netflix and transformation

Netflix is diversifying into games. In taking this bold meta bet, Netflix finds itself in good company with Meta (Facebook). 

Netflix has always been an attention driven business due to its all-you-can-consume monthly pricing model. The pivot into digital across all media verticals has raised the pressure for the company to maintain high levels of engagement.

the mood machine

The tech industry is in the business of quantifying our emotions.

Mining emotional states to give A.I. projects something to go on is big business. Measuring human emotion has given rise to new facial recognition programs. The list goes on to include "emotion AI" to measure human emotion.  

Put this technology in a platform like Spotify to manipulate human emotion and we see a powerful tool for mining data given to advertisers. Apparently Spotify touts itself as a mood-boosting platform. 

Spotify also touts that it is a platform for brands. This means that it is good for business, or we are at least being told that. Spotify tells us that it is a place to feel good. 

So if you need a lift in the morning, you know where to go. Personalization is key. Personalization is how Spotify sells users its product. This is how Spotify gets listening data to sell to corporations. Your listening data. 

As we move forward with newer and newer technologies to track people's habits and predict what they'll do next, we must remain aware of what;s really going on.

This post from The Baffler was the source for this post

composing music with a.i.

Dan Tepfer taught himself coding. He found programming to be powerful. He is an excellent pianist. He has used computer programming to compose music. He has 11 different algorithms he uses to help him compose music.

Dan Tepfer

Will this method of creating music with artificial intelligence become more common? He hopes it opens up artistic horizons. If that keeps occurring, more music will be created by A.I.

When visiting Dan's website, check out Natural Selections. Click on "music" in the heading and "Natural Selections" in the dropdown box.

Here's the link to the source story from NPR.

dylan's nashville skyline

Bob Dylan's 9th studio album Nashville Skyline has turned 50 years old.

No one was anticipating a traditional country music album from Dylan.

"These are the types of songs that I always felt like writing when I've been alone to do so." 

The album was a different vocal style for Dylan. He created a new vocal persona to match his style of music. 

Nashville Skyline was recorded in 4 days

Here is the link to the Rolling Stone story about the album.

Nashville Skyline was a vocal change for Bob Dylan. https://t.co/nsuuN90SUo via @RollingStone The album turns 50. It opened up country rock. #savingcountrymusic #BobDylan #musichistory

— Mike Bertelsen (@mikebertelsen) April 12, 2019

matt carpenter music

Matt Carpenter of the Saint Louis Cardinals uses the Turnpike Troubadours song Long Hot Summer Day as his walk up tune as he goes to the plate.

Carpenter

The Turnpike Troubadours play this song and it is one of the favorites of fans everywhere. It was featured in The World Series in 2013 when the Cardinals went. The song being played by Carpenter has help grow The Troubadours fan base in the Midwest.

Long Hot Summer Day was put on the album Diamonds and Gasoline. It was their second album and was released in 2010.

Turnpike Troubadours

Here is the complete story from Saving Country Music

Let's hope that new music with roots gets discovered all the time.

Cody Jinks, Band of Heathens Join Turnpike Troubadours in Matt Carpenter Walk Up Rotation https://t.co/FHMe4lvPoa

— Saving Country Music (@KyleCoroneos) April 11, 2019

reba mcentire's new album

Stronger Than the Truth is Reba McEntire's new album.

Reba has gotten back to her roots. Two songs stand out with me. Tammy Wynette Kind of Pain and No U in Oklahoma.

Reba

 No U in Oklahoma is a western swing tune co-written by Reba. This album is full of strength and emotion. It also has variety. 

Reba's No U in Oklahoma

Reba's Tammy Wynette Kind of Pain

Here's the full album review from Saving Country Music

Reba's contribution to country music is pure and full of feeling. She keeps that going with this album.

Album Review – Reba McEntire’s “Stronger Than The Truth”https://t.co/54J34VuI5S

— Saving Country Music (@KyleCoroneos) April 5, 2019

ken burns' country music

Documentarian Ken Burns, who looked at the history of jazz in 2001, will focus on country music for his next PBS series. Burns theorizes that through country music, we can get a better understanding of the American experience.

Burns

 Country Music is a good story to tell and Ken Burns is going to tell it.

Source for this post from BrooklynVegan 

influencing pop or being influenced?

Gary Allan is chiming in about the prop influence of country.

