Today, MTV news released an article about a new limited-edition computer.
It’s not just any computer, no. It was designed–in part—by Dr. Dre.
It’s called the HP Envy 15 Beats laptop; and it has a very low price of $2,299…
Of course everyone can afford one, right?
Not so much…probably why it’s limited edition…
It’s designed to play music “the way it should sound”. And it has other touches on it from music producers Timbaland, Will.I.Am, Pharrell, Polow Da Don, as well.
It actually sounds like it would be a decent computer. The main focus going into the creation process was to have the “best” sound available.
…which probably explains the high price tag.
After reading the description, I think they definitely went all-out on this one.
Kudos, Dre.
it’s not a picture, but if you’re a computer-person, or even a music fanatic, you can appreciate this:

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2009/090915xc.html

A few weeks ago, the Audio Engineering Society (AES) held their annual gathering of audiophiles, industry types, and music nerds in San Francisco, and some amazing gear was demoed, reviewed and drooled over. There were also some amazing panels with inspiring speakers discussing the future of our business. Despite all of the weird stuff happening with the economy, and everyone thinking that the music biz is in the toilet, a positive message came about. It seems that, much like the economy, all of the glut and greed of the record industry has caught up to the people calling the shots, and now there are consequences for poor judgment.

Fortunately, the one consequences is that an artists’ career can be controlled by the artist. You no longer need a massive distro deal to get your music heard across the country (or globe). You just need about $35 and about an hour of time, and BOOM you are set up with about 40 digital music stores, and your music is available anywhere. That’s really not the news, though. We have all known about he wonders of CD Baby and iTunes for quite some time now. The new issue is that since anyone can do it, everyone is doing it and the market is flooded with content.

However, industry-types have noticed the rising waters, and many are well prepared. Have a look at Chris Stone’s keynote speech (bulletin points) at the AES conference. Looks like he found some answers…

Feel free to give us a call…

Caution! Large amounts of Buzzwords to follow!

Listen, I know this isn’t a politicin’ site, but I just want to point out what Mr. Obama is up to. I think all of us should take note of how he is using social networking to get to the top of the popularity contest.

In a recent article at Wired.com (click here for the article), Sarah Lai Stirland writes:

” The use of technology like blogs, mass texting and online phone banks has been key to Sen. Barack Obama’s surprise sweep of recent primaries.

The Illinois senator’s campaign has been making use of a range of technologies — from ringtones to SMS — to inspire Obama-mania. And it’s working. Obama’s recent parade of victories in the primaries has given him a slight lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.”

Granted, I know that he has a huge army of free laborers (street team, anyone????) working for him, but this whole concept can be scaled back and applied to artists trying to get the ears and eyeballs of potential fans. Blogging and Text messaging are tools that have been around for a while, but only a few bands have tried them. Heck, Obama is even getting his fans to create YouTube clips that go viral!

Broadtexter(.com) is a great (and free for a while) texting widget that you can embed into your MySpace or website, and fans can sign up to be on your text list so that they get your text updates for shows.

Blogging, well, there is no mass blog program that I know of (yet), but there are sites where you can find many of the active music blogs out there, and the authors of these blogs are really easy to contact. Ask them if they want some free music, and in exchange for your album ask them to write a review for you. This is something we have been doing at the UnLabel for a while with great success.

The music business is no different than the political business…it is just a popularity contest, and the spoils usually go to the most creative, relentless, and resourceful candidate, even if they are not the most qualified (no dig intended).

Hey, so we figured out how to make MySpace look pretty amazing…

Check out what we’ve done:

www.myspace.com/theunlabel

-.tL

Music Nation is in the process of creating a new online music and video option called The Launch Pad. The Launch Pads goal is to facilitate easy access, discovery, and filtering for music lovers and holds great potential for the music industry on a digital level. The BETA version of the program is available online for testing and rating purposes. Check it out:Music Nation