Andy Lykens

Innovating and operating through growth

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Day 2, part I.

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Day 2, part I.

Day 2 (Sunday morning, 11/7) found us with a 2:45am wake-up call to head to the Abu Dhabi airport for our flight to Cairo. Upon arriving at the airport we put our baggage through security (this is before check-in) and then headed to the shortest check-in line at the Egypt Air counter.

Little did we know the man in front of us had multiple suitcases (as pretty much everyone did) that totaled well over the kilo weight-limit. In fact, little did he know too. Naturally rather than pay full price he decided to haggle to try to get the per-kilo overage fee down.

He did, if you’re wondering (14 kilos for the price of 10), though he reached this through a process of baggage shuffling and counter attendant harassment while lines on either side of us seemed to blur by.

Once he finished we stepped up to the counter (as his friend had motioned to us), and then were immediately told to wait as said friend then got his turn. I’m not exactly sure how this happened and there was no time for outrage as a senile old man was suddenly pressed up against me…oddly enough at his own will. Finding this rather odd I decided to try and push him gently away with no avail.

We soon realized the man was, in fact, QUITE senile (perhaps a bad case of dementia) and needed complete assistance from his son. This was not the first time on the trip I’d felt fortunate not only to be able to go on this journey, but to also be able to appreciate it.

Ultimately we did get checked in and then took advantage of the incredibly fast, and free, wi-fi at the airport as we sipped some coffee and shared a croissant. Ladies and gentlemen I say this to you now: love your vegetables. The middle-east is full of carbohydrate of the beige variety and, even if you do happen upon some greens, the uncertainty in bowel of taking part greatly outweighs the sense of nutritional accomplishment a little iron and vitamin A provide.

Once our gate was announced the gentry gently clamored forward like ants onto a fallen lollipop, necks strained, looking for a sweet possibility to cut the line, or at least move one spot more forward. Mary and I took our places at the back.

Having passed once again through security we took some seats and awaited the boarding call which, we were absolutely sure, must award the first 3 people on board with a thousand dharma (roughly $8) and a free kebab. It was impossible to tell through the human wall that once was the entrance to the boarding hallway. Oh well, kebabs are cheap anyway.

We boarded the plane and took our seats and, despite a blood-thirsty desire to be the absolute NEXT person to fill-in-the-blank, have found that everyone continues to be incredibly nice. A few gentlemen played musical chairs and let Mary and I sit next to each other. Wheels up.

A quick brainstorm on the current music industry vs. Apple.

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Comparing and contrasting these two industries is an interesting exercise. One continues to fail in most all areas, while one continues to grow in most all areas. One focuses mainly on lawsuits and legislature. One focuses on perfectionist design.

Subscription content continues to make meager headway into the mass market. Music publishing (licensing) continues to generate growth. RIAA continues to try using the law to restrict access to copyright. Major labels are still run mostly by lawyers and boards of trustees who have little to no knowledge of music licensing, how it works, and why its successful. Steve Jobs and Apple have ALWAYS put design first and will continue to do so. Apple has just had it’s first $50-billion quarter. Streaming is inconvenient when no wireless connection is available. Apple products go out of their way to make things convenient – not free – but convenient. Apple just passed RIM in their market share. Apple sells copyrighted content and devices that access, and utilize that content seamlessly. The music industry has access to loads of copyrighted content and executes its exploitation poorly. The music industry consecutively sees revenues fall.

What can the music industry learn from a company like Apple? What can Apple learn from companies like WMG and EMI? If you had to rate Pandora as a music provider, what would you give it on a scale of 1 to 10? How would you rate Apple as a music provider? If you had to rate your iPod as a music player and content purchasing device, what would you rate it? How would you rate Pandora as a music retailer? How do you rate a major label as a music retailer? Post your thoughts to the comments!

Building yourself up.

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Over the past five years I’ve done thousands of music searches. Yes, thousands. Whether looking for music for a television promo, commercial, or film trailer there are some very consistent ideas that come across from my clients. One of those is build.

Music that builds is key in advertising of any kind (for a product, film, or show) because the goal is to tell a story, hopefully an interesting one, and do it in limited time.

Granted like any other rule there are exceptions to this one, generally speaking though it holds true. Take a listen to some of your most recent songs and ask yourself – is this going anywhere? Watch a few trailers, commercials, and TV promos and ask yourself “if I put my music under this, would it help drive the story along?”

Perhaps the best question you can ask yourself is: Does my music tell a story on it’s own? Where’s the beginning, middle, where’s the end? Even better try asking your friends to identify it for you and see what they say.

If your songs do build you’ll have a much greater chance of getting licensed than if they’re fairly static or even-keeled, which means you’ll have a better chance at making some money and getting great exposure with your music.