Why I don't want to own music

I've been a diehard, paying user of Spotify. I'll use Rdio, Pandora or Last.fm, but mostly Spotify.  

Don't use iTunes unless I have to use it.   

I've been 'streaming' all music for the last couple years - so much so that I recently backed up a few live albums these services didn't have, then deleted 300 gigs of old mp3 albums and 'ripped' music that I don't care to keep around even on extra hard drives. 

From the Improbably Rise of NPR Music, to the New York Times article about Living with Less, and the growth of the major streaming apps, there are many themes today: we want discovery and experience but we don't want the overhead.  We are non-committal and fickle.

Platforms for discovery and experience that will last will recognize that, just like Oscar Wilde wrote, "Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months." -- flexibility is a core competency. Spotify is even changing their business model. 

Bands like the Flaming Lips and Garcia Goodbye have creatively used USB drives to "drop" albums (gross anatomical heart and then balloon drops).  But those are promotions. 

So when I heard about 'digital ownership' services popping up (I get keeping vinyl to an extent) I was honestly baffled.  

Why would I have a need to "own" mp3 files that I can stream - and will continue to stream more efficiciently the better LTE and other networks get - whenever and wherever I want AND layer apps that help me discover, share, refine, etc etc all that music on ANY device?

I'll gladly give up the "ownership" of a file for this next evolution.  I don't own any other experience with music.  Here's why:

  • Sure I can buy a live recording of a concert, but the moment is rented.  That is what makes it special.
  • Emotions from music pass just like anything else.  Listen to the same song at different times in your life or days of the week or times of the day and you'll get it.
  • I have enough things in my life already that I own and managing more files is the absolute last thing on my list, especially for something I want to enjoy.  When rearranging my iTunes collection is a todo I hate music. 
  • Sharing files still sucks (yes I'm also a diehard Dropbox user, but sharing a media file also means the person on the other end has work to do other than a single click most of the time...and ask people to do work to enjoy music?). 

Along comes SoundSupply (a Chicago startup that recently raised some funding) and I'm surprised that this is something people would see as a solution to their music problem.  Can't find good curated music?  OK.  There are thousand critic sites from Rolling Stone to Spotify playlist creators to Pitchfork's hyperhipster editorials.

But that is one problem.  Can't find physical files of great music?  That is another.  

I actually really like the selection that SoundSupply put together.  They are great at curation.

I've been listening to all the albums as fast as I could get to them.  But the problem: 99% of the albums are already on Rdio and Spotify.  If you are like me and already pay $9/month to Spotify, you can get all their #drops here: 

After debating buying SoundSupply drops, I thought, "don't I want all these on my phone?  and don't I hate iTunes and don't I love SoundCloud but don't have the time to mess with it?".  Of all the SoundSupply drops, there are only 4 albums that I couldn't find on Spotify: Sister Suvi, Right Away Great Captain!, Gobotron, Via Audio.

So, if you have Spotify, click here to access all the awesome music that SoundSupply curated:

#Drop1SoundSupply

#Drop2SoundSupply

#Drop3SoundSupply

#Drop4SoundSupply

#Drop5SoundSupply

#Drop6SoundSupply

#Drop7SoundSupply

I believe that SoundSupply will quickly get into the partnership curation business (grow curation into themes and 'playlist' like lists) and leave the physical download model - or another similar change that Spotify is going through - or SS is proving that they have a better start. I'm not going to get into their business model.  They and their investors no doubt focus on it enough. But then what makes them different than a previously mentioned curation app?  I wish them the best because the music selections are great. 

GET more of these crazy unfounded opinions if you follow me on Twitter.

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What success looks like

Most people can't define what success looks like, even when they are getting ready to spend massive amounts of time and energy working on something.

Is it qualitative?  "I'll feel good about myself for just accomplishing this."

Is it quantitative? "I'll be able to do X amount of pull ups" or "I'll be able to make X amount a week consulting" or "I'll be able to pay off X amount of debt a month by then".  

Most people aren't sure.  They feel that something is just right to do, but then subconscious feelings of treading water get them down.  Then they quit, not fully knowing where they stood in their progress.  

