Jacques Lu Cont, Paris, November 2004

Dead hip-hop

Un soir il est parti en studio il n'est jamais revenu / pour moi il est mort meme si certains disent l'avoir revu / il est mort / le hip hop

Klub des loosers Vive la vie album out now.

at one point you take a blank paper, drink your glass of water, and start thinking about where the next record should take you. It's all about connecting dots and envisioning the new territories you're willing to travel in.

Fragment 10


Digiki sounds, Nagoya, August 2004

Fragment 9


Momus, Kokura, July 2003

Fragment 8


Tetsuya, Osaka, August 2004

Fragment 7


La Dent d'Oche, November 2004

Fragment 6


David, Shimokitazawa, August 2004

Fragment 5


Me, Paris, October 2004

Fragment 4


Toog, Paris, August 2003

Fragment 3


Gallerie Nuit d'Encre, Paris, July 2004

Fragment 2


Eric Ker, Paris, August 2003

Fragment 1


Midori Hirano, Meguro, July 2003

From DRM to CRM (do your reach me ?)


Looking ahead, usability will be the critical issue for DRM. Content protection will need to take a back seat to user requirements for a seamless and enjoyable user experience.

From this interesting piece (thanks Remi) about EMI/Sony looking for ways to respect the consumer.

Old & New


Yes, it's coming. More on this soon.

ODB is dead.

According to Momus, the year ends in mid november. Interesting take.
Oh, and his album is the best record this year ! No less.
Check back in december for my 2004 playlist. It's been an exciting year !

I love Karl

And I forgot to say...

...that I like the new Halcali album. I, too, dream of a magic world of hip hop made by cute girls.
And I like the new Snoop, well, let's say it's working better on me than the new Handsome Boy Modeling School, which is, interesting (ie above average shitty hip hopheu stuff), but not that good, -as my father brought So how you're girl ? in his car we played it on our way to Switzeland last week, which was perfect-, but at least, sampling Vivaldi all over Rock 'n' Roll...part 2 makes the new Handsome Boys somewhat related to the sampling let's do whatever we want feel of some of Halcali productions (I mean: Rip Slyme-produced tracks). Baby blue is still strangely attractive, even if FPM is boring (as a producer, not as a DJ). Well, whatever. If you understand this post, I'm worried.

What are you waiting for (hint: inspiration)

I can't wait to go
Back into Japan
Get me lots of brand new fans
Osaka, Tokyo
You Harajuku girls
Damn, you've got some wicked style...

GO!
LOOK AT YOUR WATCH NOW!
YOU'RE STILL A SUPER HOT FEMALE!
YOU GOT YOUR MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT!
AND THEY'RE ALL WAITING FOR YOUR HOT TRACK!

I like Gwen Stefani's What are you waiting for ?.

Interesting song about writer's block (which I have been experiencing since 2003).
Goood video too (and yes the references to Andre 3000 and Pharrel awaiting Gwen in various studios while she's trying hard to find inspiration are true, both are producing her new album, with Dre and others).

I like The Diplomats cover of Push it too. Real good (and pink, and drunk, and stupid and funny).

Brand dead

The truth is, we've always overestimated the power of branding while underestimating consumers' ability to recognize quality.

Did it really take us that long to realize that ?

The decline of brands in Wired magazine.

Topics

Interesting people having interesting talks on interesting subjects (pop, Bush II or Japan): it's all around you !
here (Nick Currie) or here (The pop sociology of pop is a perfect description of Marxy's blog).
In many ways everything is related.

I won't however comment on such topics, as I can't find interesting things to add to the discussion. If you know me you know where I'm going.

(In search of) digital experience

(This is a post I wrote a few weeks ago, but I wasn't too sure about posting this - if it's boring, skip it.)

Reading this or that, I'm even more convinced that the key to success in the digital age resides in a good user interface (UI). UI should be considered the central part in almost everything, as I think we should extend the concept of 'interface' to include real world interactions (versus the limited 'icons and mouse' view). When we are talking about 'shopping' experience we are talking about UI. Instant gratification is related to a good UI, as are those lessons learned from the Apple store. Consider Google: it's powerful (contain side) but it wouldn't be the same success if the interface wasn't that easy: simple, single input box, no ad, no popups, 'click and result' usability. This is what is definitively missing in Windows XP search tool: why so many clicks for so little results ? and such a delay in returns: no instant gratification here. Take the iPod: it doesn't work because it's a mp3 player (the market is overflooded by players), it is a wonderful product because its interface brings instant usability and gratification. And in the case of Apple products usability and gratification come from the start, when you open the box. Literraly out of the box added value.
I believe the search of good UI translates in services and products world. Let's say I'm doing a small (cultural contents) label, a record label for example. What I should look for is the right balance between rarety and availability, because the record market is both big enough to have new small labels and at the same time over crowded enough to maintain an halo of invisibility for small entities. The key to success (ie sustainability rather than profitability) should then be a mix of visibility (distribution, presence) and differenciation. And the best way to differentiate is to deliver the best experience, through a good UI. User interface here could be the tools used to reach the audience (website, online shop, event setting), and most importantly the product itselft in all its key elements: design, identity, feel (yes, you touch a record), all elements that lead to instant gratification (if you have ever rushed home with a just bought brand new record in hands you know what I mean), and what should be considered as collateral gratification (you have a piece of soemthing that others can relate too, now or later). Think of ways to turn availability into experience: why are bands doing limited edition 'Tour EPs' ? because when I buy a record at a live show I want it to be unique abd related to what I went to see, and if I usually don't buy anything at an event, I will consider buying something if it was made for this moment (event) only. So these are ideas about turning availability into experience, via rarety or uniqueness. Now there's another side of the UI: make things easily available, to anyone anywhere (as opposed to making things available to some people, in some places, for a limited time). If we stick to the record label example, I believe that in an over-crowded market such as the record market, using the same distribution model as the rest of the well-established labels is a wast of time. Go for the 'some places, some people' if you want a physical presence, but the only way to achieve global reach (even if small quantities are involved!) is using virtual distribution. By virtual distribution I don't mean selling the same product via a web site, but rather selling another form of the same content online. What's the point of opening an online shop for real, physical products, when this same product could be transformed in digital form ? Selling CDs through a selected range of record shops and distributors is OK, selling CDs online is a waste of time unless you are Amazon, you won't make any money packing and sending CDs worldwide. Contents and products should be adapted to the distribution channel, that's a fact. And with music, contains are easily turned into an all digital product. And I believe mp3 technology (without DRM) is the technology of choice for online availability. And charging a premium for something physicaly available in small quantity is working in the online world. In fact I was surprised to find that it works when recently I bought a mp3 on Warp records online store Bleep (very good experience if you ask me): I received info on a limited release (!!! vs. LFO to name it), only available in vinyl, 500 copies blah blah, and when I checked Bleep (first time!) I realized that it might be difficult to get the physical release (limited, expensive etc) but the track was available (and still is, no rarety implied here) in mp3 format for 1 euro 40 cents. More expensive than other online music stores maybe, but rare (added value). The process of buying and getting the product (experience) was great and easy, and gave me instant gratification (no more record hunting !). Oh and the file is not protected at all, so I'm sure some of you will copy it, share it, and enjoy it. Collateral gratification anyone ?
Just my two cents on the never ending story of making a label in the digital age.
Forget all that and go buy TTC !!