Sword Flame Media: content

Showing posts with label content. Show all posts

Nov 13, 2021

to own the rights to her music

Taylor Swift rereleased her Red album recently in an affort to own the rights to her music.

Taylor Swift

Back in November of 2020 Taylor talked about a sale of her masters to a third party. This transaction occurred without her knowledge or permission. Taylor started rerecording those albums and Red is the second one.

Red is raking in the streams.

A post on morningbrew.com was the source for this post.

Nov 11, 2021

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.

Mar 23, 2020

15 great double albums

Bold statements from artists. We get them from time to time. They are double albums.

Here is a link from goliath.com about 15 great double albums.

The 15 Greatest Double Albums in Rock History

More on the coronavirus:

Why coronavirus is so successful

What we know keeps changing on coronavirus

Dec 25, 2019

streaming plus vinyl

There has been a slip in sales of music CD's. Music stores are getting rid of CD space and making room for vinyl sales product. Vinyl has strummed a nostalgic chord.

As the chart above shows, the decline in sales has been on a steep slide. CD's are still viable with consumers going for certain genres like country and soundtracks. It does boil down to less CD sales.

Vinyl has made a comeback. Vinyl sales started to climb in 2006. Vinyl sales hit a 25-year high in 2017. Vinyl is seen as the medium of the den and the living room.

Streaming has increased among consumers. The car and the kitchen are the most popular streaming locations.

CD's are still needed, especially for touring acts. It's so much easier to sell CD's at the merch table.

This Rolling Stone article is the source for this post.

Nov 28, 2018

saving country music

I ran across a good article about Chris Stapleton, who recently received the Country Music Association awards for Song of the Year, Single of the Year, and Male Vocalist of the Year.

Basically, the article centers on Stapleton.

Chris Stapleton

The article mentions that Stapleton is an artist with substance and is appreciated by his peers.

I told a couple of my colleagues that Chris might have saved a format. Chris is a breath of fresh air. I do like his song Broken Halos, which took the Single and Song of the Year on November 14th. My hope is that Chris continues writing material that is soulful and meaningful.

My role in country music radio is to play Broken Halos with other songs. Playing new music with good, solid tunes already in rotation is where the creative winds start to blow.

Here is a 3 song set I came up with:

John Anderson - Wild and Blue
Chris Stapleton - Broken Halos
Glen Campbell - Gentle On My Mind

Here's another:

The Bellamy Brothers - Lovers Live Longer
Chris Stapleton - Broken Halos
George Jones - He Stopped Loving Her Today

I hope this will give you ideas.

Nov 14, 2018

80's country songs

Rosanne Cash

I came across theboot.com for country music playlists. I have seen their 80's country music playlist. I started in country radio in August 1981. I was in country radio all through the 80's.

Here's the link to the playlist: 1980s Country Fans Playlist

I have particular songs on this to point out. If you are in country radio music programming, you might consider these selections.

Islands in the Stream - Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers
Rosanne Cash - Seven Year Ache
All My Ex's Live in Texas - George Strait
Why Not Me - The Judds
Guitar Town - Steve Earle
Can't Even Get the Blues - Reba McEntire
I'm No Stranger to the Rain - Keith Whitley
Mountain Music - Alabama

There's two that are first number 1's on the Billboard Country Chart: Rosanne Cash and Reba McEntire.

Use these songs in between current country songs. Check out the entire list. Expand your music horizon.

Sep 3, 2018

is excellent music a ridiculous notion?

Great albums were once routine, especially in the 1970's.

The album, long a mainstay of rock canon, is still with us. But, for how long? Seriously. Does anyone know. Does anyone care? The canon was once defined by albums. Are we at the end of an age?

Debbie Harry

With downloading and live streaming, the industry has changed. Has the product suffered as a result? Well, some artists have been moved out of the way. But really, which artists will stand another test of time? That remains to be seen. Don't be discouraged. We only enjoy and contribute what we experience. Perhaps there will be enough that experience great music to keep some of that music to the forefront.

I hope albums still will be canon. That'd be something for us to measure, to take hold of. We'll see.

