Beat-Play Press Machine

Today while perusing my Alltop page, I found a post titled: What will be the successor of the current user profile in online networks? by Eric Mariacher. In the post he stated:

My answer is: I guess LinkedIn is pioneering the "successor of user profile" with 3 specific features:
1. who you know - your network
2. recommendations from current and past colleagues
3. LinkedIn Q&A feature where you can advertize your skills by asking and answering question. from what I understand this is what you call "software usage".

When I read this, I needed to make a comment. LinkedIn is pioneering the successor of the user profile? If that's what pioneering is, then what is Beat-Play? These three features are cool, and very useful from a professional standpoint. They add reasons to have a profile, other than telling everyone that you're at the ski lodge for the week so robbers will have open access to your house.

Adding practical functionality is always good, but these uses alone are not enough. Not only should the profile represent you professionally and personally, but imagine if your profile information was tied to the content you view online, and your web use in general. Imagine if you accessed all of your favorite stored content through your profile. Imagine if you only needed one profile!

The future of profiles online will lie in the browser. It seems like a strange concept at first, but given a closer look, it just seems practical. There's literally millions of websites out there, and every one pretty much does something different, and useful. This goes back to my Toolbox post from last week. We need a place to keep all of these great tools, and the browser is the place to do it.



Browsers like Safari, and now Chrome, are beginning to offer quicker ways to access your favorite sites, by offering a function that shows you screens shots of your favorite websites upon launch, so you can easily 1-click and be off. However this is only a very small way browsers can save us time.

Many websites I use require me to sign up, register, and usually create a profile. For many people, this is a big deterrent from actually using some sites. There have been attempts by companies to create universal profile systems such as Open ID, and many others. However this also requires a person to create a profile, and then not all websites support these forms of identification, or they support one, but not another.

A better solution would be for the browser to house the user's profile information. Think about it. There are about 5 major browsers on the market today. Compared with the number of websites, which is the more universal medium? If even the top 3 browsers had systems to store profile info, the websites would have a much easier time integrating their logins with those browsers. Many websites already make Firefox Add-ons and widgets. It's become extremely easy, especially with the open source browsers, to integrate websites into them. Also, it wouldn't be too hard to sync a user's Twitter, Myspace and/or Facebook profile with a profile stored on a browser - the ultimate solution!

I cannot wait for the day when I go to sign up to a new website and it asks me to agree to the terms, and then I get a little box that says "Syncing to Browser Profile Data." That would sure save me a headache, and it could be an amazing thing for websites as well.

But hey, if the big browsers wait to long, then shit, I'll just have to do it myself. Browsers are for sure the future of profiles, and in my opinion, computing in general, even over OS's, just ask Google.

Written by: Dante Cullari Founder & President Beat-Play, LLC

Whenever I go to a music store or website, I always see Hip hop and Rap in the same section, and many times the terms are used interchangeably.

When you bring up this subject to people, there are many different responses. Most of the time people equate Hip hop to being the older of the two, as the real foundation for the genre. People also say that Hip hop has more of a Jazzy, upbeat feel. Rap, according to most people, is anything made after 1994. Most of what came before is considered Old school hip hop.

Some people say Hip hop is Dead. "Rapper" Nas claimed this a while back. I disagree..and I also don't consider Nas a "Rapper," though he is commonly referred to a one.

You may or may not know but I'm an independent artist myself. I actually happen to be a lyricist that mostly writes hip hop lyrics, but I also do some Rock and R&B. I would never classify myself as a rapper though, simply because of the bad connotations that the word is associated with. When I say connotations, I mean the subject matter that is in the songs.

The REAL difference between the two categories is lyrical content. Rap, I classify, as being a genre that focuses on particular concepts over and over again. The subject matter never really changes very much. It is almost like Rap is a mass produced form of music, and the artistic dynamic to the music is often lost.

However Hip hop on the other hand, which is still very much alive (overshadowed, but alive), has a greater value to the listener. It offers poetic and often insightful lyrics that give you a second reason to want to listen. Take a look at one of my favorite Hip hop lyricists, Emmanuel Jackson in the video below. He's unknown right now, but look out for him in the next couple years. Hip hop will be making a huge comeback. His style is also the closest to my own that I have ever seen and I have tremendous respect for his art.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA8jnNts4ms]

I hope this post cleared this issue up for a lot of people. Rap is a mainstream pop genre that goes through fads faster than an elementary school, and Hip hop is a fundamentally pure art form who's roots are so deep that it will never really die. In fact, I think Rap may be in danger pretty soon, especially with people like Emmanuel Jackson emerging, who happens to feel the exact same way as me on the subject. The REAL difference is all about the REAL.

P.S. I should have a EP out by the end of the year ;)

Written by: Dante Cullari (aka ilL principe) Found and President Beat-Play, LLC

The key to success is knowing something nobody else knows. It seems to me that too many of the people in the web or tech fields are strictly focused on what everybody else does know, and they don't take this information and use it to create the next big evolution, but instead, they try to create something that fits into what everybody else is already talking about, or are focused on at the moment, in order to fit into a perceived market trend.
There also always seems to be much speculation about what the next big trend will will be, but usually we end up being very wrong. For example, many people are betting on the tablet PC to be the next BIG innovation, however, I will suggest something later in this post that could make the tablet PC obsolete, and even if it isn't realized now, the chances are that someone will realize it eventually, and it will then take the place of the tab. I will give you a very recent example of why this issue occurs.

Currently, and widely because of this years CES Convention, the web is buzzing about tablet PC's and iSlate speculation, and eReaders. It seems to me that in both categories, there are many competitors with extremely similar products. At least all of the big brands out there seem to be following a trend. There aren't very many different solutions in terms of features and technologies.

How could they all have come out with similar products at the same time? The future of eReaders and portable PCs is so uncertain.. How could they all have come up with the same answers to the same questions, and especially when there are many different directions left unexplored by any of them?

It seems to me something fishy is going on, like they're all talking to one another.. However, the fishy big companies aren't the only causes of the problem. There just doesn't seem to be any push from new companies to completely out-do their bigger competitors and introduce an innovation that makes their competitor's products obsolete. Maybe it's lack of resources, but I know if I'm a venture capitalist, I'm going to invest in innovation*.

The one hardware example of a new company at least slightly distinguishing themselves from their competitors has to be Plastic Logic with their Que proReader (shown at top) that is designed specifically for business solutions. But as luck would have it, eReaders may be in danger of becoming obsolete all together due to evolving portable PCs that can do almost infinitely more.

I think the winner of this debate for the hardware would be Light Blue Optic's Light Touch 10 inch touchscreen projector; but even this has many problems, or holes, in functionality that could prevent this particular model from going to the next level. Imagine if this product was also a mini PC, but the screen expanded to Microsoft Surface proportions. It could potentially make the Surface obsolete, and in the process maybe the tablet PC as well, due to no limitations on screen size, with much less hardware, therefor less price, and the same capabilities. Why hasn't Light Blue Optics figured this out?

