2highbehind

kpn HOTSPOTS suck

Imagine you log on to a KPN (dutch mobile network provider) hotspot and pay via SMS. The next thing your computer does is start up applications like MSN messenger, email (outlook) and Skype (250million user ww). KPN does not like that and tells you this: The helpdesk told me that my 2 euro was gone and that it had nothing to do with the other KPN lines of business.. SURE This is the reason why companies like KPN with bottom line management will loose their market share... DARE to SHARE Mr. Scheepbouwer and make your networks fit the need of your customers.. VIVA! OOPS it's in Dutch ;-) it says that when you are a Skype user, you can't use the hotspot...

What a day

The sun shines, it's cold and last night we had a classic friends gathering... Tomorrow the world will be different..

It must be Osama hiding in it?

>> whale spotted

Very proud of Timmy and his KS adventure

Not much music and partnerships started in Holland and realize a solid base in the US. Timmy and his mates at KS (kidered spirits) are together with Rich Medina kicking ass in New York as we speak and will do some more in Miami later this year. It's nice to see that Amsterdam has so many good things to offer and that others thinks so too ;-)>> Timeout NY

week in review

The mobile music space moved forward this week with several launches and developments. Bell

Canada

and Telecom New

Zealand

both unveiled full-track, over-the-air (OTA) services, powered by Groove Mobile. Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless is expected to deliver its own music store in January at CES.

Yahoo posted strong numbers following its coverage of the Howard Stern exit from terrestrial radio. The leading destination grabbed 4.4 million total stream requests over the multi-hour event, including a peak simultaneous load of 214,000 streams.

Some interesting search rankings came to light this week. Searches for "music lyrics" topped the list for meta-search engine Dogpile.com, while music celebrities dominated the top ten list for Yahoo.

A new bill attempting to plug the "analog hole" was introduced in the US House of Representatives, though consumer electronics manufacturers have already shown some skepticism. Meanwhile, an amendment to a copyright bill calling for the legalization of P2P-based downloads passed the lower house of parliament in

France

, potentially paving the way for a licensed P2P architecture.

Starbucks expanded its Hear Music Coffeehouse concept by opening a store in

San Antonio

this week. Like the

Santa Monica

,

CA

frontrunner, the installation will include digital kiosks that allow customers to select tracks and burn customized CDs. A South Beach, FL location will debut in early 2006.

Publishing giant Warner Chappell apologized to lyrics search engine pearLyrics, following a legal challenge from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The EFF defended pearLyrics, noting that the application did not actually host the lyric content.

Independent online music retailer eMusic now offers one million tracks, all of which are available in an open, MP3 format.

iPod sales appear robust, and the 1GB shuffle is already out-of-stock on the Apple website. Meanwhile, the Consumer Electronics Association estimates that 10 million portable MP3 players will be sold during the holiday season.

And Google offered an investment of $1 billion in Time Warner property America Online this week, approximately a 5 percent stake. The investment, which edged out a partnership play by Microsoft, was approved by the Time Warner board shortly thereafter.

Gotshrimp >> It's all coming together and digital music will grow up to be a feasable business. But how are we going to organise it all??? Think IndependentIP & MajorIP, HUH?? VIVA!

huh

WEA Corp. Reorganizes, Broadens Digital Distribution

December 21, 2005

WEA Corp. has just announced a strategic reorganization, partly in response to the growth of digital formats. The company, which is responsible for the sales and distribution of Warner Music Group product, will now revolve around four key divisions. Those divisions are Operations and Administration; Sales Analysis, Credit and Finance; Sales, Marketing and Developing Markets; and E-Commerce. The E-Commerce unit will continue to be led by Adam Mirabella, who will oversee distribution to key digital music providers, as well as wireless carrier partners. "I'm confident these changes will better serve our customers, label partners and their artists, and better situate WEA to fulfill our mission to get the right music in the right place at the right time," said John Esposito, President and CEO of WEA.

The reorganization reflects the increasingly important impact that digital formats are having, and the distribution demands that come with it. Most recently, Warner Music Group revealed that digital sales now account for 6 percent of its bottom line, a total that is being partially propelled by decreases in physical formats. The percentage was revealed during the company’s fiscal fourth quarter and full year earnings call. "Our focus on the digital music business has yielded dramatic growth in digital revenue," said label chairman Edgar Bronfman, Jr., while pointing to "four-fold year-over-year" improvements. The fiscal fourth quarter ended September 30th.

Happy New Year!

It has been a fantastic year. Glad to be free from corporate politics. 2005 was a year of getting ready for my next project. After spending the last 14 years on getting ideas to the market and find out if people were interested, it's now time to harvest and work on a project that inspires and makes people feel. The new project is named IndependentIP and we are going to make the music flow to all of you and make the people that make the music happy because they will get paid. Within the next couple of weeks www.independentip.com will be online, keep watching. Again I want to thank everybody that made last year so precious and fun. For all of you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Yesterday was so much fun, in the Amsterdam 'StadsSchouwburg' was a party I went to and before we staid home with friends. The party was inspired on eyes wide shut. hmmm no Nicole Kidman, but pritty Dutch people. behind the mask everybody feels a bit more strong and free. My motto for 2006, no masks, just freedom and good health for all on the planet. Dare to Share...