This post from theguardian was the inspiration for this post.

May 9, 2018

the 50 best selling albums in america

You might think albums are a thing of the past. Well, I suppose they are. I don't particularly like writing that but we have to face the facts. Vinyl has gained some resurgence, which may spark your curiosity as to which albums have sold well in the United States.

This list, so far, has tested the time spectrum and is worth noting. I was particularly impressed by the variety of genres. Songs contained in them were hits that made the artist's popularity mainstream. Several of these artists are still popular.

Led Zeppelin

This list is a good reference. Use it to add songs to your personal playlists.

Phil Collins

Here's the link to the post from Newsweek: Top 50 Selling Albums in the U.S.

Matchbox 20

Jan 6, 2018

video storytelling

Video is hot. There's not mistaking it. Video is an excellent way to tell a story. Some say it's the only way to tell a story. That's debatable, I know, but video requires everyone's attention. Even you are not into video yet, take a look at a few a day. This will give you a handle on what is going on.

One thing for sure: videos are watched. Another thing: videos are shared.

Video stimulates the senses in ways written text does not. Research has shown that certain words stimulate our senses. With video, using these "word objects" in the videos really have an impact. Two words are "perfume" and "coffee". Well think of this...... producing a video where the storyteller is drinking a cup of coffee. You get the meaning.

Video done correctly, stimulates many areas of the brain. That's what you want. Stimulation generally garners a response. This is rolled into the field of neuroscience, a very important field. This science helps with understanding why video works so well.

Video is to a point where it can't be ignored. I personally don't use video...... yet. But I watch several and I study them to help with my ideas. The move to video is a process. My process is at the blueprint stage. I am drawing up the plan.

Video is storytelling that informs and entertains. It also constructs new knowledge and develops critical learning skills.

So draw up your plan. If you need help, I can aid you. At least study what video is doing in the marketing realm.

Grow Your Business with Social Video Marketing - eClincher https://t.co/2cURhuklhj #SocialMediaMarketing #socialmediatips
— Tal Mikaelovich 😎 (@Mikaelovich) January 6, 2018

Dec 23, 2017

npr's top 50 albums of 2017

2017: a year that kept us on edge, according to npr.org. There war music that captured our attention instantly. That's good.

nprmusic These are the 50 best albums of 2017. How many have you heard?
https://t.co/TbloSD72XV pic.twitter.com/6wvhNm5Cfi
— Mile High Company (@milehighcompany) December 23, 2017

Dec 7, 2017

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

Dec 5, 2016

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

Dec 2, 2016

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

Oct 27, 2016

curated content

Curation is all about sorting through the vast amount of content across the Web.

Find and share the gems whether it’s in your newsletters, across social channels, or as research for creating your own content.

When you start sharing more curated content you’ll quickly learn more about your audience. This will also help dictate the type of content to invest in creating yourself.

Keep things fresh.

Mar 17, 2016

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.

Mar 13, 2016

music and the internet

The music industry's use of the Internet has come a long way. Let's face it, the Internet was killing music. Digital rights were a problem. Device compatibility was too. Streaming services came next. Big Data and analytics have played a big part in the positive evolution.

What's been moving the evolution?

Recommendation engines designed to make the perfect playlist is redefining the dynamics of the music industry. The relationship is creative between listeners and music. This relationship has built a new horizon for the music and the listener.

In the past, the record industry had limited ways to learn who was buying LPs, cassettes, or CDs. Downloading allowed record labels to begin tracking listening habits and making recommendations like Amazon does for books.

The current streaming model opened the floodgates.

All the listening is up for grabs. The industry wants to gain a deeper understanding of its customers and the music.

Raw music is unstructured data because it is easily digitized. It can be quantified and analyzed. Since 1999, the Musical Genome Project has been structurng music data by manual classification as well as automated algorithms. Up to 450 data points are used. 30 million songs are in the database.

The Musical Genome Project was developed by Pandora.

The Internet of Things could be finding its place in music. The streaming model is popular. Look for crowdfunding platforms to spring up. Live streams translate into revenue streams.

