20 MusicWeek 30.03.12 BODYTALKERA INNOVATE TO ENGAGE
Retailers challenge labels to deliver more innovation – the key to driving consumer interest in music RETAIL / DIGITAL
BY KIM BAYLEY, DIRECTOR GENERAL, ERA FOUR KEY INNOVATIONS FROM ERA MEMBERS
INNOVATION HMV Listening Post app
INNOVATION TESCO ONLINE VIDEO LOCKER
T
he popular image of retail as a conservative force in the music industry, forever harking back to the glory days of booming CD sales,
does not match reality. Virtually every significant innovation in digital
music over the past decade has taken place at retail, not least by that phenomenally successful retail operation, the iTunes Store. As the examples below – taken from the new
edition of the ERA Yearbook – indicate, retailers of every type, from store-based to pure-play digital, are dreaming up and bringing to market new ways of consuming music online and via mobile. Despite the challenges of securing licences for
digital music services – never as straightforward as content owners like to think – there is a phenomenal amount of innovation in digital.
“The CD is certainly music’s most successful format, but it’s also looking a little tired. Quite simply, it no longer excites consumers as it once did” KIM BAYLEY, ERA
The real problem area is in physical. Whereas in
digital, assuming they can secure those valuable licences, retailers are limited only by their imaginations, in physical they are restricted to the physical formats made available by record companies. In most cases they are told they can have anything they want – as long as it is a standard compact disc. Some 30 years after its introduction, the CD is
certainly music’s most successful format ever, but it is also looking a little tired. Quite simply, it no longer excites consumers as it once did. The paradox of course is that despite losing its
novelty, the CD remains for the moment at least the backbone of music sales, accounting for around 80% of the album market in 2011. More importantly, it is the key to music
retaining a valuable physical presence in almost 7,500 outlets across the UK. The value of that real estate in marketing terms should not be underestimated – nor as seen with the collapse of Game into administration only last week the fact that it can disappear all too quickly. Hence the increasing pressure from retailers on
record labels to address the innovation gap in physical music formats. “We’re doing our bit in digital,” they say. “Let’s see
what we can do together to ensure consumers of physical music formats get something just as exciting.”
Orange’s Swapables tariff launched in September 2011 offering users a series of additional ‘treats’ for their phones as part of their monthly subscriptions from The Times and Sky Sports Mobile TV to the streaming music service Deezer, which has been one of the most popular. With the Deezer application, users can listen to
millions of artist-based and themed radio channels for free. With a Deezer Mobile or Deezer Premium+ subscription, they get unlimited music and access to millions of tracks anytime, anywhere. VERDICT The jukebox in your pocket.
Free & Easy personal radio is We7’s answer to the question “What do I listen to now?” for those who want a ‘sit-back’ but personalised listening experience that is simpler than full on-demand. Just enter a song, artist or genre to get started.
We7 takes over and the music keeps on coming with personalised radio stations full of songs that match the starting point. We7 records song Likes and Dislikes by individual user so the results get better and better over time. And it is all free – supported by advertising. VERDICT Your personal DJ.
In many ways more advanced than the kind of listening-post technology available in stores just a few years ago, the HMV Listening Post app puts the power of a 100,000-album database into a mobile phone. Using image recognition technology, it enables
consumers to sample tracks from an album simply by taking a photo of a CD or of the cover art on a poster for instance. The app – devised by 7digital and image
recognition provider Mobile Acuity – provides a streaming sample clip from tracks on the album and follows this with a link to purchase a CD for those using an iPhone or a download for those with Android phones. VERDICT A record shop in your pocket.
INNOVATION ORANGE SWAPPABLES FEATURING DEEZER
Imagine buying a DVD or Blu-ray with your weekly shop and within minutes the title pops up in an online locker allowing you to watch it on PC, Mac, PS3, LG and Samsung Smart TV. And all automatically. That’s the promise behind Tesco’s new service with Blinkbox launched in December 2011, which has been touted as model for the evolution of the CD. Key to the innovation is Tesco’s Clubcard loyalty
programme. Customers simply link their Tesco Clubcard with a Blinkbox account and then any eligible DVD or Blu-ray purchased from Tesco automatically appears in their Blinkbox video library. The service debuted with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and 24 other titles and the library is growing all the time. VERDICTMaybe one day all discs will come with this.
INNOVATION WE7 FREE & EASY PERSONAL RADIO
www.musicweek.com
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