Two years ago, the online video streaming services competed for volume of titles and over the same potential users. The dinner table discussion over “Netflix vs. Hulu vs. Amazon” focused on which service offered the most shows and best movies for the price point. This year, the conversation has changed as Netflix has publicly shifted the way they’re programming the service. Now with more subscribers than HBO and a successful $100 million original TV series, House of Cards, in their repertoire ($3.6 million per episode), the service has stated that their main competitor is now HBO, not iTunes, Hulu or other internet streaming services. Most recently Netflix allowed 1,800 titles to expire, telling Mashable that it is working towards licensing titles “on an exclusive basis” and that their goal is to be an “expert programmer” and not a “broad distributor.” This strategy paves the way for a future where Netflix can more easily co-exist with other subscription services.
Consumers were hoping an $8/mo subscription could replace their cable bill (just as a $10/month subscription provides them with access to virtually 100% of music available). Unfortunately for consumers, $8/month will always only give us a small subset of premium video content. The dust is starting to settle and each service is presenting its unique value to the viewer in the marketplace. Netflix will increasingly be the place to go for their exclusive series (next up this month: Arrested Development) and for recently released movies — the same value consumers see in HBO. Hulu (owned by the major networks) will be your go-to for network TV series, indie films, classics and documentaries (what Netflix used to be). I’d expect old seasons of TV series to fall off Netflix over time as Hulu increasingly takes over this role in the market. The sports leagues have their own subscription options and many others will enter the market and find their niche. Popular music subscription service, Spotify, will supposedly be entering the video streaming market. Amazon Prime has launched Amazon Studios to start producing original series for release through Amazon Prime.
So just how many of these services would you have to subscribe to in the future to replace your cable TV package? If you’re spending $120 on your cable bill, odds are $50 of that is for your internet and $70 is for your TV package. To replace your TV package you would have to subscribe to 7 or 8 services to match the current amount you spend on TV. If this is the future, then there is room in the market for Hulu to co-exist with Netflix and others, just as cable networks can co-exist and are not necessarily competing for the same viewer. If you’re looking to cut your monthly TV budget and you’re hoping (legal) internet streaming is the solution, then you’ll have to decide what types of movies and shows you’re willing to lose. It will become increasingly clear over the next year which services are right for you as they will inevitably follow the footsteps of TV networks and program their services for a selected viewer demographic rather than the masses.
Five years ago today, we launched this blog to share artist news as we grew our roster of Interactive Marketing campaigns. We quickly evolved The Daily Rind into a vital piece of our corporate content marketing strategy, focusing on client communication, Orchard news, tips for navigating the digital landscape, op-eds on industry topics, and yes, artist news. All of this through the eyes of my very talented co-workers, who we continuously pester for more posts.
In honor of our five year mark, here are some of our favorite Daily Rind moments :
2008
Sharon Jones on Austin City Limits, Grammy Consideration by Tonia Samman
2009
Getting Social: The Orchard is on Facebook! and Let’s Twitter! by James Volpe
2010
Streaming vs P2P (Round #543324): Why Does Spotify Feel So Much Faster? by Nathan Thompson
Honorable mention to a republished Billboard piece: Billboard Op-Ed by Scott Cohen (Our Co-Founder and VP): LESS BEGETS MORE by Scott Cohen
2011
SoundCloud: So…About Just Sending Out That MP3? by Robbie Mackey
Honorable mention for a catchy song and catchy topic: Ai Se Eu Te Pego: When Music + Soccer Collide by Celia Saez
2012
Indie Artist Makes a Killing from Streaming – Yep, You Heard Right. by Chris Duncan (this was reposted by Hypebot)
Honorable mention for being our sixth most read post of all time: The Most Valuable Thing You Don’t Know About YouTube’s Business Model by Doug Shineman
Thank you to all our writers, readers and sharers throughout the years. As always, let us know via comments if there are topics you’d like us to cover in the future.
We all know Spotify. Some of us have used it since launch in 2008, while others in Australia and Germany are still in their first year of streamin’ it up; or perhaps you know it for its long-standing residency in the Long Tail of Music discussion.
Whatever your knowledge of Spotify, it’s not because you’ve seen an informative or emotional TV commercial. This is because Spotify has dedicated its younger years to developing its product and identifying markets to which expansion is essential.
…until now.
