It’s well-established that the internet & digital distribution makes it easy to transcend physical boundaries.  I was just reminded of this as a consumer trying to buy MP3s from Amazon’s store where it disallowed my purchase since it could tell I was based in the UK.  However, I was able to download episodes of Lost from iTunes, which either aren’t available in the UK or are priced in GBP (whereas I bought them for $1.99 a pop).

With more consumers on the go, this problem can only grow more complex over time and lead to more confusion.  Product managers should do more to anticipate this and message accordingly.  For instance, Amazon shouldn’t even let me browse their MP3 store if I’m unable to purchase.    

The NYT has an article today about the ongoing saga at EMI and Guy Hands whose private equity firm, Terra Firma, is now trying to turn it around.  The article notes the chaotic time that the new owners have had.  I can only imagine what must have been an epic culture clash between the 'suits' and the 'creatives'.  Apparently, Hands thinks they may have overpaid for the recorded music part of the business and he may sell it if market conditions don't improve.  There's another dynamic with respect to the debt that Citigroup holds, which gives it a lot more leverage over Terra Firma than is usual when a loan of that size gets syndicated.  In addition, there is a lot of scrutiny and, therefore, pressure, especially here in the UK where EMI is an important part of the country's cultural fabric.

At any rate, here's some free advice for EMI that is short of completely exiting the recorded music business: Get out of the new music business and, instead, become a catalog company.

• EMI's catalog is legendary and they clearly have a core competency in being able to profitably market and sell their catalog. 
• On the other hand, EMI have proven not to be able to break new music.  Yes, they still have Coldplay in contract whose new record seems to be a winner.  But that's not enough.  EMI's market share this year fell to 8.7% in the US according to SoundScan.  That's barely more than just Atlantic Records!  Bob Lefsetz gives his unique take here.  Doing a quick scan through the Billboard top 50 and I can't find a single new music entry from EMI.  (Yes I realize that Coldplay will soon be on it but you get my point).
• And, further proving my point, the EMI-distributed albums that are in the Billboard top 50 — Best of Radiohead,  Now 28 and NOW That's What I Call Classic Rock — are all catalog!
• Breaking new music is costly and risky and hard to predict.  Not exactly the type of businesses that private equity firms like to invest in.  In fact, per the article, "…according to Mr. Hands, the company was doing worse than
  commonly thought. An analysis by McKinsey and KPMG found that EMI had
  lost £750 million ($1.5 billion) from selling new music over the last
  five years.

  “We didn’t believe it at first,” he said,
  explaining that the figures that EMI previously reported counted sales
  of re-releases of music from old acts like the Beatles as new music
  revenue.

  “They were doing everything they could to hide the fact
  that they were losing huge amounts of money in new music,” he said.
  “The good news was they were making a fortune in catalog.”

So there you have it.  Of course they'd need to refresh the catalog by buying new repertoire from others but presumably they can 'buy low, sell high' given their core competency in catalog. 

Regardless, I'm hoping that they can turn it around — they are a legendary institution that changed the world — and I like that they're bringing in new blood from other fields that will have different perspectives and not have the institutional major label hangups (about which more later). 

Morcheeba is a British trip-hop band.  They broke onto the scene with Big Calm, their album from the late '90's with their sultry, loungy sound featuring Skye Edwards on vocals.  It is a phenomenal record.  I hadn't really followed them since (and remember they'd put out 1 or 2 not-so-good records since Big Calm).  I did a little research prior to the gig and discovered that they founding brothers of the band had parted ways with Skye a few years back in favor of having a rotating series of singers, so I went to the show with some trepidation.

In the event, they didn't disappoint.  They had french singer Manda as lead singer.  She has an amazing, sultry voice and had good chemistry with the rest of the band.  Apparently she contacted the band through their MySpace page telling them that it'd be a dream to sing with them.  Cool.  They played several cuts from Big Calm — Part Of The Process, The Sea, Over & Over — but also ones from Dive Deep, their most recent album and others. 

All in all, I'm glad I went (and glad that they're still together), and will buy their new album since I dug some of those tracks.

The battery on my iPod died recently.  It happened all of a sudden.  It was working and then, it wouldn't hold its charge.  So I researched my options.  It's out of warranty but Apple has a service to have iPods shipped for battery replacement.  It costs $69.95 + shipping and takes a week to turn around.  There are authorized repair centers as well but some of them won't give a quote over the phone and you of course have to take the ipod in.  Then I came across the NYC iPod doctor, otherwise knows as Demetrios.  Since I was headed into NYC for a few days, I contacted him and we worked out a time to meet.  He met me at a time and place of my convenience and was cheaper as well (~ $45 if I recall correctly). 

In Demetri's words, "'I've been a traveling iPod Doctor for about four years know.  I got
started when I sent an iPod off to Apple to get it repaired and was
quoted a $250 repair bill.  So I decided to start buying broken iPod
and reselling them but more and more people who were selling me their

iPods REALLY just wanted to get them fixed so i stopped selling them and started repairing them for people." It is now a full-time job and he doesn't seem to have much competition in Manhattan. 

The iPod Doctor is a great example of a new type of job that emerges from what Schumpeter termed "creative destruction".  The prospects of a record store clerk or owners don't look so good.  But on-demand servicing of iPods and related devices?  I'd say the prospects are much better.

I've been checking out 9 Lives, the new Steve Windwood album.  After a few listens, I'd rate it a solid B.  I like his jazzier side, especially from the Blind Faith days (as opposed to his later pop phase) and this efforts belongs firmly to the former.  The first single, "Dirty City", has Eric Clapton play guitar and could pass for a Traffic track, with Winwood's soaring voice, Clapton's licks and the organ and percussion over nearly 8 minutes.  My other favorite is "Fly".  Worth it if you're a Winwood fan or want a good dinner party album.