10 - Last.fm (The Social Music Revolution)

http://www.last.fm



Last.fm is a UK based CONVERGED internet radio and music community website. It has over 21 million active users in more than 200 countries. Last.fm currently has music library of over 35.5 million tracks and in 2007 did deals with 'Warner Music' and the 'Sony BMG Record Label' allowing their entire catalogues of music to be played on Last.fm.
Last.fm works by using a system known as "scrobbling" where details about what a user listens to on a day to day basis are recorded which is an example of ONLINE SURVEILLANCE. A unique profile is created and this profile data is displayed on a personal webpage. The site offers various social netwroking facilities such as a shoutbox, an adding friends option, neighbours (last.fm generates a list every week of users who have a high music compatibility with you) and recommendations for music the user might like. This is an example of INTERACTIVITY. The website could be said to be a form of CONVERGENCE as it is essentially a radio station and social networking site combined.

Users can join groups, view coming events and say they are coming, PERSONALISE their profiles (add photos, personal information, chnage colour schemes etc) and talk on the websites online forum; HORIZONTAL NETWORKING.

To create a profile, a person must register their details but people can look at others webpages and play their 'personal radio' which consists of the users most played music(there is an option to subscribe to a radio station). Subscription to things such as the site and to peoples personal radio stations encourages loyalty to the institutions behind last.fm.

Users can take their subscription even further with the option of a paid account at £1.50/month which offers users more e.g. no advertisments, more radio options, a tracker to see recent visitors to your profile (ONLINE SURVEILLANCE) and many more. This shows the concept of VERTICAL INTEGRATION. There are also options for "scrobbling" to extend to users ipods known as iscrobbler.

Last.fm involves users coming together in a NICHE online community, all of whom share a common interest in the music industry, and creating their own media in the form of charts and personal radio stations which is an example of DEMOCRATISATION. From there, there are options to embed that user generated media (e.g. Personal Top Artists of the week) onto other websites such as facebook and myspace. There are also 'global charts' based on the total number of individual listeners (the REACH) and not the number of actual plays to prevent the artificial boosting of an artist through repeated plays. Charts reflect the musical taste of the particular demographic of the service's users, not that of the general public. Last.fm users generally have an internet connection, may be more computer-literate than average, and may have wide collections of music from which to choose, due to the ability to download MP3 files from the internet. Although last.fm has no specific target audience, it probably appeals to teenagers and young adults with a keen interest in the music industry as they are most likely to possess these characteristics.

Last.fm has a huge global REACH as all that is really necessary is an internet connection. It is therefore very attractive to advertisers who pay the institutions behind last.fm for online advertising space meaning profit for last.fm.

Last.fm is a commercial music site and is therefore out for profit. However, it offers opportunities to independent and unsigned artists too. Tracks from these artists are streamed on the site for free and every time a track is played, the artist gets paid a fixed amount of money. Although this is currently only available in the US, UK and Germany, it is a huge phenomenon as it is a whole new form of marketing with a global reach. This is very different than the traditional ways of marketing used in the past and opens up many new opportunities to artists. There are currently 100,000+ free downloads from only "indie" labels on the site which also is beneficial to audiences looking for 'the next big thing' or trying to find music they like which wouldn't have been possible without the internet and music sites such as last.fm

9 - New Phenomenon - Blu-ray DVD

Blu-ray discs, created by Sony, are apparently the 'DVD of the future' and are currently involved in the High Definition battle with HD DVDs although one could confidently say that BLue-ray are most definitely in the lead.

Blu-ray discs offer high-QUALITY picture and sound making for a better viewing expericne for users. Discs have much more storage space (at 50GB) than the normal DVD meaning bonus material can all be put onto one disc with room for more. This is good for audiences as it means discs will have more streamlined cases(MINATURISATION) and will therefore take up less room on shelves which is much more convenient.

Blu-ray discs target everyone as almost every home now has a DVD-player but in particular film lovers who will appreciate the increased quality and who are most likely to have a large quantity of DVDs.

However, Blue-ray discs do not work on 'normal' DVD players as they use a different kind of technology. This means a Blu-ray DVD player will have to be bought along with all of the user's DVD connection. This is profitable form of VERTICAL INTEGRATION is good for institutions but not good for audiences as replacing technology that has becomes obselete costs a lot of money. Quality vs. Cost may be a problem for many potential Blu-ray users who may decided that the negatives outweigh the positives and just won't bother upgrading.

8 - Converged, Portable Digital Technology - Iphone

The iphone uses the technology of a multi-touch screen, wi-fi, digital camera technology, mp3, internet connection etc CONVERGED together. It is a revolutionary piece of equipment as it eradicates the need to have seperate pieces of technology such as laptops, walkmans and 2G phones by combining them all in one MINATURISED and therefore PORTABLE piece of technology. However, some have argued that convergance ultimately leads to a decrease in the quality of features offered by the iphone.

The iphone is an example of VERTICAL INTEGRATION as to use some of it's features (e.g. to fill up the 4GB of mp3 muisc storage space) you must install programs such as itunes onto your PC encouraging brand loyalty to Apple. It also offers the concept of HORIZONTAL NETWORKING as due to the INTERACTIVE nature of the phone and its internet features, you can send emails to friends with attatchments. You can also do all the things traditional mobile phones could do such as SMS and calls which gives audiences gratification almost IMMEDIATELY.

The iphone has a wide REACH worldwide due to internet shopping and does not appear to actively target any group of people in particular but due to the technology being highly expensive, it is only really availble to the middle or upper class. In particular, it may appeal most to single, career driven males who have high disposbale incomes. The iphone may also appeal to business's due to some of it's attrcative features e.g. conferacne call options.