Next time you are going to start something, ask yourself:

Who?  Who am I answering to?  What would they say? "You met X goal making X amount of money by X time?"...is that right?  Even if you're answering to yourself what are you demanding?

What?  What do I need to help me get there?  Tools, people, research? 

When? What day/time/hour will I set to check my progress? 

Where?  Where am I willing to go to do this?  Places I've never been skill set wise?  Out of my comfort zone?  

Why?  Have I backed up and answered the REAL root issue?  Am I rushing off with busy work to attack a symptom or am I disciplined enough to back up and attack the real goal/challenge/opportunity?  

How?  How will I measure this?  Money, time, clicks, etc?

Don't answer these critical questions and you'll just waste your time and those who try to help you fumble through pointless work.

GET more of this good stuff if you follow me on Twitter.

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Hey sports fans, I need your feedback: hashti.me

I was watching the NFL Football Chiefs lose their season opener two weeks back.  OK, I wasn't watching all that much because they're not so awesome anymore and I'm not so much a huge fan anymore. So I started playing around with Twitter Bootstrap, a "sleek, intuitive, and powerful front-end framework for faster and easier web development".  The scaffolding is all about responsive web design.  It is cool enough.  I like jquery mobile a lot however.  This is different but since the whole demo was using Twitter I figured what the hey.

I thought a few weeks before "wouldn't it be cool if you could follow a game and teams all in once place without firing up TweetDeck?".  The entire sports universe isn't probably up to that type of social stream management...yet.  They'll have this in fantasy apps, but here's hashti.me anyway:

http://hashti.me  

I only input a couple games and have more plans, but no reason to continue without good honest feedback.

*no, hashti.me isn't a drug reference. it is a quick attempt at Twitter reference + sports reference + $3.99 godaddy credit = brevity

*go landscape mode in iPhones (iPad is fine)...CSS isn't playing so nice with me right now when tweets appear.

*there is a better way than iframes (I know) but for now developing on the api is second to getting feedback on the proof of concept.

*if you're logged into Twitter you can post from within the page, but scrolling can still be a bit funky.

*Go Chiefs.

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13 decent sites to learn to code

Friends keep asking me and while there is a lot of crap out there that promise to teach you to be a freelancer charging $100/hr in days or become a ninja, these are decent. Some will say don't learn to code, but here are some sites to learn to code the basics to at least be more knowledgeable. Some paid, mostly start free. In no specific order:

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How to use dropbox to host your website for free

If you're just practicing front end development you don't need a web host to test pages out on mobile or any other device. This only works for basic 'static' sites (no database really...limited javascript, etc) but is perfect to see something online quickly.  For doing mobile and html5 development when you don't want to keep using iOS simulator (or don't believe it or want to send to friends Android devices to see how things lay out) it is perfect.

1. Put the index.html file in the Public folder (include CSS, JS files and folders as well)

2. Create the public URL for sharing like normal

3. Email, text, etc to yourself and open as normal on your mobile device.

4. If you want to get really fancy and put a customized domain with it:

  1. Go to settings in your domain admin (godaddy has it in domain management / information).
  2. Forward to your Dropbox URL
  3. You can mask (keeps the new domain) or unmask (forwards to the dropbox URL)

*If you totally screw up your files Dropbox even has versioning...not that you'd want to depend on it that much.

*It will take a few mins for changes to take effect and you'll want to clear cookies in your browsers if you're making a ton of changes.

Hope this helps.  Any comments: andy at odower dot com

 

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Long time, no blog. No more.

I've been busy since the new year.

Recap of latest 9 month chapter:

Loving Chicago with my wife.

Replacing 'want, need, more' with 'thank you'. Feel much better.

Closed biz. More on that soon.

Started new gig @ cars.com. More on that soon.

Digging into code much more. Yep, I'd better have something soon.

Working out much more. Setting bigger goals.

Went to Canadian wilderness with family. Didn't want to leave.

All in all, a bunch of 1st world problems, losses and victories. I'm lucky to know great people.

