After David Byrne and Brian Eno self-released their album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today last August, they generated profits equivalent to a label advance. How? Software marketing, of course.
We’ve all seen a definite push towards the marriage of technology and music in marketing: Artists sign exclusively with major brands to help market their brand, or a tech marketer uses top hit in its advertising (e.g. “Around the Bend” by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour in last fall’s Apple commercial). Now software and technology companies such as Topspin Media and echo music strive to market their artists' fan base and business.
Topspin Media, which commercially released its program last week in conjunction with SXSW, has developed software and services that enable artists to build their business and brand, manage their catalog, and directly market to their fans using a variety of techniques. Customizable software includes embeddable widgets on the artists’ homepage, so fans can then take the widgets and redistribute them on their own web pages. This transforms fans into marketers, and results show more than 50% of artist emails get opened and an average purchase of $22.
Everything That Happens is a good example: Byrne and Eno offered free song downloads before the album release in exchange for e-mail addresses. Then when Byrne and Eno promoted the new album, they sent out email blasts to their fans about tour dates and their limited-edition 180-gram vinyl record release. They also released a streaming version of the album eight weeks before it was available for retail, along with packaged deals.
The software is currently in invite-only mode, but Topspin has 40 clients using it, including the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Paul McCartney, Arcade Fire, and Metric. Ian Rogers, Topspin CEO, expects to grow that customer base to a few hundred artists by the end of the year.
Topspin Media announced last week that it will be partnering with Berklee College of Music, offering classes starting next fall to teach artists, labels, and managers how to use the Topspin platform to market music and develop a fan base. Peter Gotcher, co-founder and chairman of Topspin Media back in 1995 said that he “aspires to nothing less than freeing musicians from the tyranny of record-label companies.” He might finally get his wish.
We all know the text-book version of Charles Darwin: A man who had a soft-spot for beetles and sported an unkempt white beard (see the reverse side of a £10 note); a man who, 150 years ago, after a four-year voyage on the HMS Beagle wrote his discoveries on evolution and natural selection in The Origin of Species. But many of us might not realize that Darwin sat on his discovery for almost 25 years, perhaps because of conflict with the Anglican Church, the love for his religious wife and the unresolved death of his 10-year old daughter.
In light of the bicentennial of Darwin’s birth, Jon Amiel, director of the movie Creation(staring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly and set to release in Fall 2009) talks to us briefly about the book that inspired him to direct this film, Amiel’s discovery of a younger, family-oriented Darwin, as well as his insights on the evolving film industry (needless to say, a contortion of Darwinism, but I had to ask).
FC: What inspired you to direct this film?
What first led me into it was a book by Randal [Hume] Keynes (Darwin’s great-great-grandson [and also production consultant for the film]). This book is built of family memoirs (diaries, letters and objects) rather than out of a big ideological or theoretical base. Suddenly, when you start reading his letters and you start hearing the story of his relationship with his 10-year-old daughter who died, you find yourself drawn into an intense, emotional journey with an actually incredibly emotional man; Darwin was shy, reclusive, and probably the most reluctant revolutionary that ever lived. He absolutely adored his children – he was actually a modern kind of father, very un-Victorian. [He] allowed his kids to free-run, didn’t give a damn about what they wore, and was generally an absolutely delightful parent and human being. So I became fascinated by the drama and appearance and what happens to a man in a society that is dominated by the church. [The movie is about] what happens to a man who is married to a devoutly Christian woman—who he adores—and how he manages to reconcile his scientific beliefs with his love for his wife [and what happens] when his daughter dies and shatters his belief in a benign deity. Also there is the mystery of Darwin’s sickness. As most people know, [he] suffered all of his adult life with a range of very alarming symptoms and there has been a lot of speculation of what caused that. I got very interested in exploring why—I believe—he made himself ill.
What do you want viewers to learn about Darwin that they didn’t already know?
Firstly Darwin has been demonized by the conservative Christian right as sort of anti-Christ. I would hope that anybody who had that image of Darwin would have those ideas dispelled by the portrait of a man in enormous conflict, basically a socially conservative man who found himself drawn to seemingly deeply subversive conclusions. Secondly I hope that most people coming away from the film will be enormously entertained and deeply moved. I don’t know anyone who’s yet seen the rough cut that hasn’t been moved to tears. And finally, I hope that by connecting to the man viewers will want to be more deeply connected to his ideas. We weren’t interested in making a historical documentary; we were interested in making a very passionate portrait of an extraordinary mind in a state of extraordinary conflict. My hope is audiences come away inspired to think about Darwin’s ideas and carry them forward.
