[Music Monday] Taking OpenEMI’s Torch And Taking It Further

On April 22-24, 2012, a conference aptly named Rethink Music was organized by the Berklee College of Music in Boston. They basically brought together professionals from all over the music industry – from media, from the music labels, from artist management, and even from technology companies like Youtube, Rhapsody and Echo Nest (you can look at the whole speaker roster here). But one of the most interesting things announced and discussed at Rethink Music, in my opinion, is OpenEMI.

The basic concept of OpenEMI is to provide access to startups who want to create music applications and services based on EMI’s music library – and if the app is interesting enough, EMI may partner with the startup to develop it further. You can either request for a access to a wide range of songs, or request deeper access to single artists with more audio, video and other content. This developer-friendly system is supported by Echo Nest, the company that also has a wider-range API for music applications that power services like Spotify’s Radio feature.

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[Music Monday] Music Labels, Make Something Simple And Put It On The Web!

As covered by DailySocial a few days ago, Touchten launched a music app in collaboration with Aquarius Musikindo, one of the ‘major independent’ labels (this is the term they use in the industry to note a large music label not affiliated with the Big Four: Sony, Universal Music, Warner Music and EMI). This move deserves applause as it shows that the music labels are willing to try out untested new waters, instead of trying to find a new medium to repeat the old business model of record music and profit by amount of sold copies.

I mean, if we’re going to move on from the issue if piracy, we might as well try something new. The increasing trend of concerts being a major income contributor for musicians has emphasized that the recorded music itself, obtained legally or illegally, is a way to sell a music experience, which in some cases in better enjoyed live.

I think if you checked each person who came to a Katy Perry concert, not all would have bought the original CD – but they definitely have paid full price to buy the concert tickets. Why? Because the concert is an irreplaceable experience, with different meaning to different people. Just like the songs themselves.

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[Music Monday] Mengapa Kita Perlu Peduli dengan Ringback Tones

Bagi sebagian orang di Indonesia, ringback tone (RBT) menjadi sebuah isu kontroversial; membuat marah banyak orang dan memisahkan industri terkait hampir dalam situasi pro – kontra. Tetapi sebelumnya, RBT booming dan menjadi tumpuan dari industri musik (masih sampai sekarang, tergantung Anda bertanya pada siapa). Dan tidak hanya industri musik, pertumbuhan dari pasar RBT menjadikan indikasi pertama bahwa Indonesia, sebagai pasar konten digital, adalah berbeda dengan negara lain dan digerakan oleh aturan yang berbeda.

Saya telah menuliskan tentang bagaimana startup di segmen musik telah ada kurang lebih sejak 6-7 tahun ke belakang, dan saya merasa tulisan ini pas sebagai bagian dari seri yang mendikusikan ringback tone (RBT). RBT menjadi populer di Korea untuk mengantikan nada dering yang membosankan ketika Anda menunggu telepon Anda diangkat, RBT (dikenal juga sebagai ‘color ringback tones’, karena nada ini menambahkan ‘warna’ pada nada sambung Anda), teknologi tersebut akhirnya diterapkan di Indonesia pada tahun 2004 ketika Indosat dan Telkomsel mulai membangun layanan RBT mereka dan menawarkannya pada publik pada tahun yang sama. Perusahaan telekomunikasi mendekati label musik untuk memelihara agar layanan ini tetap menarik; negosiasi mengambil tempat dan kesepakatan bisnis tercipta dimana akhirnya mendefinisikan model bisnis untuk RBT di seluruh industri ke depan.

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[Music Monday] Why You Should Care About Ringback Tones

For many in Indonesia, the ringback tone is somewhat of a controversial issue; drawing the ire of many, and polarizing related industries into an almost “for-and-against” situation. But not too long ago, ringbacktones were the craze of the moment and the darling of the music industry (and remains the darling of the music industry, depending on who you ask). And not only the music industry – the soaring growth of the ringbacktone market was one of the first indications that Indonesia, as a digital content market, is simply different from other countries and plays by different rules.

I have been writing about how music startups have actually been around in Indonesia for the past 6-7 years or so, and I felt it fitting to dedicate the last post in the series to discuss the ringback tone. Popularized in Korea to replace that boring connecting tone when you wait for the person on the other end to pick up your call, ringback tones (also known as ‘color ringback tones’, as they added ‘color’ to your ringback tone), the technology was imported into Indonesia in 2004 when both Indosat and Telkomsel started building their ringback tone services and offered them to the public later that year. The telecommunication companies approached the music labels to obtain attractive content for these services; negotiations took place, and business deals were agreed which were to define the business model for ringback tones across the industry.

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Akazoo Mobile Music Service Will Soon Expand to Southeast Asia, Including Indonesia

We just learned that Akazoo, a mobile music platform, will expand to 12 countries in 2012, including Indonesia. Akazoo is owned by UK-based mobile marketing company, InternetQ and has conquered Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Kenya into its service area during the first quarter of 2012. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are the countries that will be visited by the end of this year. Before, Akazoo was only focusing on European market.

Akazoo is not too well-known here, just like Spotify or Pandora. Even though bringing the buzz word “mobile”, Akazoo’s website is not compatible for mobile browser. I haven’t find any mobile application that supports this service. According to its site, Akazoo received its income based on subscribe scheme, with the lowest fare of EUR9.99 (around Rp 121k ) a month that will the customer 3000 token. We haven’t received how many songs can be downloaded with such amount of token.

