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20 Comments

  • Jon / BlogThot.com One year ago

    He shorted the iPod and longed the Zune? Wow!

    • Howard Lindzon One year ago

      Great interview but when Fred said that I only thought that I would not let him manage even my enemies money.

      • Jon One year ago

        please don’t bring this guy back… ever!

        • maximo zeledon One year ago

          Great chat Lindsay! The yet so far. Mr. Davis is so on the money it is not even funny. N one under thirty gives a shit about the record companies. But he is too nice to the big four. The greed within the record industry is no blame for their own demise–greed impeded their long-term vision and they got %%#@ed by Napster and its clones. Sure, they shut it down with law suits, but lets see if they can do that to bit torrent. I also love that he shorted the ipod…it made my day!!!

          Prince might need Mr. Davis:
          http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/13/prince.newspaper.ap/index.html

          • maximo zeledon One year ago

            The best so far*

            • maximo zeledon One year ago

              The greed within the record industry is to blame for their own demise*

              • Doug One year ago

                I can believe the long-short
                Short iPod (Steve jobs, no DRM)
                Long Zune (DRM and vendor lock in, pay for music once per device)
                Being from the industry, he wants the money. I can understand that.

                • Flash One year ago

                  Really good one! I gotta say, I hear what he says on the iPod/Zune thing. Now, this version of the Zune is pretty lame, and the file-sharing capabilities are meager at best, the next generation could blow some minds. Microsoft is very good at buy companies and people with good ideas and incorporating them. iPods are highly function, but not highly cutting edge, and the fact that you have to format them to work with a PC OR (not and) a Mac could be an achillies heel. Who knows?

                  • Richard One year ago

                    Yo Max. And just what is greedy about, “…making money on music without a transaction”?

                    Lindsay, loved the pen clicking.

                    • Carrie One year ago

                      Always learning something new thanks
                      to Wallstrip :)

                      • maximo zeledon One year ago

                        Richard,

                        I don’t think I understand your question, but when I say greed I am talking about the Gestapo PROFITABILITY MODELS used by the big record companies and how they swallowed small record companies just to grab one or two artists on that label but killed a dozen more because it wasn’t profitable to have them. But in doing so they got away from the Long Tail business model that the web provided via Napster, and later itunes, Amazon. And let’s not forget the independent artist like David Bowie and Prince (who were the first to sale their songs directly to the public over the web back in 1996). Companies like Universal and Warner Music Group are famous for buying small independent labels and firing their management. The big four tried to control production, but in the digital age production is cheap. You can make one copy and a few college students can handle the reproduction if you get my meaning. It serves them for not respecting artist and the public by serving shit like Britney. See, you can give people shit and they will buy it, but you can do that only once.

                        But this is “Platica de presos” as my old man likes to say. Translation: Priosoners conversation. Publishing is where the money is in the music business and technology has made it possible for anyone to publish cheaply (e.g. Wallstrip). It’s a complex subject, but the basic principle is that when an artist puts pen to paper that artist owns the publishing. It’s that simple. Period! Whoever creates the words or music owns those words or music and they should make the money, not Tony Meola, unless the artist is Talia in which case he is getting more than songs rights. When you shift control to the artist I think everyone wins. A lot of independent artist love itunes…guys you never heard of are making good coin via itunes.

                        Last semester I took this really great business course taught by Stephen Janis who was an independent music producer and the guy who discover Jay-Z. He told us that CD-burning and MP3′ing is not the only reason record sales tanked. File-sharing and burning
                        is only one aspect. The other factor is the shit they sell which has to be supported by massive marketing campaigns. The industry is also a cartel dominated by paranoia and greed “with enough money and public-relations talent to turn Congress into a marionette.” To quote Dan Gillmor. The guys at Sony music were hacking into people’s computers. That’s hard to defend.

                        We still live in a democracy and in a market-driven economy, but the big four are more suitable for Putin’s Russia. Their dream was to turn the web into another cartel-like piping system like television, movie distribution and commercial radio. I’m glad they are getting crushed.

                        Have a good weekend.

                        • Howard Lindzon One year ago

                          everybody have a great weekend but watch my show tomorrow.

                          we have a name thanks to jason meshowork

                          • corey One year ago

                            Ok, it was a decent interview until he did the Long/Short Zune/Ipod.

                            He’s either clueless or trying to promote Zune for his personal reasons.

                            Also he doesn’t understand “Social Networking”.

                            • Richard One year ago

                              Max: It was rhetorical. Fred made the statement, “…make money on music without a transaction” That seemed to be the epitome of greed to me, making money without adding value.

                              • Richard One year ago

                                What’s the name Howard?

                                • Howard Lindzon One year ago

                                  he lost me in long short too

                                  tune in tomorrow richard

                                  • notreallysure One year ago

                                    Richard…..isn’t the music the value?

                                    • Richard One year ago

                                      Notreallysure: I was referring to the “added-value” not the intrinsic value.

                                      • Martin Frönmark One year ago

                                        I didn’t read the comments until after and I see I’m not the only one who reacted to the iPod and Zune positions. Let’s hope for his sake that he makes better calls outside electronic entertainment ;-)

                                        • maximo zeledon One year ago

                                          Martin, Let’s hope for you sake that you look ahead. The present is already the past and the future…well the future is coming it I can’t see an ipod in it.

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