2009

Social Rocks. Mobility Rolls. Music Trends 2009–2010.

By Ryan Van Etten on 12/31/2009

Pandora is blowing music consumption off the grid. Myriad digital choices are sending audio junkies into sensory overload—music wants to be everywhere. The stage is lit—music has always been social, and the web continues to make it even more so. Communication is on the rise.

Posted in Apps, Editorial, Gaming, iPhone Apps, Music, Music Flux, Popular, Visual | Tagged Activision, Amie Street, analysis, AOL Music, Apps, blip.fm, ccMixter, chart, collaboration, comparison, consumption, Creative Commons, deezer, Delicious, Digidrummer, DJ Hero, DJing, EA Mobile, emusic, Facebook, friends, games, gigzee, Grooveshark, Guitar Rock Tour, Harmonix, Hip Hop All Star, Hype Machine, iheart radio, iLike, Imeem, Indaba Music, indie, influencers, iPhone, iTunes, jamble music mashups, jamendo, jamglue, Lala, last.fm, Looptastic, mashups, mobile, mobile music, mobility, MOG, music gaming, music industry, music sites, musicians, musicovery, MySpace, Napster, networks, NIN, NLog Synth, pandora, predictions, project playlist, PureVolume, recommendation engine, ReverbNation, Rhapsody, rhythm games, Rock Band Network, scratching, Second Life, seeqpod, sensory overload, Sirius, Slacker Radio, social intelligence, social media, social music, songza, SoundCloud, Spotify, stats, streaming, Tap Tap Revenge, Tapulous, The Beatles Rock Band, thesixtyone, tinysong, trends, twisten.fm, ustream, Vevo, video, Virtuoso Piano, visualization, we7, year in review, your friends are your filter, YouTube | 6 Responses

Moodagent iPhone App Plays Music Based On Your Mood.

By Ryan Van Etten on 12/21/2009

Syntonetic has launched Moodagent—a recommendation/playlisting app based on a user’s mood and emotion—for iPhone/iPod Touch. They have a Nokia smartphone version too, dubbed Playlist DJ. Moodagent syncs with an existing music library and users adjust moods with five sliders—sensual, tender, joy, aggressive and tempo.

Posted in Apps, iPhone Apps, Music, News, Nokia Apps, Reviews | Tagged app review, Apps, audio, data, emotion, free, iPhone, iTunes, launch, library, listeners, mobile music, mood, moodagent, music apps, music discovery, Nokia, Playlist DJ, playlists, preview, profiling, recommendation engine, science, social music, syntonetic, technology, tempo, video | 9 Responses

2009 Music Website Heat Map

By Ryan Van Etten on 12/15/2009

Based on estimated traffic data from compete.com, this visualization compares November 2009 website visits for 27 popular, legal, music stream-or-download destinations. The heat map is scaled—larger map areas represent higher website traffic. Green indicates positive growth in 2009. Red indicates negative growth in 2009. Hold your mouse over each section for stats on each site.

Posted in Music, Music Flux, News, Popular, Visual | Tagged Amie Street, AOL Music, Apple, Apps, big media, blip.fm, cloud, comparison, compete, data, deezer, emusic, finetune, Grooveshark, heat map, Hype Machine, iLike, Imeem, infographic, iPhone, iTunes, jamendo, Lala, last.fm, list, mobile, mobility, MOG, music sites, musicovery, MySpace, Napster, pandora, project playlist, PureVolume, Rhapsody, seeqpod, Slacker Radio, social media, social music, songza, Spotify, startups, stats, table, thesixtyone, traffic, trends, visualization, we7, year in review | 10 Responses

VEVO Launch Tonight—Do You Viva or Veto?

By Ryan Van Etten on 12/08/2009

The major labels’ new video site Vevo is due to launch tonight. A potential upside is that Vevo’s backend is powered by Google and YouTube technology, which may make it easier to integrate social features. It might also fuse somehow with the Google music search. The potential downside is that it could be fueled by greed more than music.

Posted in Discussion, Music, Music Flux, News | Tagged Abu Dhabi Media, advertising, CBS Radio, content, deals, EMI, entertainment, Fatboy Slim, Google, last.fm, launch, major labels, media, money, music industry, music sites, partnerships, Sony, streaming, Universal, veto or viva, Vevo, video, YouTube | 7 Responses

Lala, Apple, Mobile Music, and Cloud-Based Streaming

By Ryan Van Etten on 12/07/2009

Tweets about Apple acquiring Lala have been flooding Twitter for 3+ days now. A number of sources have provided news and analysis on the acquisition. Personally I think Apple aims to move iTunes to the web in an effort to control mobile cloud-based music streaming via iPhones and iPods. Mobility is paramount, and I think that buying Lala was a sound move for Apple.

Posted in Editorial, Music, Music Flux, Popular | Tagged access vs. ownership, acquisition, Amie Street, analysis, Apple, cloud, cloud computing, compete, development, digital, Grooveshark, ideas, iPhone, iTunes, Lala, last.fm, libraries, mobile, mobile music, mobility, MOG, music discovery, music industry, music sites, networks, payments, platform, process, reactions, sharing, simplification, social music, Spotify, startups, stats, streaming, tweets, Twitter, UX | 5 Responses

Music Consumption in a 180°—Terry McBride Interviews.

By Ryan Van Etten on 12/01/2009

The interviews below featuring Terry McBride—CEO of Nettwerk—offer terrific insight to the digital era of music. Terry points out that the ways in which we consume music are changing rapidly—largely due to smartphones—and that the “emotional glue” between fans and musicians is the essence of music business.

Posted in Interviews, Music, Music Flux | Tagged access vs. ownership, app stores, Apps, artist labels, behavior, brands, business, cloud, cloud computing, consumers, consumption, content, context, copyright law, culture, digital, direct-to-fan, DIY, entertainment, fans, future, interview, iPhone, kids, marketplace, media, mobile, mobility, music industry, MusicBiz, musicians, Nettwerk, P2P, partnerships, positivity, service, smartphones, social music, streaming, TED, Terry McBride, trends, video, virtuality | 4 Responses