
  18. The music sound is clear and high quality
  19. Posts on the inspiration behind musical pieces; feature song or artist of the day
  20. Geared towards getting to know the individual behind the music
  21. Music being played on and on with different music generation.
  22. Ability to download

By examining those 22 answers to 6 categories, it is said that there are two major categories people may concern; “social media function” and “music quality”. As for social media function, people needs other factors to their music site such as “more private”. they prefer a friendly site even it is for music. Another aspect, “music quality”  is also important. they concern quality of music when they listen/download. The third popular category “customized music taste” includes “Suggesting similar artists,” “posts on the inspiration behind musical piece” that are not officially provided. Those answers will will influence the future development of our site. The music and social site required now should cover those three factors.

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  • Customized music taste
  • Faster flow of
  • information on musicians
  • Better music quality
  • Social media function
  • Better usability

 

 

 

Based on the results of the survey we will have to continually improve on privacy to ensure the reputation of the site maintains in tack. We will also have to be innovative and explore new ways to integrate the musical experience both online and offline at events, in a genuinely social and integrated and mobile way. We would also like to undertake further research to help us continually improve the service and successfully evolve.

International Music Summit – The Audience, Spotify, Mox, Mixcloud

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At the International Music Summit in 2013 there were some interesting presentations and discussions on some of the ways the models for how we consume music is changing.  I watched this video from the Summit to gain some ideas of how music industry professionals are thinking in this space. In it the presenters talk about how the media industry has been forced to embrace social media and about the desire of fans to interact directly with musicians. They also talk about the way that mobile apps are enhancing the user experience at events including and about the rise of electronic dance music. They also talk about the increase in the use of apps like DJ face for music

-Ted Cohen, EMI Music  “Obviously more and more people want to become DJs… the barriers to entry are getting lower and lower. software is moving from the desktop to mobile”

-Spotify’s Mark Williamson. “22 of the top 100 tracks on Spotify fall under electronic dance music,” 

Music for Partying and Studying?

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Music for Partying and StudyingGiven young people are our chosen demographic focus one suggested feature is advice on what music is useful for studying. However, miXXerS is specifically for people who go to parties. While the idea came up it is quite a divergence from the main aim of the site which targets DJs, party/concert goers and musicians and party producers/promoters. Given we are a team of all students that like music we are getting our music on as we work on this project.

The old-age Question: Do you prefer to have music while you’re working?  Some people, just like myself, most of the time have it on when completing assignments. However like others students either thrive off listening to music while study OR find having music on in the background incredibly distracting.

The timeless debate has been made. Meanwhile, a number of academic studies suggest listening benefits the brain, sleep pattern, the immune system and stress levels. This is extremely true for music lovers. Furthermore, many people, including researchers and scientists have a theory that music without lyrics such as Mosaic is the best music for study. According to research, listening to classical music help students in studying by increasing the concentration, improve the retention and ensuring more successful study. While is not the focus of miXXerS, we’ll turn our music on when we do our miXXers research!

 

 

Social Music Marketing, Brands? Millenials & Digital Natives: miXXerS

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Source: http://thesociallife.org/social-media-marketing-what-does-that-meme/

Source: http://thesociallife.org/social-media-marketing-what-does-that-meme/

In doing my research on business models I found that SoundCloud was working with non music related brands to sponsor musicians on the site and therefore drive participation of DJs, musicians and party/concert producers who are paying customers but also users who come to interact with them and each other. While this could be a business strategy we employ I think there needs to be deeper analysis of this before pursuing.

We are leading with the idea that social music is an aim and in an of itself. Social media can provide musicians with an easier way to land sponsorships and brand partnerships. For example, one celebrity sponsored tweet can generate $2,500 to $8,000. By partnering with DJs and musicians, brands are equipped with an even bigger microphone to reach their customers, in addition to the musician/DJ stamp of approval.

“According to data from William Chipps, author of the IEG Sponsorship report, corporate sponsorship by consumer brands incorporating music into marketing programs was expected to exceed $1.17 billion last year, nearly double what it was six years earlier.” (Panos Panay, CEO of Sonicbids)

Digital Natives and Millennials which are the primary target group for miXXerS (18 – 35 year olds) not only like music but listen to it a lot even if they are not as brand loyal as their parents (WSL Retail) especially since they cannot always afford loyalty and make decisions more based on competing prices.  More brands are turning to emerging artists (not backed by a label, entrepreneurial) who are socially connected online and able to build a loyal fan base through active engagement on social networks. Given Millennials and digital natives are our target audience such a strategy can prove useful.