It's the same story with websites and apps. There's about 182,000 (not accurate) music websites out there, all with extremely similar models, and if not, with similar problems. For independent artists, they either charge you too much upfront without you being guaranteed results, or they're free but offer you no way to actually promote your music other than spamming people, or you need to use more than one site because one provides a tool that you need that the other doesn't have, and vice versa. There's many similar problems from a fan's perspective as well. Why can't someone come up with a website that solves ALL of these problems for everybody!?! (Beat-Play)

It seems that even with all of the amazing possibilities that the web is capable of providing, with a market place driven by poor competition, still, nothing is easy.

You might say "But Dante, it's not so easy to innovate in a field these days. Where do you even start?" And I'd say to you "But it really is! And you start with your competitor's products." An innovation doesn't have to be some huge evolutionary leap, like morse code right to Telephone, it just has to solve a problem that is currently put up with by society. Be the person to solve that problem, and your company should be off to a great start.

Try using your competitor's products. Put yourself in the shoes of the consumer. If you don't know what industry to start with, chances are you're a consumer of something..what problems do you face with products? I once saw a great TED Talk by Charles Leadbeater, about the occurrence of innovation. He talked about how the invention of the mountain bike didn't come from the R&D labs of major companies, but they came from the consumers. Avid bikers became fed up with the restrictions placed on them by the big companies, and they began modifying, and eventually selling their modified bikes. The mountain bike industry today accounts for 65% of all bike sales in America

By looking at all of the slate computers, and finding the fundamental problems, creating an alternative to these problems becomes a lot easier, instead of creating something that poses the same problems. It seems that many times the major company's definition of "compete" is to create a product with almost identical features as the other company's products, so when you're in the store staring at both of them on the shelf, you're so confused that hopefully you'll end up picking their product. This is either lunacy, stupidity, or treachery towards the consumers. I have a feeling there's a little bit of all three floating around in this marketplace somewhere.

People only pay attention to the products of existing companies when it comes to hardware. The web is the only medium where mass mainstream media advertising can have absolutely no effect on the success of a website. In other words, a website can completely explode, seemingly overnight, with no TV commercials or billboards up initially whatsoever.

For almost every other major industry, advertising could make or break you, which is why new competitors don't arise very often. But, it turns out that the internet and social-ecommerce could very well offer a solution to this problem as well, especially with the massive networks of people being created by the Web 2.0 revolution. However, how the internet can make advertising obsolete is a subject for another blog.

For now, if you're a consumer who wishes they weren't constrained by company or brand restrictions, then now is the time to do something about it, and come up with the solutions to those problems. You might as well, the big companies aren't going to solve them. The key to success is knowing something nobody else knows...or admits..

Written by: Dante Cullari, Founder & President Beat-Play, LLC

*However it is worth noting that most venture capitalists are probably in their 50's-70's and they've seen so much innovation in their lifetimes, that to them, they kind of have the outlook that enough is enough. They may even resent the fact that the world will continue to advance without them. At least this is my theory. I also happen to think the world would be a much better place if run by intelligent people in their 20's. I should also note that I'm 21 :).

If you spend more than 6 hours daily online then you are addicted to the internet, according to studies done in China. Opinions vary greatly on the subject. Some people don't even believe you can be addicted to the web, or that it is really a bad thing.

It seems to me that a lot of the Chinese studies on the topic may be pretty biased, due to their beliefs about the web and web restrictions. However the fear of web addiction has made it's way over to this side of the world too..but why?

I think the biggest contributor to this kind of thinking in the US and Canada has to do with people believing that getting out and enjoying some old fashion fresh air is a much better way to spend one's time than cooped up in a room on the computer.

For some reason when people talk about this, they always seem to paint the picture of some overweight guy in a dark windowless basement hacking away at his computer with a hot pocket and a Slurpee next to him, like you could turn into him if you spend too many Saturday nights surfing. This is their worst fear.

To the contrary, the web can help you educate yourself about better eating habits, exercises, sports, and other things that can contribute to a healthier life.

It's pretty sad when people (mostly of the older persuasion) misjudge, and underestimate the amazingness of surfing the web.

Sure playing a saturday pickup game is great, and going to a BBQ is a great way to socialize, but honestly, when you consider all of the possible knowledge to be gained on the internet, not to mention all of the real interaction you can have, it doesn't make sense to limit yourself only to your surrounding area.

The web has the ability to open people up to the world. It's like watching a Planet Earth Documentary. It can show you things you would have never in a million years dreamt about, and it can teach you about them. It's the ultimate when it comes to expanding one's horizons.

Sure not everybody uses the web to gain useful knowledge. Some people are addicted to things like online poker, or buying things on ebay, but the potential for the amazing growth of knowledge, and at such high speeds, far over-shadows any negative that could potentially prevent it from occuring.

The internet doesn't shut you out from the world, it simply brings the world to you..pretty much all of it. It takes you places you can't go in real life. A great example would be touring the Pyramids and the Sphinx with infinite resolution on Photosynth. It's literally the next best thing to actually being there. The detail is amazing!

I think as the web ages, and innovation rates increase, we will start to see a change in the mindset of people who believe the web does not enhance our lives. For me, there's never too much. I'd like to see the progress made when everything we do in some way is tied to this vastly powerful matrix of information.

I think it's time we stop focusing on how technology makes people lazy, and start realizing that tremendous amounts of work can get done by simply sitting on the couch with a laptop. Of course, going to the gym every once in a while doesn't hurt either..

Written by: Dante Cullari, Founder & President Beat-Play, LLC

I thought I'd talk a little bit today about song recommendation engines, as far as where we are currently with the technology online, and how it can get any better.

First of all, we've all heard about Pandora's Music Genome Project. They actually have a very dedicated staff that goes through each song for about 10-15 minutes and reports on a list of many different musical variables. The results get fed into the algorithm and BAM, there's your playlist.

Last.fm does something very similar, but they use different variables, and many sites, like thesixtyone.com, use a "similar" function that introduces you to music with similar variables.

So how do you tell which one works the best? You'd almost have to go through and look at the variables they use to tie music together. It would be almost impossible to tell if the site could have played you a better song than the one it did. Streaming music seems to be the way to go, but right now I believe the biggest factor in people's choices between these different websites may be the design appeal and ease of use. That, and the lack of anything better.

There are several problems I see with this picture. Number one is that it never seems like a good idea to use a tool that has no clear distinction between it's competitors. There's gotta be one that's better, but in this case it's too hard to tell, or would take too much effort. This most likely has a lot to do with the fact that these concepts are no new, and no one has really settled on one ultimate solution, yet people do have their favorites of the moment.

That brings me to the second problem with this picture, which is a fundamental one. The current song recommendation engines all use the song's variables to tie the songs together, and then tie you to the songs by entering a song or artist you like. This a pretty cool, but your control over your music ends after you enter your favorite artist or song.

Music is such a social thing. It seems to me that our playlists shouldn't be controlled by similarities between songs, but similarities between people.

There needs to be a system where I can follow people that I share a taste in music with(my friends, favorite band members, ect). Then anything in those people's playlists will get sent to my radio player, at random, or at my control. This not only ensures that you'll hear only the best music, but also it will automatically update you when new songs are out, and it doesn't bind you to one genre, or one sound.