The iphone also offers PERSONALISATION to users as they can have exactly what they want (i.e. films, music) on there due to the large storage space, literally any background they want due to picture messaging options and the inbuilt digital camera, call setting options and maps.

7 - Leisure Activity - Limewire

http://www.limewire.com/

Limewire is a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing service and is therefore an ideal example of HORIZONTAL NETWORKING. It is FREE to download but encourages users to pay a fee giving them access to LimewirePRO - This synergy is known as VERTICAL INTERGRATION encouraging brand loyalty. However, this is not necessary and many use Limewire to download music for free on a regular basis. Anyone can produce music and put it on the Limewire network and so is an example of DEMOCRATISATION.

Downloading has come to play a huge part in the music industry and there are now special download charts. Limewire is popular as is CONVENIENT for the user compared to walking down to the shop to buy a CD like in the past. As Limewire is only dependent on the internet which is a 24 hour service, Users can now download music whenever they want meaning it is more felxible and not restricted by scehduled shop hours.

Downloading is IMMEDIATE [to a certain extent- sometime staking a few minutes] which modern audiences have come to expect. The music then transfers straight to your computer and then onto an mp3 player if you wish showing PORTABILITY expectation.

Due to the internet, Limewire has a large global REACH and through high speed broadband is becoming a music faster service. Although Limewire has no direct target audience, it has become particularly popular with YOUNG people who are used to technology and are therefore more likely to use untraditional methods of downloading compared to older generations. Due to the nature of Limewire, it has come under the criticism of clearly breaching copyright which may further put off older generations from using such untraditional services.

6 - Fan Website - Edward Norton Online

http://www.geocities.com/edwardnortononline/tableofcontents.html

'Edward Norton Online' is an unofficial U.S. website dedicated to giving fans information concerning Edward Norton. Users have all the information they want whenever they want thanks to the internet and so can have instant gratification --> IMMEDIACY. The sites homepage has a huge table of contents so users have a choice about what they look at (e.g. photos, interviews, downloads etc) and can view it in a NON-LINEAR order. This is different from the past when fans of a specific actor may have had to buy a book and go through it chronogically to find what they wanted.

The fan site is made mainly for the NICHE target audience of Edward Norton fans and there are chat rooms and message boards for fans from all over the world to talk to one another and INTERACT via HORIZONTAL NETWORKING. Fans can send in things e.g. autographed photos to the site that will then be put up for everyone to see(DEMOCRATISATION). However, this can only be done by subscribing. This encourages loyalty to the site, makes it easier for the website to get information that may be of interest to fans to them and helps them see how popular the site it.

Due to the internet, 'Edward Norton Online' has a huge global REACH as basically almost anyone can access it. The site has links to other sites down the right hand side of the page under the title of 'sponsored links.' These sites pay the concerned site money for advertising space and then earn money through a pay-per-click (PPC) scheme .

5 - Podcast - The Archers

A podcast is a series of digital media files distributed over the internet available for audience download. They can then be played on PORTABLE media players (e.g. the Ipod) and on computers. Podcasts can be distinguished from other media formats by its ability to be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded automatically when new content is added (through features such as RSS etc).

The Archers which is traditionally streamed via bbc radio 4 is now available as a weekly podcast giving the audience the ability to listen to it where they want, when they want making the whole experience much more convenient and flexible i.e. TIME SHIFT. People have claimed that podcasting is quickly replacing conventional radio shows as people now favor the ' make your own' approach and are no longer restricted to scheduling. This is an example of PERSONALISATION as people can listen to what they want as there is so much choice due to competition.

Podcasts are available for download on Apple's itunes which is one of the main podcasting clients. Podcasting also serves as an example of the concept of VERTICAL INTERGRATION as it is
downloaded from theitunes store and can can then only be played via itunes or an ipod. This encourages brand loyalty. Also, subscribing to a particular podcast also encourages loyalty.

Podcasting via the itunes store encourages INTERACTIVITY by encouraging users to write reviews on the podcast and rate it out of five. This means that the diverse audience can be fragmented down by DIVERSIFICATION into smaller niche groups who have a shared interest in the Archers.

4 - Youtube Video - Ok Go (Lego)

http://youtube.com/

Others - Google Video, DailyMotion

Youtube is an unprofitable video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video. clips. This shows that it is an example of INTERACTIVITY as viewers network with one another.

Ok Go - Here It Goes Again (LEGO)


The target audience of this video is the niche group who are fans of the band 'Ok Go'. However, due to its entertaining look, it may attract others who may not know about the band. This could be seen as a good form of marketing. Lego animations have become increasingly popular on Youtube through VIRAL MARKETING where people literally spread the word and the thing being marketed becomes more popular as a result. This type of video may also inspire others to make animations for other music or create more 'Ok Go' related user generated content.

New Technology such as broadband and digital technology (cameras, editing computer software) has enabled audiences to be able to produce and upload their media quickly and easily. This means more people are likely to do it and share it with the world in the form of Youtube. This is an example of DEMOCRATISATION as anyone can upload their videos and because Youtube has such a huge REACH, it can be viewed by people worldwide.

Due to Youtubes popularity, it has attracted a lot of attention from other institutions. In 2006, Google bought Youtube for $1.65 billion. Other institutions now use Youtube to market theri products e.g. films, bands and TV programmes. BBc now uploads clips from their news etc. However, like Myspace, Youtube still enables amateur bands and filmmakers to upload their work and try and gain popularity for free.This is an example of HORIZONTAL NETWORKING as videos can be shared with others but not for any commercial gain. Youtubes view counter (ONLINE SURVEILLANCE) and comments can help gain popularity and market a procuct.

Youtube is an example of DIVERSIFICATION and NARROW CASTING where the diversely ranging audience is FRAGMENTED down into smaller, more NICHE groups e.g. Fans of Ok Go.