rVibe Blog

Since rVibe now offers both recorded music and live music, we’re starting to explore what that means for our brand, our message and how we structure our product lines.  Now, in order to do that, we have to really understand the differences between live and recorded music, how people use music and experience it and the challenges associated with accessing these two different types of music.  The most fundamental is what is the difference.  So, I’m going to see if I can ramble and make some sense of it.

When we think about music, we have to remember first that it’s a social experience, even when recorded - it’s person to person communication - and a communication vehicle that often creates a strong emotional response.  However, when music is recorded, it takes on another attribute - one of object.  The recording becomes the experiential object, and while it’s still a social object by its nature, it’s actually now an owned object that can be controlled. And this notion of control is important, because it ties into the idea that a recording is a static item that can be repeated in a predictable way. Meaning, a person can “own” the recorded music object and since it’s static they can control it’s usage in a predictable way.

Controlling music in a predicable way is  really interesting, particularly since one of the aspects of music is to elicit an emotional response.  So, when a person desires to effect an emotional response in themselves or someone else, they can use a recording of a musical performance to make it happen. And since the recording is static, it’s predictable and since it’s predictable, a user can create that emotion when, where and how they want.

Live music, even a live performance of a known song eliminates that element of ownership, predictability and control. In the case of a concert, the performance is ephemeral, and controlled by the performer, not the listener.  The listener is to some extent at the mercy of the performer. Of course, a listener may elect to only experience a performer they know - meaning they are aware of the music the performer will deliver.  However, even then there is an element of the unpredictable.

For the concert goer, there has to be an element of risk tolerance.  When you experience a live event, you’re aware that it’s not predictable, that something could be different (and is likely to be different) than what you expect.  If you go to a concert without knowing anything about the event, you’re absorbing more risk around the experience than if you go to a concert of your favorite artist.  Granted, the risk is minimal - it’s music after all - not sky diving. But experiencing that risk -  in a relatively safe environment is part of the delight in concert music.

There is one more difference in live versus recorded music:  the awareness that the person delivering the performance and the person experiencing the performance are both engaged in real time communication.  That they are connecting in the moment, and not after the fact.

So - it seems to me that the fundamental difference is one of control and predictability. That with recorded music, people seek the controlled enjoyment of music while in live music, people seek the lack of control and unpredictability.

That has pretty huge implications for our brand and our functionality. With the rVibe SocialJukebox it’s all about sorting through vast amounts of recoded music with your friends in a safe, controlled environment and being able to enjoy that music (and find out what others are enjoying) at will.

In the rVibe|S80 space it’s about letting go of the control a bit and experiencing a live event (over the wire).

I am not sure how we’re going to reconcile that - although my gut is telling me there is a way.

We rolled out a preview version of our new service - rVibe|S80 this weekend and it went great!  rVibe|S80 is live concert video streaming from venues around the country. It’s very cool, and the quality is very high - particularly the audio.

 Five bands from Rehab in NYC and 3 acts from The Cutting Room in NYC kicked things off and it went great.  We also got great HD coverage of the events and we’ll offer those up later, once they are edited down. On Saturday we streamed Kelly Greene’s live album release concert and it was awesome. KG is a great NY rocker and The Cutting Room showcased her band and tunes - all perfectly captured by rVibe. People can also buy her album on rVibe, and will be able to buy this concert as well soon (we’re working out how that works).

We have  more events coming and are starting to get tons of interest from different venues around the country.  A great start to a revolutionary service! There will be lots of changes coming as we develop the service and learn a lot about what our users need. So please be sure to let us know what you want and we’ll work on it!

I personally love rVibe|S80. As a parent with 3 young kids and also a major live music lover, I can’t get out to concerts too often, but want to enjoy the spontaneity of a live event. rVibe|S80 lets me do that. I love it.

I just got off the phone with EMI.  In an indication of the tide shifting in the major label space, EMI is pointing us in the direction of “aggregators” (where an aggregator is a company that has licensing deals to extend licenses to other retailers).  It’s not so much that they don’t want to do a deal - it’s that deals are slowing - and heading toward bigger players.  The reason for this is simple:  bigger player results in higher immediate revenue and greater margin. 

I suspect this means two things:

1. A consolidation of music distribution to a few leading “aggregator” companies
2. Fewer unusual business model deals coming out

So - they are open to us, and think what we’re up to is interesting, but from a business standpoint they need more financial guarantee before moving down a direct licensing deal.

Since I believe that business is fundamentally about human interaction (I know, lots of people think economics and business is really some other kind of force independent of human interaction, but I think that’s wrong),  I also believe that it’s important to make sure that your partnerships are strong and meaningful.  And, frankly, that you develop as many strong and appropriate partnerships as possible.

We’ve worked very very hard to develop our partnerships and I think we’ve got some strong ones that we continually work to extend. Our friends at MusicIP, CDBaby, Sheridan Square and Ben Franklin Technology Partners are some good examples of how our partnerships have begun to bear fruit.

As we look to the future of our partnership strategy, we’re expanding beyond content, technology, and financing relationships to include orthogonal brand partners. 

I believe that by working closely with a partner who has similar goals but moves in different circles and directions is a good way to stretch our business.  And relationships that might not always seem right at first can benefit both parties in the long run. 

However, you do have to be careful in picking a branding partner - the match has to make sense.  Sometimes companies don’t do that, or at the minimum don’t implement well.  For instance - when Coors and Napster gave away two free downloads per case of beer purchased. In my view, not a strategic alignment that benefited either party.

In finding a partner, I think you need to find one that has similar values (as humans, we all have values and businesses are no different), similar growth goals, and similar view on how to extend a partnership to grow value to both parties.  A one-off event is costly and doesn’t bode well for the future - don’t do it. A long term, smart alignment where both parties can influence and impact the strategic direction and growth of the other is a good thing.

Well - we did it - we launched a new piece of the rVibe family - “rVibe Anywhere”.  Pretty cool - you can leave rVibe running on your computer at home and stream any of your tracks to anywhere else by logging on to www.rvibe.com.  Here’s the press release:

Bethlehem, PA - November 14th, 2007 - rVibe.com, a community based online music service announced today that it has launched “rVibe Anywhere”. In addition to offering over 1 million legal downloads for sale, “rVibe Anywhere” allows members to stream all of their own personal tracks as well as their friends’ tracks from any web browser, absolutely free.

“We’re really excited about rVibe Anywhere.” says Founder and CEO, Dr. Braydon Johnson-McCormick, “With no required uploading, risky legal issues or additional cost, rVibe Anywhere is the best way to enjoy your music and the rVibe network when you’re away from home. And since it’s integrated into the service, there’s no additional work to use it.”

In addition to downloading tracks, making recommendations, making friends and getting rewards, Members can embed playlists in their personal blogs and websites, tag their tracks, and burn and/or rip songs from their library.

rVibe is an installable, desktop application available free for Windows. rVibe Anywhere is a web browser companion service to rVibe.

About rVibe:
rVibe is a community based music download and streaming service where members make recommendations and get rewards when other members download music from them. It offers users the best in music discovery, community and downloads for consumers as well provides the means for artists to register music and get paid, and for advertisers to effectively deliver highly targeted ad placements. For more information, please visit http://www.rvibe.com.

Copyright, 2007, rVibe, LLC