In a strategic turn on March 25th, Spotify for the first time ever launched an ad campaign beginning with this (rather intense) commercial:
This video, which aired on NBC’s The Voice last week, is part of a $10 million campaign and will soon be followed by more commercials, like this emotional spot that reminds us of how a single song can often sum up memorable moments in our lives. There is also this spot that makes us remember our youth, cringe at its awkwardness and smirk at its honesty.
Go ahead, watch them all.
Admittedly, I didn’t expect the opening spot to be so heavy — especially coming from the brand whose fonts have included sketch and who has released cute little animated shorts for digital campaigns. I think their print ads capture more of what I see as “the Spotify spirit” and their mantra during this campaign: #formusic.
“For Music” is the answer to the questions that I immediately think of when I see these pictures (see one below). For example, why would anyone voluntarily strip down and expose dance moves like these? It’s all for the music. I get it.
Lest we forget, as this rebrand and “remarket” rolls out, the recent logo redesign that Spotify announced last week is important, too. What is the goal here? Is Spotify trying to reposition itself as a more serious and mature company? Given the emotive ads, corporate logo rebranding and the price tag on this ad campaign, seems like that’s exactly it. More power to you, Spotify.
If you watch MTV’s Washington Heights, you may have heard Royce Da 5’9 in Episode 9 of the new reality teen-drama series now rounding out its first season. Set in the series’ namesake Upper Upper West side slice of Manhattan, the show follows nine youth who each have their own dreams and aspirations after high school, but are bonded together by the neighborhood they call home.
The inclusion of “Count for Nothing” in S1E9 also came with an opportunity to feature it on MTV’s Soundtrack Blog, the network’s new platform created for viewers to connect with the music in the shows they watch. Full tracklistings, links to artist pages, curated spotify playlists, and even free downloads of featured tracks make music discovery an integral part of the user experience surrounding programs even after they have aired.
Hopefully more networks will follow MTV’s lead, providing full immersion into the world of a show and creating something for viewers to continue engaging with long into the future after series end or fads change. Here at The Orchard, we’re proud to be a part of soundtracking that future.
Catch up on Washington Heights, including full episodes, clips, and of course, complete tracklistings for every episode on MTV’s site.
According to the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) Digital Music Report 2013, the music industry’s global revenues increased by 0.3 percent in 2012. Though this may seem negligible, this was the first time that the industry’s global revenues increased since over a decade ago in 1999.
A major contributor to this growth is said to be the burgeoning popularity of subscription-based, music streaming services such as Spotify. Nevertheless, with the growing number of both free and premium users joining these platforms, many critics of this business model as well as rights owners of songs have condemned these services for paying out minimal royalties.
In the midst of these issues, Joey Flores, CEO of Earbits, has found an opportunity in which artists can generate more value for themselves with this new music consumption model. Earbits initially began as an Internet radio platform for SFGate Radio. Artists who were touring in and/or near San Francisco would actually pay the service in exchange for being exposed to fans located in the area. However, through some bouts of trial and error, Flores developed a new foundation for Earbits in which artists receive promotion and fan data in exchange for users being allowed to stream their songs.
Furthermore, there’s another layer to this model, whereby user streams are powered by a point system called “Groovies” (each song costs 10 Groovies to stream), which fans earn in a myriad of ways. These include creating an account on Earbits (500 Groovies), sharing music with friends on Facebook or Twitter (100 Groovies), and Liking an artist’s Facebook page or joining their email list (50 Groovies). Earbits is also planning to attribute points to attending live shows, buying merchandise, as well as joining Google Hangouts with artists. This type of system makes the foundation of payment a matter of social currency as opposed to a monetary one, which is the basis for other streaming services like Spotify, Rdio, and Deezer.
Though Earbits has moved toward the streaming model, it still has radio-style channels on the service that are curated by the team. Users can blend channels together to form their own, but like all Internet radio, it doesn’t allow for the freedom of interactive streaming. However, it costs no Groovies to listen to the channels, which makes it a viable option for those wanting to listen to music but not have to earn any points. It can also be a useful tool to discover music, and then earn/use Groovies to freely listen to the music that you discover and love.
With this innovative model, it appears that both artists and music listeners can benefit. Artists obtain more data on their music listeners as well as drive traffic to their social media outlets, which can lead to listeners spending money on their merchandise. Music listeners consume the music they want by simply engaging with the artist and the artist’s music via social media. Though only time will tell if this model is sustainable, Earbits offers a refreshing, new look on how artists and fans can obtain value from music consumption.
