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webpod X
see webpodX @ www.webpodX.net
webpodX:
Customized, Proprietary, Multi-Function,
Web-Based Media Player and Digital
Distribution Platform
by Alexander Ackley, R.A./PLAGUE
Director: PLAGUE Creative Network
A proprietary, integrated, personalized
internet platform and consistent branding
experience for streaming web-based
technology - including music, video,
play lists, music downloading and
purchasing, news, podcasts, ring tones,
and merchandizing - featuring a customized
“Corporate Identity skin” in the Premium
version for professional clients.
The webpodX is designed as a refined
web-based data delivery solution for
the professional, and as an option to
the market dominance and crude ‘all-fits-one’
philosophy of technologically inferior,
free-to-download, third-party web-based
media players like Real Player or Windows
Media Player, and generalized web portals
like iTunes, YouTube, and MySpace.
The webpodX eliminates the middleman/
filter/third party device and provides
your business with a direct, specialized,
and aesthetically consistent relationship
with the end consumer. Hundreds of online
music sites, and thousands of internet
radio stations, independent record labels,
and individual band websites – as well as
the big multi-national industry players
and giant retailers – all use ‘third-party
devices/technology interlopers’ like Windows
Media Player, or Real Player, or Music Match,
or WinAmp, or Quick Time, or MySpace, or
YouTube [among the many options] as a
marketing and distribution tool/interface
to interact with their customer base.
This is a misdirected and outdated business
philosophy. These ‘third-party devices/
technology interlopers’ are unnecessary
filters between client and company.
The webpodX is a consistent branding
experience - proprietary to every individual
client - and offers a marketing and
distribution tool with live music, streaming
video, radio, podcasting, merchandising,
chat, news, promotions, and an MP3 jukebox
…any feature desired by the particular client
…where one can listen, view, download and
buy in one click. It transforms any
independent record label, internet radio
station, artist-management firm, or indie
band’s website from a mere storefront
into an entertainment destination and a
profit center.
music’s future?
The music industry, the internet, and
the webpodX - is virally spreading music
the future?
It may indeed be, and nimble small record
labels, internet radio stations, and artist
-management firms revolutionize the music
industry as they find ways to reach more
people via the internet. But the question
facing the music industry has been when will
that future arrive?
With the wide acceptance of broadband
internet connections and the webpodX
the future is now.
The music industry claims that file-
sharing has stabilized thanks to its
lawsuits. The number of music files
freely available online has fallen,
according to IFPI, a record-industry body.
That said, web piracy is rampant,
and physical CD piracy continues to
increase. But big music's attitude
towards the web has changed, too.
Thanks to Apple and its iPod music
players and iTunes download service,
most music executives now believe that
people will pay for legal online music,
and that they will be willing to watch
video content on their computer or
telephone.
The big companies are trying to work out
how they can harness web’s potential.
Consequently, they have to rethink their
traditional business models. In the
physical world, the big companies have
the advantage of scale. In addition to
marketing clout, they own a large back
catalogue of music that can be repeatedly
reissued. They are also bolstered by
music-publishing businesses, which collect
royalties on already published songs used
in recorded music, live performance,films
and advertisements.
And look out for a new revenue-stream:
in a few short years the mobile-phone ring
tone market has grown to one-tenth the size
of the recorded music business.
Historically, the majors have controlled
the physical distribution of music. Yet
that barrier to entry is eroding as more
and more music and video content is
distributed on the web and mobile phones.
Artists and indie record labels can use
the web to bypass the large record firms,
though few have yet done this. The principal
reason most have not is that they need
marketing and promotion, which the majors
dominate, to reach a wide audience. The
majors also have a tight hold on radio -
by far the most effective medium for
promoting new acts.
Could the web - including internet radio
stations, YouTube, MySpace - and the
webpodX challenge this monopoly?