Back in a few with a lot of takes...until then, a great quote that Mel likes:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

*Backstory to the pic: Muir invited Teddy to see Yosemite Valley in 1913. Teddy ditched his personal guard and escaped into the wilderness with just Muir for 3 days, camping under the stars. It was there that Muir convinced Teddy to save Yosemite and it eventually became a national park. Couldn't see it possible for any world leader to do something like that today.

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How Google+ combines intent and social proof.

The three things that Freakonomic's authors will tell you that influence someone's decisions are: economic, social and moral. In terms of influence in commerce:

Amazon, Ebay and Google own economic.

Facebook owns social.  Obviously Twitter is coming, but not integrating with brands front and center the way Facebook does.

No one owns moral.  Maybe a non-profit brand like the Red Cross.  But most tie-in moral into their offering.  No one does it exclusively for commerce.  Tom's Shoes aren't bought just because they're a moral company.  Much goes into the messaging on the economic and social side.

The best brands tie in all three.

But, what happens now when Google combines economic and social?  Intent and demographics and context?

The difference between Facebook ads and Google ads are intent.  Most people don't search Facebook for their nearest restaurant or a shoe they want to buy.  Sure, they spend more time on Facebook but when it comes time to INTEND to buy they go to Google.

The new place to play is ads (insert daily deals here too) in context and discovery: where you live, where you socialize, where you are right now.  Best of all, the ads are smart and come to you...but they don't care about your real intent...they want to form your blank slate of a day with their intent.   Native apps (iOS, Android, Windows) and HTML5 apps with geolocation and social API integration are just the beginning.

With a new layer of social search results you be able to get your economic + social influencers in one place.

For those that don't care what the experts say, they just want to know if their friends own it, bought it, liked it, etc...you're all set.

Wait, I guess if you're friends would just join Google+ or Google will integrate Twitter and Facebook a bit more, then you'll be all set.  :(

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The Top 12 Product Management Mistakes

Full credit to www.svproduct.com for this piece. When talking to start ups, the all too common theme is the product takes a back seat to the blue sky business model.  Assumptions and tunnel vision that people will instantly like + use + share your product give way to time wasting long term planning over the pragmatic build > test > learn > re-build cycle.

Maybe just print and toss this up on your wall.

Same goes for a new internal product or project at a large company.

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Tools I'm using

In

Just need an update

Building IntroFly like crazy. Fundraising.

I've been learning to code Ruby on Rails.

Experiencing everything Chicago has to offer.

More to come....back to Fundraising.

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Post demo day...the real work begins

And we're busy. So many great people are giving us so much support for what we're doing.

We're truly going to change lives with IntroFly and the next months we'll be laying the foundation to do it with more great people on our team.

More coming...for now SF to Denver and [home] to Chicago.

 

Week 8 + 9 @ExcelerateLabs: too much work, too little time...do less, better

I had one reprieve before the August push came...back to Colorado for some backpacking in Lost Creek Wilderness with Clare and Bear...fell asleep outside looking up at the stars and stumbled back to our tent, then slept like a rock. We're 3 weeks from demo day...insane.

We're lucky to have met so many great people here in Chicago...what an awesome community.

We're putting together partnerships, pilots, product and pitches...all at once.

We're going to go get back to work...

Bear...she's just a city dog...but she's LOVIN' it up here!

Week 7 @ExcelerateLabs: Introfly

OK, we've been a bit busy building. We've got some great people helping us launch the soon-to-be best way to meet people in career fields that you love:

We're going to need every human being that we've ever known to sign up, say, right this second...then tell every other human that you know to sign up too.

Feedback is critical at this point, so when we launch we'll let you know...don't be shy!

Click the logo above, click this link, follow us on twitter, spread the word, call everyone you know.  Now. Pretty please ;)

OK, back to work...

Week 5 @ExcelerateLabs: Build + test, re-build, test again...traction.

Mentor month is over.  Wow.  Over 60 meetings.  Lots of good ones.  Lots of confusing ones.  Lucky to be able to have had them all. Time to get our new app live and get as many interested people as possible to try it out...like it...then tell their friends.

Simple enough?

We're re-launching our site with 100% emphasis on helping job seekers connect with the right people...not directly with job applications, but with connections with other people that can help them.  This is not a Facebook app or a LinkedIn app, or an email app.  It is all of those things in one simple interface where introductions and chance meetings that you make through this app could change the course of your life.

