Echo Louder

I have to build a fanbase. I have to build a fanbase. I have to build a fanbase

Bruce Warila — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:14:38 +0000

If you wake up every day and tell yourself that you have to build a fanbase, then you have the wrong strategy in mind.

The Internet is a value delivery machine. People use the Internet to obtain valued entertainment, information, knowledge, services and products.

Search engines are mechanisms that measure the ability to deliver value. The more value that a webpage or website delivers, the higher it will rank on a search engine’s index.

Google (via AdWords) even measures the value of the advertisements it places. Ads that deliver less value (less click-throughs) cost more per click (to the advertiser) than competing ads that deliver greater value.

The mantra you have to hold in your head is: I need to deliver value. I need to deliver value. I need to deliver value. On the Internet…nothing else really matters.

Related posts:
Ok, you make great music, but what’s your value proposition?
Three Steps To Inexpensively Winning The Search Engine Game

Power Comes Out of the Ends of the Battery

Bruce Warila — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:30:49 +0000

It’s safe to play the middle, but power comes out of the ends of the battery.

I use this analogy when I am talking about what to create or how to say it.

Some creators have an inclination to attempt to appeal to the widest possible audience by splitting the middle. In my experience, the middle is never as large or as powerful as either end.

If you are building an audience, consider appealing to the ends. Power comes out of the ends of the battery, not the middle.

Elaborate Plans - Vampire Diaries - Stunts That Work

Bruce Warila — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:41:44 +0000

Another great example of engaging, viral promotion... The things you can do (as a marketer) that people talk about...

How can an artist be original?

Bruce Warila — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:11:35 +0000

From Keith Andrew's excellent post on Music Think Tank.

"As much as technology develops and changes the world in which we live, and in many ways changes how we think, feel and interact, there are some things at the core of the human soul or psyche that will never change. And it is those deep immutable elements that will always be reached -and resonate- through art. They will resonate something of a higher truth, hope, and existence. There is something in us that always longs for and reaches for something greater than ourselves and it is art that resonates and stimulates that ‘something’."

Interactive Music Apps - Cocktail Napkin Notes

Bruce Warila — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:01:21 +0000

The music industry should be excited about Apple’s rumored tablet product called Cocktail. If executed well, this is the type of digital product that could bring significant profitability back to the music industry. Here are a few initial thoughts on this rumored product / format:

Open format. The industry should push for an open format for this product, or at the very least, any other company should be able to inexpensively license the format.

Price control. Hopefully these ‘cocktail’ applications (packages) will enable a variety of interactive capabilities (gaming, messaging, socializing, etc.). If the sky’s the limit (and it should be), creators / developers should be able to set their own prices (like the App Store).

Illegal sharing. Illegal sharing should not be a problem. If I were putting this product into the marketplace, I would make sure that each of these ‘packages’ are capable of capturing and containing the relationship that each fan has with the artist. In other words, the ‘cocktail’ would be highly personalized to the point where illegally sharing all of it (you could actually enable the sharing of certain parts of it) would jeopardize the stored relationship (the goodwill points) that are accumulated via end-user usage activity.

Shameless plug. I have been working on (and financing the patent case) the most efficient methods (power conservation, bandwidth conservation (think wireless), developer efficiency, provisioning, updating, state preservation (for hot swapping between devices), etc.) for creating apps like this since 2001. We are still willing to take on one investor ($100k) to help us continue to push our inventions (120+- claims) through the patent office and ultimately into a sale or product development opportunity. We have a great team, a significant portfolio, and the upside should be significant.