If you're like me you could listen to 4 or 5 different genres, back to back. This system would also allow for filters on things like genres, moods, tags, ect, and could create a much more custom listening experience.

Also for new bands, this would almost take the place of promotion, because it is basically automated word of mouth and is the epitome of viral. With this model, who knows, you could be the one to discover a band for your whole generation.

I don't know about you, but I think that sounds a lot better than trusting variables and algorithms. This model will actually be out soon. It will be included in my website, Beat-Play, coming out in beta this April, 2010. It will be undergoing many changes early on in the beta process, but we hope to get it all fleshed out by June.

When it comes to the internet and all of the crazy, complex, and really cool tools out there, it's best to keep this thought in the back of your mind: "Is this the experience I want?" If the answer is "I don't know", then there's usually a problem somewhere, and also a void waiting to be filled.

For more info about the Beat-Play beta check out the BeatPlay Beta Overview

And to sign up to beta test, visit: http://MusicWithoutLabels.com

Written by: Dante Cullari Founder & President, Beat-Play, LLC

For any independent business owner, even if you're an independent artist, being your own boss is tough. How do you stay on top of everything when you're being pulled in a million different directions? Especially when there's so many different responsibilities to keep track of? Here's a couple tricks I've used to stop my own anxiety.

First, when I felt that the list of things I was in charge of was too big to even remember off hand, I made a spreadsheet. At the top left I wrote "Action Items:" Then below I listed all of the actions I go through(or should) almost daily, such as Blogging, Research, Drafting, Email, ect. Then every day I check off the categories I did and list the specific projects I worked on.

It helps me in a couple of different ways. It lets me know which areas I'm hitting the hardest and which ones need work. It also lets me track how much is actually getting done daily, and it gives me something to be proud of. Also it pushes me to be more productive so I can have the simple joy of checking off those boxes.

There's just one other crucial step in this process: Get a clipboard. For some reason, there's something official about having a clipboard with information regarding the productivity of your business. It is reassuring, and especially when your office is your living room or your basement, and your environment might not be so "official" looking, having something that represents that order to your business is important, and having things organized like that goes a long way for your peace of mind.

One more AWESOME and similar organizational tool for any business owner, that can sky rocket your productivity, is called the Mini Day Method. Check out that blog post for more info, it is REALLY worth looking into.

Today's Advice: Don't stress, buy a clipboard!

Written by: Dante Cullari, Founder & President Beat-Play, LLC

Sounds like not much would get done..but it could be more fun. In today's smart phone social culture, information is more readily available than ever before. As of now, no one really knows the full repercussions of this on our society, but some signs have already begun to pop up.

Probably the most obvious is Mark Zuckerberg who is now 25 going on 26, and was only 20 when he started Facebook in 2004. 6 years later his website has over 350 million members and even old lame people are forced to jump on. Why is this? Because Mark came up with a better way to use the web as a tool to communicate than was previously in place. In my opinion, this could have only come from a younger person.

Being born in 1984, the exact year 29 year old Steve Jobs and Apple Computers launched their most famous product ever, the Macintosh, Mark Zuckerberg had grown up with computers. He was even programming in middle school; something which a decade before would have been reserved for only the most experienced hardware and tech nerds, and something which may not have happened if it wasn't for people like Jobs and Woz.

For my father(58), to have seen the transformation from black & white photos and TV to all of the ridiculous gadgets made available today, like 3d printing and color multi-touch phones, just to have had email would have been sufficient. Email works soo much better than what he was used to growing up, that imagining better is made much harder, and seemingly useless in his eyes.

The bar with the younger generation is being set way higher, and we can expect this trend to continue exponentially. Another point to make is the rate at which change and innovation in business online can occur. Computers and the internet make everything amazingly easier to edit, update, change, delete, recover, and so on. This new medium has the potential to implement changes on a society scale much faster than was ever possible in the past, and increase our societal advancements exponentially as well, to follow along with the trend of doubling microchip capacity every 1-2 years.

Another reason for the breakthrough successes of many younger entrepreneurs may very well be their "naive" outlooks on the world. They seem misaligned with reality's crushing sting and unfazed by thoughts of the many hopeless boundaries awaiting. However they're amazingly successful..how could this be? Check out this excerpt from an AOL Small Business Blog titled A Teen Millionaire's Three Principles to Success

"I’ve been fortunate enough to make my first million before graduating from high school and buy my own house at 20. At 21, I’ve now put away enough in savings and other investments that I could practically retire today . . . if I wanted to. But of course, that’s the last thing on earth I’d want to do. I just enjoy it all too much. Not to say the money isn’t important, but frankly, it’s not why I do what I do. I do it because I love it." - Cameron Johnson

I can hear the passion in his voice just reading his words. Is this naive, or relevant? Actually, the answer to this question is a bit peculiar.

We are in the middle of a strange paradigm shift where the technology created by the older generation has effected society so much, that most of the problems that they faced in the past can be solved by this new technology. This doesn't mean however, that the problems have been solved, because the older generation has somewhat failed, or has been slower to realize, that this is possible. Now though, It does mean that many members of the younger generation are beginning to realize these solutions that the internet and computers provide, and we're beginning to implement them at tremendous paces.

Here's a great analogy:
It's like if the inventor of the light bulb was blind, and couldn't really see the potential for his invention, so it sat idle; until one day another thinker with sight comes along, sees the potential, and installs telephone poles to carry the light around the globe. Now with this first invention of the light bulb, any innovator after will be able to see and work much longer, increasing the productivity for these potentially younger generations, solving potentially many problems at once, that would not have been solved if the potential of the lightbulb had not been realized. It wasn't enough just for the invention to be created, but the potential had to be reached. Younger generations will always find new applications for great inventions. Thomas Edison would have never imagined 3D Imax Movie Projectors, or LEDs.

The internet's progress has almost been put on hold compared to how fast it could be moving, because of the failure of the older generations to realize the true potential of computers, and especially the net. The main problem right now is that all of the best innovators are mostly too young to afford to maintain a start up, and only the most savvy, or lucky ones, actually make it.

This reminds me of a story. I've actually had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Doug Herzog, the President of Viacom. This is the same Doug Herzog who was president of Fox a while back and decided to cancel Family Guy..a mistake which the younger generation would haunt him with until he eventually left a year later. He was also featured in an episode of South Park that wanted to show a picture of the Prophet Muhammad, but Doug decided to censor it, which earned him a place in the show.

We met to discuss my business plan for Beat-Play. (BeatPlay Beta Overview) I won't get into that right now, but one of the first things he told me was that he really had no idea what was going on at MTV on the "ground level." He said he was just "so far separated from it." After explaining my model to him, he couldn't understand how Beat-Play was any different than iTunes. He couldn't see how a completely free website that could solve piracy, promotion, and revenue problems for independent artists all over the world, was different than paying 99 cents for mostly artists heard on the radio. Me being 19 at the time, and him being unwilling to be schooled by a "kid", I thanked Doug for his time, and strolled out.