Attaching an artist to branded content is a sure way to guarantee consumers enjoy and remember their experience, and therefore, the brand…. Their collective reach is incredibly appealing, according to a study from Music Metric. That’s because emerging artists are reaching hundreds of millions of fans who are already engaged and connected with them, and these very fans can activate on behalf of a brand. (Panos Panay, CEO of Sonicbids)

A brands spokesman speaking about the brilliance of their product is not as effective as referent power of someone’s favorite musician or DJ speaking about that product in a favorable light. This relates to the concept of power as influence as well as the extent to which that power is propagated throughout the network through reposts, follows, likes and conversations etc. While miXXerS can potentially enable this we will examine the issues surrounding this before making any such decision and at launch this would not be a part of our business model.

What other Music, DJ, Party sites are out there? (Part 3)

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spotify-comes-to-facebook-pics--f6b33680cc

Source: Mashable

In this third post I continue my research on related or similar sites that exist. One site that is used to promote lesser known musicians is the site bandcamp. Not only can you discover new music but you can also pay the musicians too. The site noted that in 30 days $3.4 million was paid to artists on the site. However, we should look at how other social media sites dedicated to music have come and gone and learn from it. One these is mySpace, while it is still in use, it is not as popular as it was when it first emerged in 2005, helping to launch the career of some artists.

“Mismanagement, a flawed merger, and countless strategic blunders have accelerated Myspace’s fall from being one of the most popular websites on earth—one that promised to redefine music, politics, dating, and pop culture—to an afterthought. But Myspace’s fate may not be an anomaly. It turns out that fast-moving technology, fickle user behavior, and swirling public perception are an extremely volatile mix. Add in the sense of arrogance that comes when hundreds of millions of people around the world are living on your platform, and social networks appear to be a very peculiar business—one in which companies might serially rise, fall, and disappear.”

Felix Gillette, Bloomberg Business

In addition one social media site that more recently went bust in 2014 is Jelli an interactive radio broadcasting service that was launched in 2009 and ended in 2014, when it changed its business platform towards its cloud based sales products for radio stations. Listeners selected songs for a radio station and could vote on songs to determine the playlists of their online streaming stations and participating radio stations. Winning songs were played on the radio, while songs that “Sucked”, were pulled off the air immediately. In a ‘Jelli chat room’ listeners could socialize, request their favorite songs, and organize a community-controlled playlist. The User of the Week award along with an accompanying badge for their profile page could be earned by helping to shape the playlist, and voting. they can request a “sigtone“, or short, 5 second sound clip that is played before one of the most favored tracks is played on the air. Lessons can be learnt from the experience of Jelli in the development of miXXerS.

Party/Concert websites tend to promote their websites independent of music websites. Many also tend to promote not just music events but entertainment more broadly for example Eventim, or Timeout. It also becomes difficult to find lesser known parties in your area that you may want to attend. Furthermore there is not usually a rating system for parties and concerts, reviews usually come web 1.0 sites.

In addition it may be the case that even though you do not usually attend parties and concerts you may want someone to play music at your party but have no idea where to find one that fits your taste or know if they will be good since reviews are not available online. You therefore have to depend on word of mouth.

However, while all of these sites exist they do not integrate DJs and small independent musicians with users particular those who attend concerts and parties. Given live music is still important there is an opportunity to facilitate connections in a very unique way which gives market share to independent artists but not to DJs and enhance the experience of those attending concerts and going to parties. Many of these sites also do not enable deeper social connections with these artists or meaningful rewards and so this is an area than be further explored through miXXerS.

What other Music, DJ, Party sites are out there? (Part 2)

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I did quite a bit more research on what other similar sites exists and so here is follow up review. New-comers to streaming services online include SoundCloud (Musicians) and MixCloud (DJs) which focus on playlists and are popular with users which include DJs. Many of these services have been invested in before they actually started making money. Soundcloud started out with brands like Squarespace, independent artists and others like Maker studios.

SoundCloud also enables non music related brands to help them generate income by sponsoring musicians who can then get more exposure.  Through their On Soundcloud – creator programme. Music is categorised by genre and you can get suggestions of popular music, upload a file and start a new recording. Selections prompt suggestions on who you should follow and you can also follow music that is trending. You can also create groups and become a member of groups of people who enjoy/listen to similar music as well as like new playlists, tracks.