Yes. Independent labels, indie bands,
internet radio stations, and artist-
management firms can use the web and
web-based data delivery instruments
like the webpodX to appeal directly to
customers, bypassing conventional radio,
television and big retailers - all of
which tend to prefer promoting safe,
formulaic acts - offering them a way
to challenge the big firms head on.
[Even in the physical world, the big
firms are struggling to maintain their
traditional market. Supermarkets have
become important outlets, but the likes
of Wal-Mart and Media Markt stock only
a narrow range of CDs, choosing to shift
shelf-space away from music in favor of
higher-margin DVDs and videogames. That
is a symptom of another headache for all
music firms: they face ever more intense
competition from other kinds of
entertainment, especially among the young.
In theory, then, digital technology offers
an escape hatch. With infinite space and
virtually free distribution online,
every track ever recorded can be instantly
available to music fans.]
With the webpodX independent labels,
indie bands, internet radio stations,
and artist-management firms will be
able to compete and thrive in this market.
where did all the good music go?
The major labels have a creative problem.
Between two-thirds and three-quarters of
the drop in sales have nothing to do with
internet piracy. No one knows how much
weight to assign to the explanations:
rising physical CD piracy, shrinking
retail space, competition from other media
…but inferior-quality music doubtless plays
an important part.
Big firms have always relied on small,
independent music firms for much of their
research and development. 65% of the majors'
sales of catalogue albums—music that is at
least 18 months old—comes from artists
originally signed by independents.
In the past, an important part of the
majors 'R&D' strategy was to buy up the
independent firms themselves – and
therefore interesting new artists. But
after years of falling sales and cost
cutting, the majors have little appetite
for acquisitions, and now rely more on
their own efforts.
Technology has made it easy for music firms
to pick people who look good and adjust
the sound they make into something
seemingly acceptable to the lowest-common-
denominator masses - though also
ephemeral. This is killing popular
music’s credibility.
Independent labels are gunning for the
big firms.
For one thing, they are fighting to stop
further consolidation among the majors
because that would make it even harder
for the independents themselves to
compete for shelf space and airplay.
But the small firms are also optimistic
that they can grow at the expense of
their big rivals. The majors are cutting
back in smaller markets and dropping
artists who lack the potential to sell
in lots of countries.
The more the majors scale back, the
more the market opens up for smaller
and medium companies, who are the
natural beneficiaries of the webpodX.
the death of the music video?
This is what MTV becoming a lifestyle
channel has brought about. Increasingly,
music-video channels like MTV have
concentrated on ‘reality’ programming.
The only videos being shown are of the
mass market/teeny-favorites/million-
selling variety – all targeted to the
13-19 year-old demographic, with an eye
to the selling of ring-tones. This is
where the advertising revenues come from.
The dearth of outlets to show video music
from edgier and more challenging artists
has hurt many smaller record companies
and their artists.
The webpodX is the antidote to this crisis.
It allows smaller record labels and indie
bands to create their own music videos and
have an effective, proprietary, web-based
platform to distribute their music and
music videos – a great promotional tool -
and reach a global audience.
in the material world
A revenue sharing deal between video
startup YouTube Inc. and Warner Music
Group Corp. is the first of a spate of
content distribution partnerships between
Web sites and music companies. The
agreement means that millions of YouTube
users can legally watch music videos online.
Negotiations between YouTube and MySpace
and the biggest players in the recording
industry mark a turning point. For years,
music and movie companies were reluctant
to use the Internet to disseminate content
because of the threat of piracy and
copyright infringement. But business
experts say the phenomenon of YouTube
and MySpace — particularly among young
consumers — have forced the labels to
venture online.
The webpodX is the perfect device to
exploit this development and at the
same time provide a consistent and
dedicated branding experience for the
professional – the one major flaw of
third-party web-based media players like
Real Player and Windows Media Player,
and generalized web portals like iTunes,
YouTube, and MySpace.
a new paradigm
Meanwhile, the majors are trying to plot
their move to digital. Making the transition
will be tricky. Bricks-and-mortar music
retailers and music video television need
to be kept happy despite the fact that they
know that online music and video services
threaten to make them obsolete. It is still
unclear what a successful business model
for selling music and showing music videos
online will look like – but a proprietary
marketing and distribution tool like the
webpodX can be integral to the solution.
