Video title: Music Tech Investments in 2014/2015 - Midem 2015Music Tech Investments in 2014/2015 - Midem 2015.
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDXIdgLLmIs&list=PL8828QLbgLTrzaGb9NwU_wz6z_kDvEMsS&index=56
The video is a lecture about venture capital investments in music and how various services and business models are seeing their rise thanks to the investors they have attracted. The lecturer is To O’Meara, Editorial director of Strategy Eye, a British business intelligence company, which focuses on startups and venture capital. The information he provides in his lecture is based on statistics the company has been gathering for the past few years and this statistics can help define and predict future investment trends in the music industry.
The interesting thing about the music industry is that it is seeing a lot of changes in the recent years due to the shift in the distribution model. Digital distribution and streaming/subscription services are increasingly gaining popularity and replacing physical retail in the music industry. Many online music startups seek for the investors and investors are interested in funding such projects, despite all the risks, because the industry is in a state of a constant flux and, thus, the returns can be quite lucrative. This is illustrated well by the emergence of many music streaming services, which essentially are all the same, but manage to attract customers and investors anyway. In order to succeed on the market every service comes up with a different distribution model, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. Analyzing these models and determining the reasons for their success or failure is one of the key factors to consider when investing in a music distribution startup.
I have decided to include this video because it provides some insight in how things are happening in the music industry nowadays in terms of money and investments. It was surprising for me to find out that, despite their popularity, online music streaming services are still not able to fully replace the profits physical distribution was providing. So, it seems that although digital music distribution is likely to grow more, it is still not a fully developed distribution model and is, therefore, open for the new ideas, startups and potential revolutions.
The major issue in the industry, which is becoming increasingly pronounced as digital streaming and distribution get more popular, is licensing and copyright. Since I do not deny the possibility of me being involved in music label business, the knowledge of current copyright issues may help me build more successful and profitable relationships with business partners. The video is also quite useful for those who seek funding for their startup, because it presents some examples of successful apps and services, which managed to attract investors and gain popularity.
Video title: Midemlab, Midem Hack Day & Midem Marketing Competition Winners - Midem 2015
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn7ovsqW0xg&index=13&list=PL8828QLbgLTrzaGb9NwU_wz6z_kDvEMsS
The video is about a music startup competition created and funded by Midem in order to provide the emerging companies and aspiring entrepreneurs in the music business a place to showcase their service.
The competition is held in three nominations, which are Music Discovery, Recommendation and Creation, Marketing, Social Engagement and Monetization Solutions and Hardware and the Internet of Things. The application process is quite simple: competitors are required to send their application and then 30 companies are selected to participate in the contest. In the video the winners in all three nominations are announced.
Fusic, an app designed for creating personal covers and music videos has won the Music Discovery, Recommendation and Creation award in 2015. App’s creators position it as a way to get closer to the music people love and also become a part of it by creating a music video or cover for their favorite songs.
Baselet, a wristband for translating the bass and the beats of the music track has won the Hardware and the Internet of Things award. The jury members found it to be and innovative and unusual way to connect more with the music people love and receive a more physical representation of it in addition to the sonic and emotional channels.
The third award in Marketing, Social Engagement and Monetization has been given to Unique Sound, a company that, according to its CEO, has been created in order to provide people with a centralized place to go when searching for a music composer. It works under the same basic principles as other websites for finding a professional online.
I have selected this video because it shows live examples of various music startups succeed in receiving funding for future development of their projects. It is both heartwarming and encouraging to see peoples’ ideas get a push from investors who are interested in changing and disrupting music industry in order to deliver new value to it.
Seeing others and their ideas make it in the music startup business can drive a person to try and come up with something better or absolutely different, but also valuable. This video gives me a certain creative push towards thinking about my own ideas and how would I implement them. It is also a valuable experience to observe a company’s lifecycle as it progresses from an idea to a fully developed successful business.
Video title: Midemlab: Hardware & Internet of Things category - Midem 2015
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQIu01Oq1DY&index=28&list=PL8828QLbgLTrzaGb9NwU_wz6z_kDvEMsS
The video is a presentation of startups in the Midemlabs competition. It consists of ten presenters pitching their innovative products in the Hardware and the Internet of Things nomination. Each presentation consists of two parts, the first is the presenter pitching the product and the second one is the jury asking the presenter questions which help them reveal strong and weak sides of the product, potential issues that may arise in the future, etc. The questions range from a jury member trying to understand how a particular device is going to integrate with different (usually mobile) operating systems to patenting and copyright issues, which are the must to take care of in order for the product not to get copied by cheap manufacturers.
I have chosen this video because I find it useful for many reasons. The first is that there it is a good way to learn how to properly present a new product, possibly unseen before. This is especially difficult because one has to convince the audience that their device is something useful people would want to have and spend their money on.
The second is that by analyzing the presenters’ pitches, it is possible to come up with a viable strategy for presenting my own product in the future, which does not necessarily has to be a hardware device related to the music. Having a general presentation framework to build upon is useful for any marketing pitch.
The third reason I find this video valuable is because of the insights one can get by paying attention to the questions the jury are asking. Since they are people with extensive experience and rich background in the industry, their questions are always very specific and reasonable. The fact that a startup presenter may not know the answers to some of them is, of course, not the reason to abandon the project, but it is important to remember that the tricky questions during the presentation are likely to turn into difficult situations during the manufacturing or development process, so it is always good to be prepared.
All in all, such videos are great for building an understanding of how successful startups are formed and marketed, and also provide a creative push towards generating ideas for my own future business. It is also an opportunity to stay up to date with the most recent and emerging trends in the music industry.
