www.AmplifiedRecords.net

“Intelligent control appears as uncontrol or freedom. And for that reason it is generally intelligent control.

Unintelligent control appears as external domination. And it is for that reason it is really unintelligent control.

Intelligent control exerts influence without appearing to do so.Unintelligent control tries to influence by making a show of force.”

-Lao Tzu

Translation: 1) Digital music

distribution is out of control and free flowing - this benefits everyone

2) ‘Music Like Water’ will make everyone more money than ‘Music on Plastic’

After you pay off your home loan, would you let the bank keep ownership of your

home?

Problem:• The traditional model of marketing and

selling music no longer works.• The major record labels and retail giants

are dependant on huge, platinum hits: only one out of every ten releases cover costs.

• The airwaves are primarily dominated by hit-driven acts, watered-down for a mass audience.

• Independent artists who don’t fit this mold are left to fend for themselves.

• We are an artist management firm specializing in bookings, promotions, and business advice.

• Our goal is to develop & manage labels for our clients

• Our fee is 20% of our clients’ gross revenue

• Our target clients are upstart, talented musicians in the greater Houston metropolitan area

Solution:

• Pure digital retailers such as iTunes and Rhapsody exist without physical goods and can deliver items with virtually no marginal cost, allowing any artist to sell their product to the public at no additional cost to the retailer.

• ‘The Amp’ is designed to help the artists understand the changing economics of the music industry and to help them capitalize fully on the growing viral marketplace.

Creative control, publishing, masters, and any intellectual property will remain our clients’

“We sold more books today that didn't sell at all yesterday than we sold today of all the

books that did sell yesterday." -former Amazon employee

Many of our assumptions about popular taste are actually artifacts of poor supply-and- demand matching – a market response to

inefficient distribution

“To find something comparable, you have to go back 500 years to the birth of

the printing press, the birth of mass media … Technology is shifting power

away from the editors, the publishers, the establishment, the media elite. Now it’s

the people who are taking control.” -Rupert Murdoch, Wired, July 2006

“Unlimited selection is revealing truths about what customers want and how they want to get it.”

–Chris Anderson

But, what does this all mean Mr. Peabody?-The $12 billion industry is shifting away from the majors and towards the artists being in control of their own destiny.

-Lots of musicians will need business management, legal, and technological advice.

-Having a vast network of artists under one umbrella can be a powerful co-branding tool for both the firm and client.

18% of all music sales are independent of the majors

New Revenue Model• Just give the damn music away, or most of

it, to increase brand awareness: “Hearing is Believing”

• Free sampling not only drives sales – it’s also a long-term strategy for converting listeners into loyal customers

• Ubiquity INCREASES value!• The touring industry has grown from $1.3

billion in ’98 to over $2.1 billion as of ’03

Remember:

• Music publishers tried to shut down the first radio stations

• Television was considered a threat to the movie theatre industry

• The home cassette player was considered a threat to the music industry

Anyone see a trend here?

Don’t sell copies, sell accessMaximize touring and merchandising

“Music Like Water:” The Future of Music• Music must be open, free-flowing, and

ubiquitous like water• Business models that empower the end user

will succeed– Monthly subscription, up-sell premium

access and content– Take a % of ad revenue (see: YouTube)

Music must remain open source: a liquid that can be morphed, migrated, flexed, and linked.

“With digitization, music changes from being a noun, to a verb, once again.” – Kevin Kelly

Amplified Records“Thinking Innovation, Not Litigation® ”

Acknowledgements:Chris Anderson

Wired Magazine editor-in- chief, author of The Long Tail

Kevin Kellyauthor of Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, and the Economic World

Gerd Leonhard and Dave Kusek authors of The Future of Music

Wendy DayRap Coalition, label consultant

Alex Grey, artist