Simple enough?

Ok, let's get started.  Glad my wife surprised me this past weekend.  She is my rock and my foundation.  Without her I would not have the ability to take the chances I'm taking.  We had a great time in Chicago.  Love this city.

 

 

Week 4 @ExcelerateLabs: Set up tools for data driven decisions

We're launching a new update of BC here very soon. We'll be testing a variety of things with landing pages and focus groups first, trying to find that hook that:

1. Draws attention because it is different.

2. Gets job seekers something they really want...something that makes what they're already doing easier + better.

3. Moves users from thinking that we are 'nice to have' into something that they say 'don't take it away'.

4. Gets users to tell others about it.

Setting up to track all user activity is going to be key.  The toolset is below.  Any suggestions?  Let me know.

Updates to come.

Week 3 @ExcelerateLabs: Focus, test, build

The Excelerate Labs Mentor Twitter list was popular, so keep checking it out...I'll be adding more tomorrow. We had another insane week, but we're starting to get focused:

1. We validated some assumptions and ditched some others.

2. We are beginning interviews, focus groups and user testing this week.

3. We are BUILDING parts of our new site this week...I'm really impatient about this one.

One of the most important questions we were asked was "what percentage of your app features come from your users VS your vision?". Ummm, 70/30?  90/10? The wrong 90/10?  Ouch.  That is why we are hammering on learning like crazy and quickly building to test and iterate...no more long builds and long guesses here.

One book I'm dusting off is Positioning...there are far too many ways in our industry to be bland and generic...we CANNOT succumb to trying to be like everyone else.  User experience is a big part of that.  Communicating to get users to experience us is just as important.

Here's to another great week.  One week at a time.

View from our sublet (we actually have an apartment to call our own, at least for the next couple months):

Week 2 @ExcelerateLabs: User Acquisition Strategy

Another week, another set of great meetings.  The quality of the conversations are getting better too. If you want to follow some of the mentors, here is my twitter list.

Before our last meeting with Mike from LinkedIn, we met with Sam and got some immense focus: don't just show up on demo day with a great product you "just know" everyone will love...show up with a solid, focused way to show "this is how we will get 100k, then 1m, then 10m users, etc".  Tell that story that leaves the audience saying "how do I get in on this".

As I go through a pile of notes from the past few days I'm seeing patterns and we're starting to crystalize where we need to focus.  After all, 3 half-assed strategies will fail and 1 full-on strategy has the best chance of succeeding.  It is getting the feedback on these 3 strategies we've laid out that helps the most.

Last, we're getting to know the other teams here really well...happy hour last night was great.  We all need to blow off some steam and that was needed.

Chicago is cold and rainy...but great for a run today. Here was the view:

Week 1 @ExcelerateLabs: Mentor crash course

This past week my co-founder Kevin Melgaard (and friend since 1994) and I started at Excelerate Labs, the nation's #3 web startup mentorship-driven accelerator. We will be spending the next 90 days meeting with the best and brightest start up mentors (investors, entrepreneurs, teachers...all around successful people) to get a crash course the on the best way to launch a web startup. Building relationships with the best-fit mentors is job #1 at this point. After all, being resourceful as hell is the key to being a good entrepreneur, right? Here...the resources are coming to us. It is our job to make the most of it.

Getting in was hard. Excelerate gets hundreds of applications from all over the country. They only pick 10 companies. Getting in was great validation, not that we've got some insanely awesome idea, but that we've busted our asses and that we've shown we have what it takes to go through the REALLY rough spots of going through a startup and still

We've got a ton of work to do to build a better product, build a better team, build a better business...in 80 days...no pressure, eh?

After the first week, we've:

- Pitched to 100+ mentors, after hearing we would only the morning of...great learning experience and I'm glad it happened the way it did.

- Sat with David Cohen, Brad Feld, IDEO, Craig Wortmann, the class of 2010 Excelerate and many others. Seriously, how else could you get this level of quality in one week?

- Met with the Excelerate leaders about where we are and where we need to go.

- Slept very little and learned a lot.

Here's to week 2...starting bright and early tomorrow!

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