Initially doing research for the film, what did you discover about Darwin that you didn’t know before, that came to you as a surprise?
Just about everything. I was shocked how little I knew about Darwin other than his basic ideas; I knew nothing of him as a human being. And I think I was shocked at how close I felt to him. [Before, he was as remote to me] as Shakespeare or Aristotle in some ways. I’ve come to feel that I know [him] very well.
Why cast Paul Bettany as the younger, beardless family-oriented Darwin?
People always say that Paul Bettany was the only one I ever wanted, but the fact is that it is true. Paul Bettany is an absolute lock for this role. Firstly he is English. Secondly he’s very much Darwin’s physique—Darwin was incredibly tall, slightly gawking and gangly (Paul is 6’4”, Darwin was 6’3”). He also has the high forehead that Darwin had and the sandy complexion, which made him perfect [for the role]. Most important of all, he has a kind of luminous intelligence, which is the hardest thing of all to fake in an actor. Paul possesses the ability to actually make you believe that he’s capable of thinking the thoughts that he expresses. It’s a long way from the Hollywood cliché of putting a pair of glasses on an actor and actually making them believe that they are a nuclear physicist. [Bettany] really has unfakable intelligence.
What was the biggest challenge during filming?
Never work with children and animals [laughs]. I had a total of nine children in this film with important roles and more animals than I’ve actually managed to count.
No. I would be concerned if there was no backlash. Darwin’s ideas are not a theory or a hypothesis [but are] essentially a fact. They’re no more subject to question in my mind than the ideas Galileo or Newton or any of those other theories that are essentially beyond question. Those who would tell us that the world is only six thousand years old would still probably want to tell us the sun revolves around the earth. I hope this film provokes some lively backlash; it will be a sign at least that we did something right.
Many industries today are changing and evolving [or in some cases companies are going extinct]; companies are adapting to meet the needs of their changing environment and company goals. How do you think adaptation and change has affected your line of business, and what have you done to adapt?
Our industry blows great bellowing smokescreens about art, but essentially it’s about money, and as the revenue sources change, so does our business. And as our business changes, so does the art inserted in the common cinema. The domination of foreign markets over domestic markets has changed the entire way movies are conceptualized and structured. Plus, there is a growing change in demographics: only younger people are willing to brave long lines at the multiplexes, whereas as the older people tend to wait until the DVD comes out. Those two things have really changed and are continuing to change our entire industry. The fact is, the giant [blockbuster] movies are increasingly prevailing at the box office and on the studio’s production slates, where as the smaller, nimbler creatures in our business are finding it harder and harder to find a home.
Approaching the display of phones at the Nokia Event Tuesday night at the Soho Mews venue, I pick up the one on the far left -- a massive, black, brick-like device. “Remember the movie Wall Street, with the scene of Michael Douglas on this phone on a beach in the Hamptons?” remarks another tech-reporter to me. I look up at a life-size cutout of the villainous businessman Gordon Gekko barking to brokers on his bulky Nokia Mobira Cityman 100.
The point, I suspect, is that Nokia has come a long way since then, design-wise. After all, the company has gathered this group of journalists over cocktails, mushroom risotto bites and brownie squares to listen while its chief designer, Alastair Curtis, talks about the company’s current focus on design. His emphasis is usability. Exhibit A is the Nokia E71, a business phone with qwerty keypad that’s launching next quarter. Exhibit B: the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, an iPhone copycat for the younger, music-affiliated audience.
These phones, and today’s event, represent a renewed push into the U.S. Nokia has not thrived here lately, especially compared with Asia and Europe, where the company is hailed as the leading mobile brand. Nokia’s most popular phone ever, the 1100, wasn’t even launched in the States. One interesting new selling point: The phones are made out of 85% recycled materials.
Nine out of ten people who are employed -- both blacks and whites -- have access to a defined contribution plan such has a 401(k). Of those, 90% of each group contributes regularly. That’s great news, but consider the following, from the 11th annual Ariel/ Schwab Black Investors Survey, which polled 503 blacks and 506 whites with household incomes of at least $50,000:
White Americans have more than twice as much saved for retirement as blacks.