This was one of the first signs of this "Senior blindness" that I had encountered. The truth is, iTunes doesn't even begin to solve the problems the music business is still plagued with, but I guess being able to download music onto a mobile device you fit in your pocket is far enough away from old 45's and 8-tracks that it's easier to settle for the current circumstances. It may be better than before, but that doesn't make it good! Also, a problem that still occurs to this day is that the problems with the music industry have been around so long that it's not even feasible for many people that they could actually be solved..probably because before the internet, they couldn't be..

This is a great quote from Inc Magazine blog titled A Portfolio of Young Business Owners

"Only five years ago, two enterprising teens might have mowed lawns to earn spending money. Today they can start a company on the Web. That's how it worked for the co-founders of Switchpod, Weina Scott and Jake Fisher. And, oh yeah, they live 1,440 miles apart--she's in Miami, and he's in Rochester, Minnesota."

Now wait until the younger generation reaches the full potential of the internet. Imagine how many other problems will be solved by more efficient organizational structure embedded into our societies.

Dare I say this is the first time in history that the younger generation may actually know better than the ones before it. Well..isn't that what you would hope for? Things have changed..now it's just up to people to realize it.

Written by: Dante Cullari, Founder & President Beat-Play, LLC

Today I ran across an article called “File sharing: Piracy or activism?” by Open Attitude blogger Andrew Currie. This is a legitimate question that we as a community have the responsibility and duty to decide on. The answer however may not be as unreachable as we think. In fact, I will reveal it very soon. The solution comes with a slight shift in the perspective of conventional thinking. The method is to seek out any problems that arise given the circumstances, in order to determine what a successful design should include. The problem here is simple and I think can be best explained by one of the comments that was in response to that blog article, by Reddit user PhastPhoodPhool:

“When you start likening manufactured objects and digitally reproduced data as objects of value, then you have already presented an ethical dilemma. How can you charge full price for something that is free to reproduce? That is why it is so easy to download. It only represents a loss if you otherwise would have realistically paid for whatever you’re downloading. The whole side of the copyright holders is totally impartial to the facts.”

So though this is a serious problem, it can be resolved relatively easily given the circumstances. This is where the shift of perspective comes in. Because it is obvious that no one will pay for something when they don’t have to, and it costs nothing for the provider when we download, we can use these principles to construct a new system that takes advantage of these trends/facts, and provides a model that will allow the content providers to get paid directly, while their beneficiaries (file sharers) enjoy guilt free and unlimited free access to their favorite content, on demand.

The solution is (drum roll) Ad Revenue, but not just any ad revenue. There are still serious problems with the current standard ad models online today, and these problems too have been well established. It is time for a change. The new model must address these problems head on, namely obtrusive, distracting, and misleading ads horribly placed next to the content. The solution…small icons/logos placed strategically within the most popular features of a website. For example imagine the Pandora player without the huge half-page ads, and instead, only with one small coke bottle icon in the top left corner. The ad could even have a feature where if the cursor rolls over it, it expands to a small box to reveal a special offer, and then it collapses again once the cursor rolls away.

The benefits of this may not at first be obvious, but they arise with closer observation. The icons being placed within popular functions, like audio or video players, give the ads more visibility, because the areas housing them will not be avoided. Secondly, the icons actually serve a purpose to the consumer as well, in allowing them to get their favorite content for free. The goal would be for companies to link up directly with the most popular content creators, at a scalable price range dependent on hits, so that eventually those companies develop substantial credibility with an artist’s fans, for sponsoring their potential customer’s favorite content. This could be a smart long-term move for many brands out there in the future. It would also be optimal if the platform which supported this model would take the minimum fixed rate for the services of implementing and placing the ads, and pass on the bulk of the revenue to the true value creators.

This system legitimately fixes the problem of file sharing being detrimental to the artist’s careers and the content’s quality and safety. Instead of an artist releasing their music for sale, it getting sold once before it appears on a torrent site, and the artist losing track of how many times, how and when their fans listen to their music (not to mention money), they can choose to give their music away for free as a full quality secure download, and then can not only track when their song is played or shared, but they can track things like visits to their merchandise store, profile views, video views, live streaming performance views, ect, all closely linked to the music download, and they can record these numbers to negotiate for advertising revenue once a fair peak in popularity is reached. These revenues, in addition to merchandise sales, ticket sales for both on and offline shows, and the possible sale of sample components from an artist’s songs, gives independent artists a whole new batch of revenue streams, waiting to be tapped and exploited.

So you may think that’s it…all problems solved…Well, not yet. The other problem artists will have in order for this system to truly work is promoting their music. How do they distinguish themselves amongst the barrage of artists which consumers will have access to? The answer comes from a bit of creative thinking and information fusion. It’s a mix between a social network and a discovery engine. For those that don’t know, a discovery engine is a tool that finds relative content for a user, based on certain criteria that the user enters, such as tags or blog categories. Good examples in this case would be Pandora and Twitter. Both are discovery engines, and both make their user’s lives easier by (supposedly) bringing the users to the content they want. However, especially with Pandora, these systems can be flawed. Depending on the type of input the user gives, and the way the site processes it, results can vary heavily. For independent artists, the solution must go beyond entering just a favorite artist or a genre. These criteria are far too limiting. Even with Twitter, the results you get are dependent on the people that you follow. You must make sure you follow only people that you feel you can trust for credible content. For music, there must be a system, similar to Twitter, where I can follow people that I share a taste in music with (friends, favorite artists, ect.) and any music that is in their playlists will automatically get sent to my radio player, at random, or to my specifications. I should be able to create different radios and assign different friend’s playlists to each one, assign genre limits on individual playlists, and decide which playlists I want to give priority, and by how much. This takes the concept of song recommendation and uses social influences to filter the content, rather than using the physical properties of the content itself. After all, the content is better defined by its meaning to society, rather than by its physical attributes.

The real beauty in this system is that it saves me from a lot of unnecessary filtering and searching myself. If my best friend liked a song enough to put it in his playlist, then I am certain that I will like it too. Also, if I like a song enough to put it into my playlist, anybody who is following me will automatically get introduced to the song as well. For good music, this makes its spread amazingly automatic and viral. Also I would not be bound to one genre per radio, or one particular sound all together. It allows the variable nature of our lives to be reflected in the radios we listen to. Speaking of which, this system resembles very much the principles of Mother Nature, ie “only the strong survive.” This social spread of the music also mimics the role of bees when pollinating flowers, spreading the lifeblood of the industry to all that will enjoy its fruits. It’s because of these side effects that lead me to make the conclusion that this is simply the best system we could possibly hope for.

One of the most incredible things about the Internet is how easily adaptable it is, and it’s ability to integrate innovations extremely quickly. It will take nothing more to complete the transition than for a website with these features to simply go live and market itself correctly, in order for these changes and benefits to be realized. I am very happy and proud to say now that a website with these systems is going to be in beta very soon. It is called Beat-Play and I am the Founder and President. I’m also 21 years old and a college dropout/independent artist myself; so I have all the proper credentials necessary to really make this thing work, besides an extremely dedicated and inspired staff of trained professionals and some amazingly cool sponsors. Release is scheduled for March/April 2010. It will basically be an empty store when we launch, but we already have the support of over 200 independent artists from all over the world, thanks to our promotional site http://MusicWithoutLabels.com. Anyone can sign up to beta test there, and we will contact you as soon as the beta is live.

