5 reasons why indie music will bomb on mobile

Headline: Ericsson announces indie music for mobile

Nooooo!! Ericsson, run away from this now!!

I'm sure Ericsson execs are proud of their achievement - "it's never been done! we're the first company to have all these shit songs on a crappy phone!" Woo hoo!!

So why do execs of major corporations think indie music is a GOOD idea?

Reason 1. it's cheap compared to major labels. The major labels have squeezed every penny out of the value chain. Ericsson knows they can only make low-single-cent margins on the hits. But then they discovered indie music and thought "WOW, we can make ten cents more per track if we sell indie music! Our business model will work now!" Nooooo - sorry, indie music will not save your business model.

Reason 2. it makes our music service unique. Yes, their music service *should* be unique - but not by loading it full of music nobody wants. Instead, they should focus on making it easy to use, easy to port to devices, etc - the unique features should actually add value and make the service better.

So... now the fun part...

5 REASONS WHY INDIE MUSIC WILL BOMB ON MOBILE:

1. no demand. really. sure they mention Green Day, but most of their shit is Irish folk music.

2. not worth it for the MAJORITY of the artists. The Irish folk singer will be sooo excited that their song is available in S. Korea - but she'll be equally bummed when NOBODY cares. Her royalty payment will be $3.19 each month.

3. it's a pain to provide the service. Indie bands change labels about as often as they change undies. this just adds to the massive confusion.

4. try promoting the music. "This irish hottie keeps pumping out the obscure hits!" Open your eyes! People don't want to take chances on mobile music - it's too expensive and slow. you've got to REALLY want a song to go through all the pain of getting it on your phone - so people will buy the hits.

5. no money. My prediction: Ericsson spent MORE on legal fees signing this deal than they will ever make on selling this trash.

For the story that started my rant:
http://www.moconews.net/entry/ericsson-pocket-group-in-deal-for-mobile-music