MixCloud lets users login through Facebook. They also enable DJs to participate in DJ competitions online and DJs can promote their content to increase their visibility across Mixcloud and easily reach new audiences. This costs 6.99 pounds per day. They provide a basic free service for all users a premium services for listeners and a pro service for uploaders who are primarily DJs. Similar to the LinkedIn model Mixcloud provides the service for free but is able to generate income through having DJs provide for premium services, targeted campaigns, Custom Digital Solutions (Bespoke apps, web-pages). Like SoundCloud, MixCloud also works with a variety of brands to support branded content.

One example of a DJ social media site is Topdeejays. Topdeejays uses an algorithm that measures overall social media influence by combining Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, SoundCloud, MySpace, Last.fm and YouTube fans, subscribers and followers. It uses a unique measurement – TDJ points to rank artists by popularity.

One site that attempted to turn music lovers into DJs was the site Turntable.com. They existed for only 2 years and closed in 2014. Following the rules of the traditional music industry that went with licensing music was one of the reasons they cited for failure and inability to truly innovate. They also failed to migrate their service to mobile platforms at the key moment that music was increasingly being listened to on mobile rather than desktop. Turntable was best experienced on a desktop computer at a time when the rest of the world was going mobile.  In what they called a virtual club, users could select avatars, listeners could highlight their favorite songs and DJs could upload original tracks to test out on listeners. Casual listeners could explore new genres in a very interactive environment through a chat window. They could also DJ and their fans could reward them with points for buying new avatars.

Plug.dj is trying however to pick up where Turntable left. It  is a real-time social media experience combining music and video discovery in a fun and interactive online environment. Users can choose from an array of avatars including dancing avatars and can create parties with friends and peers around the globe. They can join and create virtual rooms to discover and share music and videos, and communicate with international party-goers using real-time chat translation. Musicians and DJs alike can engage with and attract fans in real-time.

DJ List is another site that exists and says it is the ‘largest directory of DJs of around the world’ though the site is not very interactive. DJs but also labels, clubs/venues and agents can create profiles, specifically for electronic/dance music. Fans, and DJs follow DJs through a music and social media feed of the latest content being generated by DJs online. Information on DJs, promoters, agents, publicists and their events are also made available online and they also all login via Facebook.

Other sites like AliveNetwork allows users to hire DJs but don’t have the social media or music streaming element. Tastebuds.fm lets you connect with new people via music and even find others who would go to a party or concert with you. However, you are unable to chat with musicians or DJs or follow them on the site. It is however integrated with Facebook.

On the other hand  Live Nation Entertainment, revealed that concert attendees use their mobiles heavily for tweeting, texting, Facebook and Twitter, photos while there. More than in previous years. Eventbrite found that electronic dance music, has risen in popularity in part due to the social media savvy of its fanbase. It follows that combining social media in the DJ context can prove very useful.

What other Music, DJ, Party/Concert sites are out there? (Part 1)

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Social networks can create a Supportive Community for musicians as well as for DJs by linking them to music lovers that love to attend concerts as well as parties. While there are an increasing number of sites that provide music streaming services, in a way that connects listeners, sites that provide information on DJs and others that provide information on parties and concerts there is no one site that combines elements of each of these in a socially networked way that can enhance the people and musical connections for each group.

There are an increasing number of social network sites for music fans online. These include streaming services such as Spotify and Deezer and LastFM. According to Nielsen, music streaming increased by 24% from 2012 to 2013, while sales from downloads decreased by 4.6%. While downloads have been steadily decreasing. Streaming lets you listen to hundreds of your favourite songs instantly and legally and you don’t have to download the content. If users do not pay for the service the music is interrupted every now and then with an advert you cannot skip as this is one way in which they generate income. Some incorporate free trials to introduce users to the service. They also provide a personalised “radio station” service and enable the creation of a unique playlist when you search for a song. While there are others these are the most popular ones and music lovers use them to listen to new music discover new music and share their playlists with others. Graphs which make use of the concept of graph theory  are also important to music social media sites. For example, Spotify has introduced the Music Graph which is also integrated with Facebook’s graph too and this is a feature that miXXerS can also explore.

Another is Pandora once popular in the UK but now available in the US, Australia and New Zealand audiences only due to licensing constraints.  Earbits Radio, provides Independent Music with no commercials. Like Pandora it offers handpicked independent music, curated by a team of music experts, and caters particularly to music that is not mainstream. It also enables listeners to connect with bands and introduces elements of game theory with the ability to earn ‘Groovies’.