These are exciting times for Internet users, and independent artists, like myself. It’s far due time we make our lives easier by building comprehensive tools that solve our biggest problems. Remember, for every problem you see, you’re also staring the solution right in the face, whether you know it or not. With the Internet, we can implement the changes we need with incredible speed. Get ready for an amazing journey towards a better and brighter future; it’s literally just around the corner.

Written by: Dante Cullari – Founder & President Beat-Play, LLC

I recently had a phone conversation with Brian McTear, the Founder and Director of a brand new non-profit called Weathervane Music (http://weathervanemusic.org/projects).

I had heard about them from a friend, and after looking at their website, I was very intrigued, so I decided to contact them. When on the call, Brian and I talked mostly about my business model, Beat-Play, (http://musicwithoutlabels.com) and about some other alternative industry models. After my discussion with Brian, I was still a little curious about his non-profit model. I knew that it has amazing potential, but I needed to know more. I sent Brian an email with some questions...These are his answers:

What is the Weathervane Music Organization? What is the overall Goal of the project?

Weathervane Music is a small nonprofit organization determined to support and promote independent music in our society, and in doing so to bring about career changing opportunity for the sophisticated artists that participate in our programs.

Weathervane hopes also to have an influential role in the emerging new models for the music industry. We’ve pinpointed several details in the traditional industry model that are still essential to future models, but that are less and less supportable in the for-profit industry. These include artist selection, project funding, and artists advocacy (roles once reserved for record labels exclusively in the past). Weathervane’s programs revolve around these details, but since we prioritize the artists’ potential career success, we realize that the content we create must be easily licensable in the for-profit sector while insuring that the artists who make the music retain the majority of the financial benefit from revenues generated by the recordings.

Our first major project is a series of audio and video recordings produced for the web called The Weathervane Music Project Series. The series features a limited number of select artists each year. Weathervane provides recording studio time for the artists, for now to record a single song with a producer and staff. The session is also recorded in high definition video, with a focus on the artists and their vision for the music, while highlighting the technical and creative processes in the studio.

We launched the Project Series in June of 2009, on our website, http://weathervanemusic.org/projects.

Can you tell me what experience you bring to the project?

I’ve been a record producer and engineer for the past 15 years. I work out of Miner Street Recordings, my recording studio in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia where I’ve recorded somewhere in the realm of one hundred records in that time.

Who came up with the idea and where did the name come from?

I came up with the idea for Weathervane back in 2002 with my friend Matt Pond (of the band Matt Pond PA). A year later began developing the idea with my high school friend Bill Robertson.


Why did you see a need for a model like Weathervane?

Over the years I’ve been building a great recording studio, while nurturing my own career as a musician and producer. By the mid 2000’s it just wasn’t adding up. I had more and more critically acclaimed albums under my belt, but artists just weren’t selling records. Obviously we know peer to peer was depleting record sales, but I had a sense, even back then, that the industry wouldn’t last much longer, at least the industry that all of my aspiring artist friends were working so hard for.

It was clear that labels were going to pay less and less money for artists to record, and that soon, there’d be no incentive to support unknown artists. It seemed the only way we as a society would have great new independent music would be if society itself could support unknown artists. Nonprofit seemed the way to go. Of course I had a LOT to learn, because it’s not simple…nothing is.

How many people are currently involved in Weathervane’s operations?

There’s five of us: Myself, and Bill, and then we have a grant writer, a PR/Marketing manager and a web designer.

How old is Weathervane?

The idea goes back to 2002, but Weathervane launched last year in 2009.

What are some struggles Weathervane has had to face in trying to be successful in its goals?

Money. Plain and simple. They say you have to spend money to make money. Well, you have to spend a hell of a lot more money to make money in a nonprofit model.

What are some successes Weathervane has had?

We’re young. I think the Project Series has been a success so far. At the very least it’s a great start, but we have a long way to go. We’ve also been successful in assembling a great board and have had encouraging interest and support from other organizations and corporate sponsors.

How is Weathervane able to support itself while giving such a tremendous value to the artists for free? Who are your biggest contributors?


The project series was funded by a small group of founding financial donors and corporate sponsor who provided recording gear to the sessions. The actual money we’ve raised so far has come from about ten people, but that couldn’t begin to cover the expense of the amazing audio and video technical crew, and professions who donated their time and services.For future Project Series, we’re working on building a membership program that would allow fans of the series and of the organization in general to support the costs (similar to the way Public Radio and TV is supported). We’ll continue to apply for grants from nonprofit and government arts programs, and we’ll continue to grow our corporate sponsorship relationships.

How does an artist get chosen by Weathervane?

The Project Series is a curated program, meaning that each year there are a limited number of available artist slots, and one person, ie. the curator, selects those artists. I functioned as the curator in our first year. Next year, and each year from here forward, a selection committee within Weathervane will select a new curator. That person will have the strongest effect on the shape and feel of the Project Series.

How does Weathervane go about marketing and promoting the artists they select, once they have been professionally recorded and produced?

That’s what we’re working on, and we’ll probably continue to work on forever. Right now we use the free open sources of the web. We are working to collect data about our audience that we can maintain and take with us in the future (this is often referred to as “data portability”, and it’s a concept that anyone building a community with the internet needs to be aware of). For now we are building an email list. Additionally we’re continually building a fanbase through Facebook, twitter, etc.


We’ve had early success with public radio in Philadelphia, particularly WXPN, which is listener supported radio from the University of Pennsylvania. We’ll continue to reach out to public radio as well as traditional print press as well.

What are the plans for the future of Weathervane? Do you wish to expand into other cities eventually?

I guess what people need to understand is that Weathervane features artists from potentially all corners of the earth. Though it takes place in Philadelphia, and though part of our mission is to shine light on the Philadelphia independent music community and its production resources, but it is not exclusive to Philadelphia artists. Our first artist, Sunset, came to Philadelphia from Austin Texas.

What is your view of the future of the music industry? Where do you see it going?

I am not sure how the industry itself will work, but I am sure that successful artists will derive income from a portfolio of revenue sources as opposed to a single source (ie. “record sales” as it once was in the past). Artists will be much more likely to be independent of large organizations, and will maintain their revenue portfolio almost the same way a stock portfolio works in a mutual fund. Long story short: artists will have to be MUCH smarter than they had to be in the past.

I have a strong belief in the efficacy of our model as one of many possible models for bringing music to society and opportunity to artists. There will always be for-profit industry, and we’re not trying to bring down the system. We’re really trying to strengthen it.

My Analysis:

Weathervane Music is a GREAT example of the love, respect, and courage that people have towards music in general. That someone could not want to see the day that independent artists are extinct, so much that they developed a model where society could, through this shared love and respect for music, support all of its growth and development in the most direct and basic ways, is a testament to the spirit of music itself and the impact it has had on nearly every single person on the planet. We must believe in this. I hope to see this model in some shape or form, expand throughout the world.

However, this model does have some hurdles to jump over in order for it to be successful. One of the big ones Brian talked about above was promotion. That seems to be a big toss up no matter who you ask…Unless you ask me. I like to tackle things from a bit of a broader perspective.