The median monthly amount that blacks contribute to their 401(k) plan is $169, while whites contribute about 50% more, or $249 each month. As a result, the median total household savings for retirement reported by black respondents is $53,000, in contrast to whites at $114,000.
While overall stock ownership among blacks is still lagging, the historical preference for real estate among blacks is at a low point. This year, just 39% of blacks said real estate was the “best investment overall.” 37% picked stocks or mutual funds. Among whites, just 28% chose real estate, compared to 55% who chose stocks and mutual funds.
About two-thirds of blacks (compared to about a half of whites) say they would increase contributions to their retirement plan if employers provided access to financial advisors, seminars about retirement investing, and/or education about the features of their plans.
I chatted with Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments and Lisa M. Toppin, vice president of Charles Schwab, about this year’s new findings and what they tell us about employee/employer relations in terms of investment.
Fast Company: According to your survey results, why is it that black Americans put significantly less each month into their plans, resulting in smaller savings than white Americans, when they are given equal opportunities with employer-sponsored contribution plans?
Mellody Hobson: We’ve seen a number of reasons for black underinvestment. First, and foremost, exposure is a big deal. If you don’t grow up in a home where the stock market is discussed, that puts you behind the eight ball. Since there’s very little evidence of financial literacy in schools, that only deepens the problem. We have some cultural biases that lead us away from the stock market and lead us toward other things like real estate an insurance products. And so that’s why even with the same resources, the same opportunities, working at the same company and making the same amount of money, whites still might be investing and saving more than blacks.
Lisa Toppin: There are cultural factors that keep minorities from investing. For example, they are more likely to be caring for parents, or elderly who are living in their homes. That’s a drain on resources. There is also a high value for educating children -- sending them to college in their community. Those things become the primary focus of saving and investing, versus saving for retirement. So when we look at the strata of goals around saving and investing for black Americans, it is much more split than it is for their white counterparts. You talked about equal opportunity; that’s the good news around the outcome of this survey. When we look at how people are actually investing in 401(k) plans, blacks are actually on par with their white counterparts. 90% of folks who have the opportunity to participate in a 401(k) plan are doing just that.
MH: The big issue is that even though blacks are participating, the amount we are putting away is significantly different; so we just won’t get the same benefit.
FC: To expand on that, what sort of advice do you have for employers to help their employees with contributions to their retirement plans?
MH: Employers should look at their 401(k) plans by race, and see what kind of differences might exist there. Many employers don’t even know there are major differences that exist by race.
LT: Employers can actually have an impact and make a difference. What we heard is this: With advice, people are much more likely to participate, increase their savings, and diversify their efforts. And so employers should take action: offer seminars, meetings, and advice without cost. We’ve learned that online vehicles don’t really reach this community in particular.
FC: Do you think employers would be prone to doing that if they knew that their employees would more likely increase contributions?
MH: For sure. I think that employers are highly motivated to get plan participation up and get those balances up, because they understand that to the extent they help their employees secure their retirement, they only build a stronger affiliation and loyalty with the company.
FC: Why are half of 45% of African-Americans under the age of 50 (who say they want to retire by age 60) not citing retirement as their number one priority when saving and investing?
LT: I think it goes back to some of the issues we talked about in terms of some of the different cultural nuances that exist in our community.
MH: Another thing we found in our data is that blacks rely on a bigger portion of our retirement income to come from social security, and as a result some of the concerns we may have around being prepared for retirement are dampened. Many of us also are more likely to work for an organization that has a traditional pension fund, because we tend to, in higher numbers, work for the government more than corporate America. Many blacks know they are making some trade-offs in that regard; for example when working for the government they may take lower pay in order to get that secure retirement. But as the world shifts from traditional pension funds to defined contribution plans, as well as the fact that social security is on shakier and shakier ground with each year that passes, this only heightens the need for the discussion we’re having here.
FC: Who is the key audience for this survey?
MH: This survey is created for the general public and the general media. It is really to light a fire under minority investors to get them to move closer to what our white counterparts are doing, so that we can be on par with them when it comes to our amount of saving and investing.