Data Analytics is the driving force.

Feb 17, 2016

cell-phone novels

We've had e-books on Kindle and Nook, but are you ready for novels delivered to cellphones?

They'll be delivered one chapter at a time. Breaking down novels into installments really isn't a new concept. Novelist Charles Dickens did so when he published small novels in London newspapers. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave the world Sherlock Holmes in installments before he wrote the first Holmes full-fledged novel.

Mobile publishing, though, is a new idea and has merit.

Chiki Sarkar, the former head of Penguin India has launched a new publishing venture specializing in mobile "books". Juggernaut Books has a strong editorial team and a good backing.

Mobile publishing is an exciting business with plenty of potential. There's an "experiment" feel to digital publishing. I'm sure there is still much to decide.

Read more from a source post on Vogue India

Read more from a source post on Deccan Chronicle

What we have now is Juggernaut Books, a publishing house with strong investors and one of the most high-powered editorial teams in the business.

Read more at: http://www.vogue.in/content/what-chiki-sarkar-wants-you-to-know-about-her-new-publishing-house-juggernaut-books/

Feb 16, 2016

replacing old blog posts

Every content piece has value, and while you may need to replace an old blog post, for example, you can update it with fresh, new information, even while keeping in a link that is still good and, most likely, has search engine optimization (SEO) attached to it. When you get ready to repost the updated version, use an editor’s note at the top under the title, or at the bottom, indicating when the post was first published and noting that it's been updated for new information.

Jun 1, 2014

pandora's contribtion

In another blog I posted about Pandora. Pandora is the infrastructure for 100,000 artists. They have taught much about audience and fan engagement.

Brand strategy and success. Pandora has been a master at it. Competition in the space is heating up and I'm curious how Pandora will hold up. But I can't help but think of 2011, a good year for Pandora.

Original Post: Pandora's Contribution on 1776media

Apr 21, 2014

blogging

Mix the bowl. Blog for reflection, thought leadership, and sales. Blogging ties interests and objectives together.

First I blog content that is full of personality. The passion of the industry you're in comes to the forefront. This showcases you to those who have an interest too! Your voice in the conversation is heard. This moves you and your product forward.

You might feel as if you're doing the same thing over and over again. We all get that feeling - and that's ok. Just don't project that feeling to your audience.

Think of this.

We aren't bored. Just in a daily routine. Others might wish to have our routine - think of that too.

I keep on topic - part of my routine - so your message remains fresh and vibrant. I'll create blog content for you. If you need that content often for your creative process, I'll write that into your blog posts. Trends, conversations, and information about you go into the blog. This gets you Social Media traction to establish your brand. Then we'll use it, share it, post it, and email it. I feel blogs are best used for outbound marketing efforts - not just for inbound marketing. I'll make your blog revolve and evolve!

Voice

With blogging, your voice is established, which helps your stature and develops your niche.

Two items come to mind:

Search engine rankings become higher as your blog becomes indexed in Google and other search engines.
As the same topics are written about multiple times, and are shared, your voice is developed.

Blogging needs to reflect the impact of your daily, creative influence. Yes, I wrote "daily", so you'll always have plenty of content - which can be re-purposed for future Social Media work. That way you create information - you create history.

Catalog

Your blog becomes a catalog of information and therefore an asset of you, for you and your readers. I take an active role in your blog and blogging efforts to establish your online presence. Your voice is your voice. This endeavor creates your knowledge and insight in your industry and creates a better future.

Message

Your blog is your message. I'll work with you to draw-up a marketing department and learn what topics are to absorbed into your organization. You too are involved in the blogging process. You'll make an impact on what marketing creates!

I'll help you go after the initiative to make goals, create, and work for innovation that's relevant to you and your audience. I'll develop sources to enhance the topics we'll promote. This has a greater impact on your career and your online showcase so you'll become an industry authority.

SwordFlameMedia takes you through the process step-by-step, allowing you to be involved in command decisions. Contact me for a content marketing plan and proposal.

5 REASONS WHY YOUR COMPANY OR CLIENT NEEDS A BLOG