Kelli's Comments... 

Kelli Richards, on her mentorship of clients and colleagues:

3 Best Practices for Digital Distribution & Audience Building in an Ever Evolving Online World

Over the last decade, the shift from physical media to digital distribution is a trend explored literally in front of us every single day. From the music industry, videos and movies, to information and gaming, television and radio, there's no aspect of the media world that has not been completely transformed. An ancillary trend to this has been the increasing reliance upon service-centered business models over stand-alone content sales. Increasingly empowered consumers, who not only have greater choices than every before, are also actively creating their own content - their own music, videos, films and games - further revolutionizing an industry already under pressure to reinvent itself almost daily.  So what is an artist to do to continue to remain vibrant and build their audience in an era when even the audience itself may become a competitor on any given Sunday?  Here are 3 Best Practices for digital distribution and audience building in an ever evolving online world: Remember your ABC's.

A.    Audience Building. No matter what tactic you're taking in your distribution, remember that your overall goal is audience building.  You might think it's sales, and yes, of course that's true.  But if your audience is constantly, consistently growing, your sales will be also.  Click to learn more... 

B.    Basics. Don't forget that for every great new idea that comes out, you still need to have your basics in place.  Wanting to go for every new option that comes down the pike (and believe me, they are almost endless right now) can easily become what I call *shiny new object* syndrome.  With all of the possibilities out there in digital distribution, Click to learn more... 

C.    Constant Creativity. There's no way to stay on top of the ever-changing world of digital distribution without having a team member, mentor, or advisor in place who can keep you abreast of all the opportunities available to you, as an artist.  Digital downloads, podcasts, mobile apps, iTunes, Amazon, Virtual Worlds, YouTube, StageIt, GigMaven, EnConcert, Click to learn more... 

I hope you'll take the time to read this entire article on my website, and if you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a note at info@AllAccessGroup.com.

To your success, Kelli Richards, CEO of All Access Group and Digital Music Consultant

An Intimate "Fireside Chat" with Michael Robertson

Excerpt of Kelli's Q&A with Michael Robertson, the Bad Boy of the Digital Music Industry. Michael Robertson is a longtime provocateur of the music business and the founder and former CEO of MP3.com, one of the most popular Internet music sites ever. His newest startup, DAR.fm, is a centralized Web-based TiVo for radio. This is definitely one of the best fireside chats yet. (To hear this entire interview, please visit the  Resources Page on my Website.)

Kelli Richards: Although it could be a huge competitor to MP3tunes, Amazon's choice to enter the "locker" business is huge. Would you talk about the basic structure of MP3tunes, and how it changes the digital music world, and why it's a better product than what Amazon is launching - and explain to our audience why, in this unique case, Amazon could prove to be more of an ally to MP3tunes than a competitor.

Michael Robertson: Amazon recently launched a sort of personal cloud music server that, on first glance, is very similar to what we've been doing on MP3tunes for years - in that it lets people store music online.  But there are some really big differences that consumers should know about.  One of which is that MP3tunes lets you put your music in and get your music out.  Amazon will happily store your music, but it's kind of a sinkhole.  So if you get a new computer or you want to download your music to an iPod, etc., it's almost impossible to do with Amazon. They literally make you click on every single song to get your music down.  With MP3tunes it's quite different.  We literally give you software to get your music out in one click.  We're not holding you prisoner. I believe it's YOUR data - whether it's your music, photos, whatever - and that should always be in full control of the consumer. 

Another important difference is that we have an API. What this means is that you can connect to your music in a myriad of ways.  With Amazon, today, you can only stream your music to Android.  So maybe they'll make an Apple IOS application and maybe they won't, but you're completely at the whim of Amazon. With MP3tunes it's the exact opposite.  We publish to the whole world how anyone can make an interface to their library. What this means is you can use your Android Phone to hear your music, or your iPhone, or a Windows 7 phone, or your Palm App, or even Internet Radio - Logitech or Audiovox - stuff like that.  So we're really trying to build an open approach - an open platform that isn't controlled and dictated by any one company.  Click here to read more.   

 Kelli Richards:  Michael, what do you think happens with Apple and Google in this niche? Now that they're said to be jumping into the cloud / locker crowd?   Click here to read Michael's response and more of the interview ...      

*To get your own 2 GB of online music storage at no cost, visit http://www.mp3tunes.com

You can catch my show every Monday at 5pm PST.  http://BlogTalkRadio.com/AllAccessRadio.  

Resources

DAR.fm

Record, play and pause your favorite radio using DAR.fm. Completely cost free recordings of up to four hours of online RADIO. Watch out, Tivo, radio is entering the 21st century!  DAR stands for "Digital Audio Recorder". DAR.fm is a personal recorder which records radio stations and shows to be played back at the convenience of the listener. DAR is a DVR for your radio and can be scheduled to record radio shows or stations which interest you. Once recorded, you can listen from a PC, laptop, smart phone, internet radio or other device. Hear my interview with the CEO of DAR.fm (Michael Robertson) here.

YAP.TV

Yap.TV is your ultimate companion to the TV watching experience (and it's free for iPhone, iTouch and the iPad). It has the added benefit of reaching your social media communities. You can easily see what friends are watching, surf the picture-based TV Show Guide and save your favorites. Plus, you can follow stars, friends and fans and see what your favorite stars and millions of fans are saying on Twitter and Facebook about your favorite shows. You can even join a virtual party - or create one, inviting multiple friends into your "living room" for a chat. Or be in friends' rooms and host your own rooms at the same time. It's 100% private, real-time, and can cut down your texting bills!

Music Ally

Music Ally is the leading digital music information and strategy company.  Everyone agrees: the future of music is digital. But in the ever-changing digital environment there are huge opportunities for getting things wrong - as well as right. To make the best decisions, busy executives need the finest, most up-to-date research and insight available. Music Ally is a leading source of industry information and research. *This is one of Kelli's personal picks for best newsletter. Definitely one to choose, and use, for yourself. Sign up to get a complimentary no cost two-week trial. 

Events

Billboard Country Music Summit

June 6-7, 2011.  Renaissance Nashville Hotel, Nashville, TN.  Join the most influential country music executives and artists to network and discuss all aspects of the country music business at the 2nd annual Billboard Country Music Summit. Country music has never been more popular. A successful country music artist can enjoy a broad and lengthy career base that includes record sales, touring success, radio hits, sponsorship opportunities, and digital connections with fans as never before. The Billboard Country Music Summit delivers the opportunity to meet and network with the top artists and executives who are influencing the lucrative Country music business.

E3 Expo

June 7-9, 2011 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. "The E3 Expo is the global destination to experience the latest computer and video games that will shape and define the high-tech consumer entertainment experience in the year ahead," says Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA, the trade association that represents U.S. computer and video game publishers. "Every leading computer and video game company is participating, and I look forward to welcoming thousands of attendees from around the world."

Digital Media Conference

June 17, 2011. Arlington, VA. Over 500 of the most influential decision-makers in the media, entertainment and technology industries will gather in Arlington, VA for the 8th Annual Digital Media Conference East. Take part in the discussion with top executives, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, analysts and press who will be instrumental in shaping the future of the digital media sector.

Digital Content Monetization West 2011

June 21- 22, 2011. Los Angeles, CA. Following on from the success of DCM 2010 in New York, make a note in your diary to ensure you don't miss DCM West 2011. This is a totally unique opportunity to find out how to drive revenue and profitability from technology, partnerships and strategies delivering multiplatform digital content.

Big Visions * Big Connections * Big Results