For me, the Independent Music Industry is missing 6 Crucial Pieces of the Puzzle in order for it to be successful as a whole, on all levels:

Piece # 1: Cheap, Effective, Wide-Spread, Easily Accessible, Fun & Customizable Promotion

Piece # 2: Multi-Platform, Multi-Revenue-Stream Distribution

Piece # 3: Easy, Independent, Wide-Spread and Cheap Concert Booking

Piece # 4: A Solution to the Piracy/Music Sharing Issue

Piece # 5: An Alternative Investment Source for Independent Artists to get their Music Professionally Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered

Piece # 6: ONE solid artist/fan interface where fans can stay in touch and updated with their favorite artists. (Myspace not so stable?, Facebook not so Music?) More info on why we need this: The Invention of the Toolbox, and How it can Save Music

If we don’t get ALL of these pieces in place, and soon, we will fail. However I don’t think failure is in our future. I’ve actually designed my model around these missing pieces, and it turns out that Beat-Play itself can put into place at least 4, but 5 if necessary, out of the 6 pieces. The only one which Beat-Play can not itself put into place, is number 5. But it turns out that Weathervane Music’s model fits this need fairly suitably. The only thing that could be better would be a non profit that provides free studio recording time and production for ALL independent artists, any time and anywhere, but something tells me that is a long way off. For now, Weathervane music is a great alternative.

The One Suggestion for Weathervane that I would make, as fellow Industry Model Creator, would be to spread slowly to other cities, and eventually have each city's headquarters be focused on the artists in that city. I think lot of people and cities could really use that. This way there would be more artists selected over a greater area and also more funding resources. The organizations impact could increase greatly. But for now, while just in Philly, it does make sense to branch out and allow for artists to come from all over to take part.

Thanks to Brian McTear for this interview and discussion opportunity.

To Donate to Weathervane go to: http://weathervanemusic.org/

To Check out their Artists & Videos go to: http://www.youtube.com/user/WVmusicOrg

To Learn More About Beat-Play go to the BeatPlay Beta Overview.

To Sign up as a BETA TESTER for Beat-Play This April 2010, and to get FREE PROMOTION go to: http://musicwithoutlabels.com

Written by: Dante Cullari - Founder & President, Beat-Play LLC

On December 28th, 2009 Music Without Labels & Beat-Play asked the public (using reddit), “What needs to happen in order for music to become free and the artist still get paid?” This is a very controversial topic right now seeing as piracy is one of the leading issues in the music industry today. Here is what some of the social media world and redditters had to say about this topic:

-Jigsus States:

“Musicans should make money in one way only; Concerts! If a musician writes a song, then he is entitled to be paid if some other band plays it in a concert.”

Musicians will continually reach out for money in other areas rather than limiting their income to shows alone. The artist is always deserving of profit based on the quality and popularity of the music, along with making money from merchandise sales. The artists do not have enough promotion to stay alive without being under a major label. This system can be beaten through modern technology online, where new music is heard at all times based on the interests you have in the music world. The music will be pumped out to new listeners at all times, doing exactly what any musician could ever want to promote their music, while giving them the percentage on music sales that is rightfully deserved.

-Guitarbuddy states:

“Most musicians supplement their music income with teaching and other non-music jobs. I am surprised by how often the ‘music should be free’ crowds rely on corporate products such as cigarettes, junk food, and mass produced beer.”

Artists today do not have an engine or any other outlet that allows them to produce the large amount of publicity found with the record labels. These promotional advantages found with the labels are greatly paid out with a large majority of the income paid back to the label. Therefore, most independent artists do not really excel on sites such as iTunes, barring in mind that they also lack in the fan base to produce a livable income.

-jmnugent states

“We have to break away from this ‘MTV cribs’ culture… The music industry is a victim of the same ‘cancer’ that is affecting lots of other parts of modern culture. We’ve developed this insanely resource-hungry ‘middle-structure’ that is greedy and unnecessary.”

The lavish life-styles expected are still foreseeable in a business model such as the one discussed above. The only difference is that the fans themselves finally determine the outcome of the artists’ success, rather than who is under the best label with the largest contracts. This way we won’t be forced to see the same musicians all the time when there is always an influx of extremely talented artists out there at all times, waiting to be heard.

-beefjerkier states:

“There needs to be an increase in the cost of online advertising.”

I believe the cost will go up with perceived value of a product (artist popularity). There also needs to be a system set up where artists have multiple ad streams, for example; they can track the visits to their profile, video plays, radio plays, blog views, ect… These all can be tied to a specific ad model, while being factored in with shows (which artists can begin to charge for tickets to online streams) and merchandise.

The push to create a model for music to become free and the artists to continue to make money is very popular right now. Here at Music Without Labels & Beat-Play LLC, we have the answers to the Music Industry problems today, and we are coming to you with the first online engine for independent musicians of its kind.

Written By: Mark G. Valente | Director of Operations | Music Without Labels & Beat-Play LLC

Google’s approach at creating a better online social strategy is creative with the notion that they will nowuse all the data gathered from individuals such as, the things you like, the people you talk to the most, and most other online habits, to constantly connect an online community in a much larger scale with a greater impact on finding information. With this technology people will soon have the ability to remove the idea of having to search for information. Everything you could ever be interested in will now come to you based on your past. (Sounding more like ‘real-life’ online)

When someone writes a blog or article, they are asked to add tags to the page that best describes that specific article when people are searching. This idea of tagging is not yet obsolete, but more one sided in the case that only the article is tagged itself. Why not the individual as well? When signing up for a specific social network the user could then be asked to provide a certain number of tags they would use to describe their interests.

With this strategy, the individual can now be connected to the things he/she is looking for without the searching aspect involved. Constant media, news, and peoples will be connected to you with similar tags, enabling you to see new information all the time while meeting new people with similar interests to your own. This idea takes the large but very small social Internet and gives it the power to develop into the main global source for learning and sharing information.

Google is on the right track with harnessing the data gathered by their users to make a more personalized online experience, minus the underlying problem with telling people that you are keeping record of what they are doing. Once this becomes more apparent to the public, you will see a rise in concern. Personalized tagging is safer for the user to connect with people of similar interests while keeping the privacy of what they are viewing online.

Written By: Mark G. Valente | Director of Operations | Music Without Labels & Beat-Play LLC

What came first, the toolbox or the tool? This is not a trick question, it's obviously the tool, and we have proof. However, with the emergence of more tools, and more applications for these tools, it became apparent that another tool, a tool's tool, was needed: the Toolbox.

It is no different for the current state of the music industry and all of it's awesome web tools. I see the future of music going in one distinct direction in order for it to flourish the way it naturally should. It may sound cliche, but the only way true, good music(like the old days) will live on, is if the surviving community of great music decides to unite as one. This may sound like an empty gesture, but with today's standards, uniting is as easy as selecting and supporting ONE universal music social network online. It's almost as simple as a mouse click these days to organize collectively toward a common goal.

Once a single platform is established, the possibilities for collaboration and integration of all of the awesome sites and tools that are out there are opened up increasingly, and can benefit the users way more than the current set up. Third party apps can be integrated with the social network to expand the capabilities of the site and its users.

