Written by: Jo Ann L.B. Duggins
Full Name: Mike Masnick
Age:34
Function: CEO, Floor64; Editor, Techdirt
Currently Residing: California
Currently Listening to: Too numerous to mention... some recent ones, though: Amanda Palmer, Jill Sobule, Motoboy, Joe Pug, the Aggrolites, the Slackers
Leader and founder of award winning techblog, Techdirt, Mike Masnick highlights all that is economic, technologic and business oriented, specifically digital content. I discovered him by watching his insightful MidemNet case study of Trent Reznor's business model last year. Initially it was the Trent Reznor portion that attracted me to him, but after becoming an avid reader of Techdirt, I realized this guy knows what he's talking about. I particularly enjoy his pieces on copyrighting issues and also how musicians are starting to connect with their fans on a direct level. The business models are changing in the industry and it's pretty interesting to watch what's happening to record labels nowadays. I thought I'd reach out to Mike to see if he'd grant me an interview...and what do you know....
I recently watched you give a presentation on the music business model of Trent Reznor...how did you choose him as a subject and where did your interest in the music business realm begin?
I've been analyzing and writing about the music business for over a decade at this point, and I'm a huge fan of artists who are embracing opportunities and doing something cool with them. In the last year or so, Reznor began to stand out as a "big name" artist who had done a lot of really interesting things. There have been a few others as well, but consistently Reznor seemed to be pushing the envelope more and more (and doing so successfully).
But in the end, I didn't choose the topic for that presentation. The folks at Midem knew that Reznor had been doing some interesting stuff and asked me to create a presentation about what he'd done, knowing that I'd been following his work closely.
Where do you think the line, if it exists, lies between artistic integrity and commercialization? Doe art transcend the commodity marketplace in the sense that its ultimately about self expression and realization?
I honestly think that's a line that each artist needs to answer for him or her self. I'd feel presumptuous answering it for anyone else.
Have you seen this:
Yes, I've seen it, and written about it (and, most recently, taken lessons from it to do something quite similar ourselves: http://www.techdirt.com/rtb.php And it's not a joke. Josh has done well with it, selling out the lunches quite quickly, and even had someone purchase the $20,000 option. And, having done something similar ourselves, I can say that it's worked well for us, as a blog, as well.
How do you feel the music industry is going to survive itself? or is it?
The industry won't just survive, it'll thrive. Every indication is that the industry itself is doing great. More people than ever before are making music. There are more ways than ever before to distribute and promote music. There are more ways than ever before to monetize music. Recent studies have shown that the overall music ecosystem is growing. The "problem" is that fewer people are buying CDs, but that's not the music industry -- just the CD industry.
It's not a good time to be selling plastic discs. Making music, on the other hand: it's a great time for that.
I want to know how you feel about all this ISP tracking...granted customization is nice but is it too much? Do you feel that some iPhone apps are way out of line with their tracking of individuals?
Again, I think it's up to the individual. I don't like surreptitious or unclear user tracking where users don't recognize what's happening or what sort of privacy they're giving up. But if it's out in the open, and people clearly agree to it, then that's their decision.
How do you feel about paying for news? How do you think this will affect the online presence of periodicals?
I think lots of publications will try, and they'll almost all fail (with a few niche exceptions). All it will really do is widen the playing field for those who offer news for free. There are a bunch of publications salivating over the idea that others are about to lock up their content.
What do you feel will happen with record labels crying over licensing fees correlating to the use of their content in videogames such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band?
I think they'll eventually have to realize that the games have the upper hand here, not the labels. They can withhold their content, but bands that have been included in such games have seen all aspects of their business increase, so bands want to be in those games -- and they don't care so much about the immediate licensing fee, knowing they'll more than make it up on the back end.
How does it feel to be an award winning blogger? What blog, besides your own, do you enjoy the most? The least and why?
Well, it's always nice to have someone appreciate what you do, so we like that. But it doesn't feel like anything else especially. Feels pretty much the same as when I started over a decade ago. I write about what I'm interested in, and that's fun. If people like it, and want to discuss stuff, even better.
There are tons of great blogs out there, hard to narrow it down to just a few. But I think it's good to point out some that I think aren't as well known or recognized: broadbandreports.com is great on broadband/telco related issues, but also cover some music stuff. Techliberation.com has a bunch of policy wonks talking about tech related legal and policy issues. On the music front, Hypebot is fantastic.
Are there other business models you find as innovative as NINs?
There are so many it's hard to know where to start... I liked what Josh Freese did, obviously. I think Amanda Palmer is doing some amazing things. Jill Sobule with her Jill's Next Record experiment was great.
How about them Yankees? You think they will fair well this season?
Heh. Well, good thing I didn't have to answer these questions until so late in the summer. I think they'll definitely make the playoffs... but then it's always a crapshoot. They're really strong all around this year.