FC: Was the survey created because of Mellody and John W. Rodgers [founder and chief investment officer of Ariel Investments] bringing up those issues?
LT: It was Ariel that had the hypothesis around the fact that there might be differences and then partnered with Schwab…
MH: …and speaking and being a pioneer in the business as the first minority owned money management firm and mutual fund company, we started to see in anecdotal evidence that minorities were not investing to the same degree as our white counterparts, and that led us to ask a lot of questions of major financial institutions and colleagues in the industry. We determined that there was no data on this issue anywhere and decided that we were going to try to create a national dialogue around this issue, not make it a black issue, or a white issue, but everyone’s issue, to the extent that whole groups of our society aren’t saving and investing enough, and ultimately have a potential to be a burden on our society.
FC: What do you think are the most important points from the survey that investors can learn from?
MH: I don’t want black Americans to say because the market is down a lot we’ve been right not to be in the stock market to the same degree as whites. Because all the data shows that over a long term the stock market has been the best overall investment. On top of that, one of the ways that people often try to invest is through market timing -- being in and out of the market at the perfect time -- which all academic data shows unequivocally does not work. The University of Michigan did a great study over 41 years of market return; if you had been in the market the entire time, the average return rate was 10.84%. But if you omit the 90 best days in that 41-year-period, your return is just over 3%. And so specifically, 1% of the trading days captured 96% of the return. We want African-Americans to clearly know that even though we are in a very volatile time right now, and the market has had a significant downturn, that does not mean you’re justified to sit on the sidelines. And ultimately, the greatest investors of all time take a long-term patient view. That is the way to achieve long-term financial success.
More than 150 years after Linus Yale Jr. invented the cylinder pin-tumbler lock (you know, the combination lock keeping your bike, locker, and luggage safe?), we are still stuck trying to remember those three-random-number codes.
As he struggled to remember the combination to open his pool gate, Todd Basche wondered if the lock industry wasn’t long due for innovation. His eureka moment prompted him to design and launch Wordlock, a word-based lock using four or five letter words to create thousands of word combinations. “We had to create something that was commercially viable, [so we used the] ten position [mechanism] and patented a number of software algorithms that maximized the number of words the lock spelled, while omitting the bad words,” says Basche, now the CEO.
This so-simple-why-didn’t-I-think-of-it idea is filtering into a niche one-billion-dollar, evergreen market. After winning the Staples Invention Quest in 2005, Basche sold the product exclusively in 1,200 Staple stores. Incorporated in 2007, Wordlock is now experiencing tremendous growth—six months ago, its locks were sold in 1,000 retail locations; now, you can pick on up in 12,000 distribution spots, including Walgreens, Target, and online at Amazon—and has potential to reach a $50 million annual revenue mark.
“In the world of hardgood products, software is often localized into different languages,” Basche says. In July Wordlock expanded its brand with a Spanish-language padlock. Basche and his wife, Wordlock president Rahn Basche, worked with translators to use their existing algorithm to determine the most probable-used letters in Spanish words. They are already selling in regions of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore (Singapore Airlines distributes complimentary Wordlock luggage locks among business a first-class flyers). By next year they plan to expand to Mexico and the United Kingdom. And what’s next on the language horizon? A French- language padlock. Trés bien!
Say good-bye to tap-tap-tapping extensive messages into your not-so-convenient Smartphone. Swype wants to introduce you—and the 2.5 billion other cell phone users—to a whole new way to type. Unveiled at TechCrunch50 this month, Swype is an innovative software technology that replaces the tedious point and tap approach with swiping your finger in one continuous motion across the flat, on-screen keyboard. The software registers what word you are spelling even when you graze across other letters on the keyboard or when two spellers take different routes across the screen. Moving your fingers fluidly along the keyboard rather than plunking your way raises the user’s words per minute from 20 with T9 (predictive text) to 50 with Swype. An integrated 65,000-word dictionary, meanwhile, corrects dubious spelling.
Swype co-founders Randy Marsden and Cliff Kushler (co-creator of T9 technology, which predicts words as you text-message) implement the technology on phones, computer tablets, game consoles, kiosks, televisions and virtual screens. Swype’s software is ideal for Smartphones and Tablet PCs such as XP, Vista and Surface. Here’s hoping Apple comes on board: the iPhone could really use some text entry improvement.