Also, a huge part of this platform should include an effective ad model, that is unobtrusive and that sponsors the content. Artists can track ALL of their plays, vid views, profile views, merchandise page views, shares, ect, and if they give their music away for free, they could then gain ad revenues based on popularity. The downloads on this network would also be very safe, putting an end to crashing computers and lawsuits.

Bands could be able to perform live streaming concerts and sell tickets on this platform, as well as their merchandise, and they can have their updates sent directly to their fan’s profiles. Band members could even eventually practice with each other from across the world if this system is created, leaving even the opportunity for new bands to form, where it would have been impossible before.

Having one music platform would open up the doors to a more efficient way of artist promotion as well. There could be a system where users follow people they share a taste in music with, and then the user's radio pulls songs from their friend's playlists when they press play. There could be many ways for users to control this. What this really means is the best free promotion an artist could get (and currently can't). For example, if my friend likes a song enough to playlist it, then it will get sent to me, and if I like it enough to playlist it, it gets sent to everyone who's following me, creating an automated word of mouth system that makes the music itself completely viral, as long as it's good.

There's currently no term for this, but it can be described almost as a 2-way status update, where a user not only receives the content, but passes on the content that they like. This amazingly simple, but innovative system. will have incredible implications, not just for the promotion of music, but eventually for any product.

Basically, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t have ONE platform online for music, and a million and one reasons why we should. It doesn't mean the end of all of the current music sites, it would just mean the integration of them all together, performing the role of a toolbox for all of the cool web tools out there. Imagine, before tool boxes, people only had access to a limited amount of tools at a given time; but with the toolbox, the options became almost limitless, given the tools. I see the future of this spreading generously throughout many facets of our lives.

Also in the future, along these same lines, could eventually be mobile hardware, as well as mobile apps that are universally accepted for music distribution. Then, of course, I hope we would do the same thing for TV and Movies, which would be to essentially free the industries, in almost every sense of the term. This system is inevitable and I am certain it will happen in this decade, just as sure as the invention of the toolbox was after the introduction of numerous tools. Organization is key!

Written by: Dante Cullari, Founder & President, Beat-Play, LLC

We will soon be releasing the Beat-Play beta version to independent artists and fans everywhere. They will be among the first to EVER use this revolutionary new technology designed to completely break independent artists free from the plagues of the current music industry. The beta will include the following:

The Audio Component Auction -

This tool is designed to provide a fair and efficient way for artists to sell licenses of their work without paying for anything upfront. The auction creates an environment that will reveal the true value of the music, and will also be competitive. This makes the best situation for both artists and consumers.

The Music Social Network -

Beat-Play allows users to have their own profile and control panel to keep track of all of their favorite music and share it with friends. Beat-Play will soon become the ultimate music social network with the addition of the viral radio, where users will follow other users with similar tastes in music and anything in a user's playlist will automatically get sent to their follower's radios, at random, or by a user's control. This creates a situation where if the music is good, it will spread extremely fast through a network of playlists all connected by users with common interests.

The 3D Music Store -

This section intends to recreate the experience of browsing through a real music store. Users will be able to choose from a selection of avatars to navigate around within this 3D virtual store, full of racks of music able to be previewed and purchased effortlessly.

Credit System -

Beat-Play will use a currency system of credits, which can be added to a user's account using a credit or debit card. Users cannot purchase anything without adding credits to their account. This is to save users on transaction fees that Beat-Play would have to charge every time a user makes a purchase with their card. Once the credits are transferred into an account, the user can make purchases without entering any additional information or getting extra charges per each of their purchases. Just another way Beat-Play saves the users money.

Beat-Play Beta Promotions to Get Involved In:

Vibe-rater Widget -

The Vibe-rater is a widget consisting of a selection of "vibes" which are actually playlists related to a particular mood or vibe. A user will select their vibe and each song in that playlist will then be displayed and can be rated, with links back to the artist's information. The Widget is viral and embeddable on many different social networks and blogs. The Vibe-rater will not exclude any genres and can therefore be very effective at introducing people to types of music that they don't normally listen to. It will also be linked to a user's Beat-Play profile. The music selected for the Vibe-rater playlists will be among the best on Beat-Play, and it will be rotated monthly.

To start, the music will be selected by a group within the Beat-Play team, but in the future, amendments will be made to let the users decide what music goes best with each vibe, and we will also accept suggestions for new vibes. The Vibe-rater will undergo many additions and enhancements, as Beat-Play does the same, such as getting users engaged and involved in sharing the widget between friends and giving them incentive to do so using things like personalized "vibes."

What is Beat-Play?:

It's like iTunes without paying

It's like iTunes for independent artists

It's like Pandora but with your friend's playlists

It's like Pandora without obtrusive ads

It's like Ebay for music

It's like FYE but online

It's like Virgin without the long lines

It's like TheSixtyOne.com - the games, + way more functionality

It's like SoundClick.com plus innovative free promotion

It's like SoundClick.com without the fees

It's like Facebook for All of Music

It's like your dream, but it's reality...your reality.

It's the Revolution!

It only make sense that with the floods of content floating out there waiting to be surfed, there would be some better tools put in place for finding and organizing the content that interests you the most.

So how is content found today? I think it would be safe to assume that Google is the number 1 way people currently find content on the web that they're looking for specifically. It works great. It will show me any content or any websites that even contain the keywords I'm looking for, but when it comes to using the search results for a specific function, Google isn't always so specific. In other words, there's many things Google can't/doesn't do.

Say I want to find some good new songs on my favorite music website. Since I obviously don't know specifics about the actual content I'm looking for, I should stick to generalities, and things that I know I will like, but while still being as specific as possible(because I'm picky). I should be able to select genre/s, mood/s, and type in keywords in order to find the music I'm looking for. However the problem I may have here is that the website I search in might only search the keywords from a tag database of content on that website. That is really limiting.

For example, if I do a search for the word "Peace" it should show me not only every song that has Peace as a tag, or in the title, but it should search other data that may have a relationship to songs, like a song's lyrics that can be found on a totally separate webpage. These links between content that is the same, and that can provide more info about a specific topic or piece of content, should be tied together, regardless of website integration, in order to deliver better search results. It's kinda like a google search where the whole web is being searched, but with predefined filters, in this case, on type of content, artists that appear on that website, genre, mood and keywords/tags.

Essentially this is an advanced search performed from the site of interest, that offers a far more practical way of using the google search method, to meet a specific need like finding great new bands(that I like).

I call this linking of data with similar source material and using it to perform a specific function within an application, Metagration. Taking meta information and integrating it across unnecessary(but currently present) web boundaries is the key to relevant and successful searches. Connections between content should be made automatically in this way.

This may involve eventually classifying content as a specific type or kind of content. For example, there could be a song and a movie with the same name, and they also may both have some keywords in common, but they may be completely unrelated. This would be inconsequential if the title of the song on say the lyrics page could be "classified" somehow as a Song, so that when searched, the classification for this title will be taken into account as well.

A reorganization of the web like this is not easy however, since the question arises, who will implement these changes? There's no web maintenance crews to come and upkeep the infrastructure, like with state highways, or an elected group of officials in charge of looking out for the best interests of the web..but maybe there should be..