For more on the Mike Masnick:
Here is Mike's presentation on the NIN business model:
Back to Life
Full Name: Mike Masnick
Age:34
Function: CEO, Floor64; Editor, Techdirt
Currently Residing: California
Currently Listening to: Too numerous to mention... some recent ones, though: Amanda Palmer, Jill Sobule, Motoboy, Joe Pug, the Aggrolites, the Slackers
Leader and founder of award winning techblog, Techdirt, Mike Masnick highlights all that is economic, technologic and business oriented, specifically digital content. I discovered him by watching his insightful MidemNet case study of Trent Reznor's business model last year. Initially it was the Trent Reznor portion that attracted me to him, but after becoming an avid reader of Techdirt, I realized this guy knows what he's talking about. I particularly enjoy his pieces on copyrighting issues and also how musicians are starting to connect with their fans on a direct level. The business models are changing in the industry and it's pretty interesting to watch what's happening to record labels nowadays. I thought I'd reach out to Mike to see if he'd grant me an interview...and what do you know....
I recently watched you give a presentation on the music business model of Trent Reznor...how did you choose him as a subject and where did your interest in the music business realm begin?
I've been analyzing and writing about the music business for over a decade at this point, and I'm a huge fan of artists who are embracing opportunities and doing something cool with them. In the last year or so, Reznor began to stand out as a "big name" artist who had done a lot of really interesting things. There have been a few others as well, but consistently Reznor seemed to be pushing the envelope more and more (and doing so successfully).
But in the end, I didn't choose the topic for that presentation. The folks at Midem knew that Reznor had been doing some interesting stuff and asked me to create a presentation about what he'd done, knowing that I'd been following his work closely.
Where do you think the line, if it exists, lies between artistic integrity and commercialization? Doe art transcend the commodity marketplace in the sense that its ultimately about self expression and realization?
I honestly think that's a line that each artist needs to answer for him or her self. I'd feel presumptuous answering it for anyone else.
Have you seen this:
Yes, I've seen it, and written about it (and, most recently, taken lessons from it to do something quite similar ourselves: http://www.techdirt.com/rtb.php And it's not a joke. Josh has done well with it, selling out the lunches quite quickly, and even had someone purchase the $20,000 option. And, having done something similar ourselves, I can say that it's worked well for us, as a blog, as well.
How do you feel the music industry is going to survive itself? or is it?
The industry won't just survive, it'll thrive. Every indication is that the industry itself is doing great. More people than ever before are making music. There are more ways than ever before to distribute and promote music. There are more ways than ever before to monetize music. Recent studies have shown that the overall music ecosystem is growing. The "problem" is that fewer people are buying CDs, but that's not the music industry -- just the CD industry.
It's not a good time to be selling plastic discs. Making music, on the other hand: it's a great time for that.
I want to know how you feel about all this ISP tracking...granted customization is nice but is it too much? Do you feel that some iPhone apps are way out of line with their tracking of individuals?
Again, I think it's up to the individual. I don't like surreptitious or unclear user tracking where users don't recognize what's happening or what sort of privacy they're giving up. But if it's out in the open, and people clearly agree to it, then that's their decision.
How do you feel about paying for news? How do you think this will affect the online presence of periodicals?
I think lots of publications will try, and they'll almost all fail (with a few niche exceptions). All it will really do is widen the playing field for those who offer news for free. There are a bunch of publications salivating over the idea that others are about to lock up their content.
What do you feel will happen with record labels crying over licensing fees correlating to the use of their content in videogames such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band?
I think they'll eventually have to realize that the games have the upper hand here, not the labels. They can withhold their content, but bands that have been included in such games have seen all aspects of their business increase, so bands want to be in those games -- and they don't care so much about the immediate licensing fee, knowing they'll more than make it up on the back end.
How does it feel to be an award winning blogger? What blog, besides your own, do you enjoy the most? The least and why?
Well, it's always nice to have someone appreciate what you do, so we like that. But it doesn't feel like anything else especially. Feels pretty much the same as when I started over a decade ago. I write about what I'm interested in, and that's fun. If people like it, and want to discuss stuff, even better.
There are tons of great blogs out there, hard to narrow it down to just a few. But I think it's good to point out some that I think aren't as well known or recognized: broadbandreports.com is great on broadband/telco related issues, but also cover some music stuff. Techliberation.com has a bunch of policy wonks talking about tech related legal and policy issues. On the music front, Hypebot is fantastic.
Are there other business models you find as innovative as NINs?
There are so many it's hard to know where to start... I liked what Josh Freese did, obviously. I think Amanda Palmer is doing some amazing things. Jill Sobule with her Jill's Next Record experiment was great.
How about them Yankees? You think they will fair well this season?
Heh. Well, good thing I didn't have to answer these questions until so late in the summer. I think they'll definitely make the playoffs... but then it's always a crapshoot. They're really strong all around this year.
For more on the Mike Masnick:
Here is Mike's presentation on the NIN business model:
Back to Life