New distribution systems, like the webpodX
will connect music firms directly with
customers for the first time. They will
also shift the balance of power between
the industry and giant retailers.
But can the webpodX compete with
entrenched, free ‘third-party devices/
technology interlopers’ like Real Player
or MySpace?
This is the niche the webpodX can exploit
and where it can change the music, music
video [and eventually the film] industries
forever. It is a democratizing tool as well
as a ‘dis-intermediary play’. iTunes is
like the corner store where you buy milk
and ice cream, but a customer does not
spend much time there. Real Networks
Rhapsody charges a monthly subscription
in return for unlimited streaming music
and gives descriptions that lead people
to new artists. MySpace is like a
supermarket with thousands of products
on the shelves. YouTube is like a shopping
mall with hundreds of stores vying for the
customer’s pocketbook.
What content provider, band, or music
industry professional would prefer to
have their product listened to or
viewed or purchased on a third-party site
- where the client is bombarded and
distracted with other products and brands
- when they can have a dedicated and
consistent branding experience on their
own website with the webpodX?
This is the difference between selling
your products in a flea market or shopping
mall…and an exclusive flagship store.
Make the choice.
The webpodX is the new paradigm and makes
every music label website, internet radio
station, and independent band website a
consistent branding experience, a marketing
and distribution tool, and a stand-alone
profit and entertainment center.
Functions
webpodX
Customized, Proprietary, Multi-Function,
Web-Based Media Player and Digital
Distribution Platform
A proprietary, integrated, personalized
internet platform and consistent branding
experience for streaming web-based
technology - including music, video, play
lists, music downloading and purchasing,
news, podcasts, ring tones, and
merchandizing - featuring a customized
“Corporate Identity skin” in the Premium
version for professional clients.
The webpodX is a consistent branding
experience - proprietary to every individual
client - and offers a marketing and
distribution tool with live music, streaming
video, radio, podcasting, merchandising, chat,
news, promotions, and an MP3 jukebox…any
feature desired by the particular client
- where one can listen, view, download and
buy in one click. It transforms any
independent record label, internet radio
station, artist-management firm, or
indie band’s website from a mere storefront
into an entertainment destination and a
profit center.
features
-Customized Corporate Identity Skin for a
consistent Branding Experience
-Makes the web site a Destination,
not a Storefront
-A one-stop, one click Shopping, Promotional,
and Listening Solution
-Pop-up or integrated: both options
available
-Morphing functions go into video/pictures/
text/etc…
components
The webpodX - a platform for streaming
technology and digital commerce
-Streaming Radio
-Streaming Video
-Podcasting
-Jukebox/Playlists [for individual artists
or general rosters]
-Listen/Download/Buy [one click]
-MP3, WMA, or CD purchasing
-Subscription Model: [example>10 MP3’s/
month for €/$5.99 – 3 month
minimum subscription]
-Purchase by Mail Order or Digital
Download [both options available]
-News Ticker and Online Message Board
[detailing promotions, releases, concert
schedules, articles, reviews]
-Merchandising
-Concert Tickets
skins
-Free Skins available on webpodX:
Classic, Aqua, Lava
-Premium Clients: Corporate Identity
[CI colors, logos]
details
BUSINESS MODEL:
One-Time payment for webpodX
CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:
-Telltarget [CMS system developed
and provided by telltarget]
-Proprietary
PAYMENT SYSTEMS:
Paypal/Click&Buy/…
Credit Card
Pre-payment
Per Direct Debit
MEMBERSHIP FORM:
Name
Password
Email address
à*CLOSED GROUP MEMBERSHIP
[allows the webpodX to function without
‘gvl gebuehren’ in Germany, and other
European nations]
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