All I know is that this kind of organization and integration could really benefit a lot of people in a number of different applications, and it's obviously already been discovered(I'm sure I'm not the only one too), so I predict we will see this shift in the near future of the web. And if no one else does it..shit I will..because it has to happen sometime. What good is the web as a tool if it could be better, but isn't? Take Down Those Walls!

Written by: Dante Cullari, Founder & President, Beat-Play, LLC

Written by: Dante Cullari - Founder and President Beat-Play, LLC

Web 2.0... What really is it? There are many answers, and also still

Today I ran across an article called “File sharing: Piracy or activism?” by Open Attitude blogger Andrew Currie. This is a legitimate question that we as a community have the responsibility and duty to decide on. The answer however may not be as unreachable as we think. The solution comes with a slight shift in the perspective of conventional thinking. The method is to seek out any problems that arise given the circumstances, in order to determine what a successful design should include. The problem here is simple and I think can be best explained by one of the comments that was in response to that blog article, by Reddit user PhastPhoodPhool:

"When you start likening manufactured objects and digitally reproduced data as objects of value, then you have already presented an ethical dilemma. How can you charge full price for something that is free to reproduce? That is why it is so easy to download. It only represents a loss if you otherwise would have realistically paid for whatever you're downloading. The whole side of the copyright holders is totally impartial to the facts."

So though this is a serious problem, it can be resolved relatively easily given the circumstances. This is where the shift of perspective comes in. Because it is obvious that no one will pay for something when they don't have to, and it costs nothing for the provider when we download, we can use these principles to construct a new system that takes advantage of these trends/facts, and provides a model that will allow the content providers to get paid directly, while their beneficiaries (file sharers) enjoy guilt free and unlimited free access to their favorite content, on demand.

The solution is (drum roll) Ad Revenue, but not just any ad revenue. There are still serious problems with the current standard ad models online today, and these problems too have been well established. It is time for a change. The new model must address these problems head on, namely obtrusive, distracting, and misleading ads horribly placed next to the content. The solution...small icons/logos placed strategically within the most popular features of a website. For example imagine the Pandora player without the huge half-page ads, and instead, only with one small coke bottle icon in the top left corner. The ad could even have a feature where if the cursor rolls over it, it expands to a small box to reveal a special offer, and then it collapses again once the cursor rolls away.

The benefits of this may not at first be obvious, but they arise with closer observation. The icons being placed within popular functions, like audio or video players, give the ads more visibility, because the areas housing them will not be avoided. Secondly, the icons actually serve a purpose to the consumer as well, in allowing them to get their favorite content for free. The goal would be for companies to link up directly with the most popular content creators, at a scalable price range dependent on hits, so that eventually those companies develop substantial credibility with an artist's fans, for sponsoring their potential customer's favorite content. This could be a smart long-term move for many brands out there in the future. It would also be optimal if the platform which supported this model would take the minimum fixed rate for the services of implementing and placing the ads, and pass on the bulk of the revenue to the true value creators.

This system legitimately fixes the problem of file sharing being detrimental to the artist's careers and the content's quality and safety. Instead of an artist releasing their music for sale, it getting sold once before it appears on a torrent site, and the artist losing track of how many times, how and when their fans listen to their music (not to mention money), they can choose to give their music away for free as a full quality secure download, and then can not only track when their song is played or shared, but they can track things like visits to their merchandise store, profile views, video views, live streaming performance views, ect, all closely linked to the music download, and they can record these numbers to negotiate for advertising revenue once a fair peak in popularity is reached. These revenues, in addition to merchandise sales, ticket sales for both on and offline shows, and the possible sale of sample components from an artist's songs, gives independent artists a whole new batch of revenue streams, waiting to be tapped and exploited.

So you may think that's it...all problems solved...Well, not yet. The other problem artists will have in order for this system to truly work is promoting their music. How do they distinguish themselves amongst the barrage of artists which consumers will have access to? The answer comes from a bit of creative thinking and information fusion. It's a mix between a social network and a discovery engine. For those that don't know, a discovery engine is a tool that finds relative content for a user, based on certain criteria that the user enters, such as tags or blog categories. Good examples in this case would be Pandora and Twitter. Both are discovery engines, and both make their user's lives easier by (supposedly) bringing the users to the content they want. However, especially with Pandora, these systems can be flawed. Depending on the type of input the user gives, and the way the site processes it, results can vary heavily. For independent artists, the solution must go beyond entering just a favorite artist or a genre. These criteria are far too limiting. Even with Twitter, the results you get are dependent on the people that you follow. You must make sure you follow only people that you feel you can trust for credible content. For music, there must be a system, similar to Twitter, where I can follow people that I share a taste in music with (friends, favorite artists, ect.) and any music that is in their playlists will automatically get sent to my radio player, at random, or to my specifications. I should be able to create different radios and assign different friend's playlists to each one, assign genre limits on individual playlists, and decide which playlists I want to give priority, and by how much. This takes the concept of song recommendation and uses social influences to filter the content, rather than using the physical properties of the content itself. After all, the content is better defined by its meaning to society, rather than by its physical attributes.

The real beauty in this system is that it saves me from a lot of unnecessary filtering and searching myself. If my best friend liked a song enough to put it in his playlist, then I am certain that I will like it too. Also, if I like a song enough to put it into my playlist, anybody who is following me will automatically get introduced to the song as well. For good music, this makes its spread amazingly automatic and viral. Also I would not be bound to one genre per radio, or one particular sound all together. It allows the variable nature of our lives to be reflected in the radios we listen to. Speaking of which, this system resembles very much the principles of Mother Nature, ie "only the strong survive." This social spread of the music also mimics the role of bees when pollinating flowers, spreading the lifeblood of the industry to all that will enjoy its fruits. It's because of these side effects that lead me to make the conclusion that this is simply the best system we could possibly hope for.

One of the most incredible things about the Internet is how easily adaptable it is, and it's ability to integrate innovations extremely quickly. It will take nothing more to complete the transition than for a website with these features to simply go live and market itself correctly, in order for these changes and benefits to be realized. I am very happy and proud to say now that a website with these systems is going to be in beta very soon. It is called Beat-Play and I am the Founder and President. I'm also 21 years old and a college dropout/independent artist myself; so I have all the proper credentials necessary to really make this thing work, besides an extremely dedicated and inspired staff of trained professionals and some amazingly cool sponsors. Release is scheduled for March/April 2010. It will basically be an empty store when we launch, but we already have the support of over 200 independent artists from all over the world, thanks to our promotional site http://MusicWithoutLabels.com. Anyone can sign up to beta test there, and we will contact you as soon as the beta is live.

These are exciting times for Internet users, and independent artists, like myself. It's far due time we make our lives easier by building comprehensive tools that solve our biggest problems. Remember, for every problem you see, you're also staring the solution right in the face, whether you know it or not. With the Internet, we can implement the changes we need with incredible speed. Get ready for an amazing journey towards a better and brighter future; it's literally just around the corner.

Written by: Dante Cullari - Founder & President Beat-Play, LLC