Gary Allan on Country Music's Mainstream: “We Used to Influence Pop. Now We’re Being Influenced by Pop.” https://t.co/56IgWsOylJ

— Saving Country Music (@KyleCoroneos) December 17, 2018

This is not the first time Gary has been outspoken on this topic. In 2016 Allan had a restart in his career.

blake shelton tour

Blake Shelton is going on tour in 2019.

Blake's a busy man. This tour isn't a "big" tour, but he's going out. One surprising item in this is who he asked to join him. Well, it's John Anderson and The Bellamy Brothers. Can you say traditional?

What's going on? Blake's new album is traditional. He's gone back to his roots. Well, that's good. But, think about this.... do Blake's fan know these artists? That doesn't seem important now. John and the Bellamys will do just fine. 

Is there a shift going on for more classic artists in country? 

Blake Shelton

Blake Shelton’s recent album Texoma Shore is pretty damn decent. Not great, but pretty decent. And the record saw Shelton turn a corner back towards the more traditional sound.

 He’s taking John Anderson and The Bellamy Brothers on tour in 2019, along with Lauren Alaina and Trace Adkins. Read the story from savingcountrymusic.com

Blake is staying his course.

John Anderson, Blake, and Howard and David Bellamy

Blake's tour info: vividseats

def leppard: mega group

Fans and the media loved Def Leppard. Their songs just wouldn't let go.
Their album Hysteria made sure there was no escape from Def Leppard.
The arrangement of many of these songs made them classics by gripping the rock populace.

This band has created a collection of songs that keep going.
Link to the source post: Def Leppard on udiscovermusic

be dependable: be yourself

If you spend your life trying to be someone else, then who can we depend on to be you? - Faydra D. Fields https://t.co/4HfrVpSueW See more axioms free at https://t.co/oIwr4MeTUW #maxaxioms pic.twitter.com/KM67bYG7pn

— Faydra Deon (@faydra_deon) January 19, 2018

the top 25 albums for 2017*

Metacritic * released their top albums for this past year. Metacritic scores selections from the many reviews that come with an artist's release. They distill many critics" voices into the single Metascore. Metacritic's mission is to help consumers make an informed decision about how to spend their time and money on entertainment. They believe user voices are important as critics and need to be used and scored to be made easy to use.

They carefully curate a large group of the world’s most respected critics assign scores to their reviews, and apply a weighted average to summarize the range of their opinions. Here is a rundown on how Metacritic does their scoring: Metacritic explanation.

The 25 best albums of 2017, according to critics https://t.co/R1HCaBLTn9 pic.twitter.com/7ptBvNPGZQ

— Business Insider (@businessinsider) December 7, 2017

be visible to engage

Engagement via Social Media requires patience and commitment. The combination of social media, social business, and sales networking can help drive visibility and engagement.

Create and curate content that appeals to your audience. Promote your content.

Custom, created content is where you'll get good mileage for your brand. Make content personal to add value. Give your audience and followers a reason to tune in. The reason to tune in is you.

Need help with content? I can help.

the lens of transformation

Advertising agencies are changing the scope of their business. They are seeking solutions across commerce, digital content, and media distribution. This shift has been slow. Quite frankly, they've been wrapped too tight in their own traditions. However, to their credit, they've moved with much precision.

The shift has changed the face of marketing. TV marketing is waning, giving way to social media, digital media, user experience or open source. A new wave of innovators is poised to bring their expertise to this new ecosystem.

Accenture, IBM, PwC, and Deloitte are engaged in the acquisition of agencies that have capabilities in user experiences, digital marketing, design, Web, and mobile. These organizations have services traditional agencies can't match.

Digital marketing must fit into the overall business strategy.

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in Mad Men

Client-agency relationships will be revolutionized. A new breed of ad agency will be born. This means that agencies will create websites, app, and video games. Digital initiatives for brands will be created. A variety of platforms will be created for content and production.

Newsrooms will bring a bigger power to brands. The customer experience will be transformed to deliver goods and services with the customer's journey in mind.

The customer will be a major part of a brand, acting as the salesman for the product they buy.

Creation and distribution are key. Many elements will be transformed that will give the entire spectrum of media a new meaning, a new way of doing things.

Source: forbes.com (November 2016) My 'Next-Big-Thing' List: Who Will Transform The Post-TV Ad World In 2017

Related topic: B2B and Social Media

blog marketing

Content marketing with a blog helps get better rankings on the search engines. We need to concentrate on more, like engagement and authority. We have to attract an audience and keep it. We also have to lead this audience to do something, like subscribe to a newsletter, share something, or buy something.

