Internet Music Summit
Tuesday April 13, 1999

The Internet Music Summit gave an excellent picture of the current issues facing traditional purveyors of music and the Internet newcomers. Because both a representative from Sony Music and the pioneer of MP3 were onhand, this attendee thought that a warm debate about MP3 would ensue. The most biting remark, however, came from Spinner's David Samuelson, who, in response to Mark Wachen's contention that Sony faces the challenge of communicating the value of music, reminded him that Sony owns Columbia House, the company that gives away 12 CD's for a penny. This comment made for a good segue into Kaleidospace's Jeannie Novak's presentation on how to market music on the Internet.

10:00-10:45
The Internet and the Music Industry

Sony Music's Mark Wachen, Vice President of Online Ventures and Business Development, conceded that there has been a 700% increase in music sales online, but pointed out that this figure only represents 8% of the total market. He also commented that with ubiquitous distribution, it is harder to get noticed, so new artists will still need the marketing clout and power of a label. The challenge to the labels, however, is to move at "Internet Speed" and communicate the value of music. Sony must look at the challenge as an opportunity for conducting1-to-1 marketing, expanding accessibility to all genres, and performing market research at cost savings.

10:45-12:30
Successful Music Web Sites

Spinner.com's CEO David Samuelson, described his company as a multichannel web music service. He acknowledged that traditional radio is the number one way to promote music and is here to stay. Web radio, however, allows for rich media commercials, targeted marketing, and instant commerce. 76% of Spinner visitors are at work users and average 90-minute sessions.

One question that came up a lot for Michael Robertson, CEO of MP3.com, is "When will MP3 make a star?"- Mr. Robertson pointed out that MP3.com is not a marketing page, but that it does provide a service for artists. Their goal is to put power back in the hands of the artist. All contracts can be terminated at will, there are no start-up fees and MP3 enables the artist to make a CD almost instantaneously. MP3 gives artists their daily site statistics, such as how many people came to their site and how many downloaded their CD.

1:30-2:45
Marketing Music on the Web

Jeannie Novak, President and CEO of Kaleidospace, Inc. outlined the three goals of the music marketer: traffic, recognition, and revenue.

To increase traffic, utilize word of mouth, e-mail, search engines, and magazine ads. Ms. Novak pointed out that people do not look for music by genre, so it is important to have artists register their own names in order to have a unique listing in a search engine. For recognition, take advantage of associate programs and register trademarks. Revenue can be derived from subscription fees, advertisers, and sponsorships. Offer other services such as e-commerce. For repeat visits, offer high quality content, update frequently, offer coupons and incentives, and make the site easy to use.

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Copyright 1999 by the International Informatics Institute, Inc.
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