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Layanan Musik Mobile Akazoo Segera Ekspansi ke Asia Tenggara, Termasuk Indonesia

Kami mempelajari bahwa Akazoo, yang merupakan suatu platform musik secara mobile, akan melakukan ekspansi ke 12 negara di tahun 2012, termasuk Indonesia. Akazoo dimiliki perusahaan mobile marketing InternetQ yang berbasis di Inggris dan saat ini telah menambah Singapura, Malaysia, Thailand, dan Kenya ke dalam area layanannya selama kuartal pertama 2012. Indonesia, Vietnam, dan Filipina merupakan negara-negara yang akan disambangi hingga akhir tahun ini. Akazoo sebelumnya fokus untuk pasar Eropa.

Akazoo sendiri bisa dibilang kurang dikenal di sini, seperti halnya Spotify ataupun Pandora. Meskipun mengusung kata-kata “mobile”, situs Akazoo sendiri tidak kompatibel dengan mobile browser. Saya juga belum menemukan aplikasi mobile yang mendukung layanan ini. Menurut situsnya, Akazoo sendiri memperoleh pendapatan berdasarkan skema langganan, dengan biaya paling murah EUR9.99 (sekitar 121 ribu Rupiah) per bulan yang mendapatkan 3000 token. Kami belum mendapatkan info berapa banyak lagu bisa diunduh menggunakan token sebanyak itu.

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Nokia Indonesia Dorong Proses Unduh Musik Digital Lewat Nokia Music

Nokia baru saja meluncurkan ponsel kelas menengahnya, Asha 302, beberapa waktu lalu di Jakarta. Meski DailySocial tidak biasanya meliput acara peluncuran gadget, ada yang berbeda dari acara peluncuran kali ini yang berkaitan dengan upaya Nokia untuk memelihara tingkat kepekaan merk mereka serta pasar yang telah dimiliki di Indonesia. Beberapa bagian dari strategi ini telah disebutkan di artikel lain di DailySocial dan walaupun tidak 100% pasti berhasil, Nokia jelas memiliki semua bahan yang diperlukan, tinggal bagaimana mereka menyatukannya dan menerjemahkannya dalam strategi pemasarannya.

Salah satu bagian yang paling signifikan dari strategi Nokia adalah disertakannya Nokia Music di Asha 302. Konsumen yang membeli Asha 302 akan mendapatkan akses selama 6 bulan ke toko musik Nokia, di mana mereka bisa mengunduh sebanyak mungkin lagu yang mereka suka secara gratis dan mendengarkannya kapanpun mereka mau.

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Nokia Indonesia Aggressively Pushing Digital Music Downloads Through Nokia Music

Martin Chirotarrab presenting the Asha 302 — Nokia Indonesia President Director Martin Chirotarrab at the Asha 302 launch

Nokia Indonesia launched its latest mid-range mobile phone, the Asha 302, yesterday in Jakarta. While DailySocial doesn’t normally cover gadget launches, there’s something different about this that relates to how Nokia is trying to maintain mind share as well as market share in Indonesia. Part of the strategy for this product is something that has been mentioned before on DailySocial. It may not be fool proof but Nokia certainly has the right ingredients, it’s just a matter of how the company puts them all together in its marketing push.

One of the most significant part of the puzzle here is the inclusion of Nokia Music Store in the Asha 302. Consumers who buy the 302 get a six month access to the music store in which they can download as many songs as they like for free and listen to them as often as they want.

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[Music Monday] How Going Digital Can Help Music Licensing

Today we’re happy to announce Music Monday, a new column by Ario Tamat about the digital music scene. Ario Tamat had been in the music industry throughout the 2000s, being involved in the now defunct SoundBuzz and later Universal Music, dealing with digital licensing, distribution, as well as ringback tones. Music Monday will appear every week.

Recently, many people have been talking about the so-called “future of music’, on how the music industry and/or the musicians can make money from music. A lot of focus has gone into mobile music offerings, music download services, and the music streaming services much heralded to be the “next big thing”. They’re all basically consumer-facing businesses, where the services – and the music companies partnered with them – attempt to monetize their music library direct to the music-loving consumer.

The music licensing aspect, however, is not talked about much, and even less understood. A music composition (created by a composer) or a music sound recording (recorded and produced by a record label or the artists themselves) can be licensed out to various parties who have corporate uses for the music; the most recognizable being music for television or radio commercials.

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What Lies Ahead for Digital Music Industry in Indonesia

This is a guest post by Ario Tamat. Ario worked in the digital music industry in Indonesia from 2003 to 2010, and currently works in the movie and TV industry in Vietnam. Keep up with him on Twitter at @barijoe or his blog on http://barijoe.wordpress.com

After reading Aulia’s post, I felt that I needed to add to it with some more facts and insight, and throw in my own opinion about the much-discussed yet perceived-as-slow-to-develop state of the music industry’s move to the digital medium in Indonesia.

I have written extensively on where the industry should go – digital or otherwise – and fronted several tough questions around the RBT controversy, so I won’t revisit those issues.

Let’s get through some points in the article first:

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