We need content that engages our audience. Your content must tell a story and offer to solve a problem.

Each blog post must have an image that accompanies it. This is important since people are more likely to check out your content if they see an image they're drawn to. This is particularly true with Twitter.

The best images are colorful. Images should be simple with a strong focal point. Remember, simplicity helps find pictures with strong focal points. Strong images are good for mobile. Be sure your images are relevant to your content.

Images are a valuable tool in anyone’s content marketing arsenal

Source: website-designs.com (July 2015), Blogs, Content Marketing, and Images

blogging and influence

Blogging influences customers. Here's how:

• They buy from blogs
• They are inspired by blogs
• They get assurance from buying from blogs
• They discover new products and services
• They get support and answers from blogs
• They refine their choices from blogs

Every time you publish a blog post you get the opportunity to influence your readers.
Blogging is a good benefit.

blogging

Blogging allows you to connect with your audience, the people who want to follow you. You’ll be able to convert readers of your blog into followers.

Continue to engage them via your blog.

A blog will attract the search engines and will be featured highly in the search results. 

Blog regularly, ideally three or more times per week. Consider blogging as online marketing. Once you start to use a blog and make it part of your marketing campaign, you'll find that you won't need some of the other expensive advertising mediums. By being a regular blogger you’ll become an authority figure that others look to for advice within your niche.

You can tailor your blogging activities to meet the needs of your audience. 

task of data

We are entering an age of disruption. Disruptors win big using data and analytics to create winning business strategies. This business strategy needs to come in four forms:

1. A Unified Company Approach
2. Customer Experience
3. Connected Digital Ecosystem
4. New Business Models

To excel at any one of these, a data-centric viewpoint is needed.

Intuition or experienced-based decisions aren't enough. This leads to more failures. In the data-driven era, company leaders need:

1. Trustworthy data
2. Timely data
3. Contextually relevant data

These three items help find a strategic window.

This allows the unthinkable.

Marvin Ellison, new CEO of JC Penney, has taken on the "task of data". He is proving the primacy of customer experience, and more importantly, the primacy of data in driving great customer experience.

Ellison said, "Pure intuition without any data gets you in trouble." 

With data, Ellison was able to change JC Penney's chances of surviving and increase sales by 3.9% during the 2015 holidays. This data-driven influence helped with customer loyalty. Data helped place clothing in the stores' floor plans. He learned women do 80% of the buying in the stores, so clothing was arranged so women could easily shop for men's' apparel. There was also data for appliance shopping.

These decisions were made from data.

be engaging

Tell a story. Paint a verbal picture. This brings your audience into the story. Marketers have created engaging ways to "talk" to potential customers. Infographics, videos, and even webinars allow curators to break down relevant statistics. Creative visuals encourage audience engagement.

Audiences embrace content that is the most relevant to them. This establishes a community of like-minded followers.

A good marketer will use content to tell engaging stories. 

 

harper

Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it.
― Harper Lee
- See more at: http://positivewriter.com/8-of-the-most-inspiring-quotes-youll-ever-read-i-promise/?utm_content=buffer30bb1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#sthash.tGysMhzZ.dpuf

"Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it."
                   - Harper Lee                                    

― Harper Lee
- See more at: http://positivewriter.com/8-of-the-most-inspiring-quotes-youll-ever-read-i-promise/?utm_content=buffer30bb1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#sthash.tGysMhzZ.dpuf

Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it.
― Harper Lee
- See more at: http://positivewriter.com/8-of-the-most-inspiring-quotes-youll-ever-read-i-promise/?utm_content=buffer30bb1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#sthash.tGysMhzZ.dpuf

Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it.
― Harper Lee
- See more at: http://positivewriter.com/8-of-the-most-inspiring-quotes-youll-ever-read-i-promise/?utm_content=buffer30bb1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#sthash.tGysMhzZ.dpuf

Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it.
― Harper Lee
- See more at: http://positivewriter.com/8-of-the-most-inspiring-quotes-youll-ever-read-i-promise/?utm_content=buffer30bb1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#sthash.tGysMhzZ.dpuf

Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it.
― Harper Lee
- See more at: http://positivewriter.com/8-of-the-most-inspiring-quotes-youll-ever-read-i-promise/?utm_content=buffer30bb1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#sthash.tGysMhzZ.dpuf

Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it.
― Harper Lee
- See more at: http://positivewriter.com/8-of-the-most-inspiring-quotes-youll-ever-read-i-promise/?utm_content=buffer30bb1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#sthash.tGysMhzZ.dpuf