Jim Markunas

Ready???

It's simple. The mobile phone. 

* Just as we had to bow and scrape for Microsoft in the mid-to-late 1990s, we must now take our hats off to Apple - The iPod revolutionized the way most music fans listen to their personal catalogs of sound, the iPod Touch drove the final coffin nail into the dated Palm Pilot, and the iPhone single-handedly changed the world. 

A year-and-a-half ago, my friends at Disney (the only people making enough money to afford one at the time) had purchased iPhones. Within two weeks, their codependence with this "toy" rivaled that of Bobby and Whitney, and bordered on downright obsession. The death of conversation in place of incessant calendar/e-mail checking annoyed me to no end... until now.

Take a moment and ponder the sheer brilliance of the iPhone.... OK.... Let's move on. 

The iPhone, much like the iPod, has most of the US market share in interactive cellular phones, rivaled by the Blackberry Curve (A.K.A. iPhone light) and the Samsung Sidekick (A.K.A. the new Motorola Razr).  

* In the not-so-distant future, the iPhone will be replaced, or will replace itself - What will the new iPhone look like? Logically, mobile phone technology will have to integrate itself further into the everyday lives of consumers. Image if you will, one single device that has the ability to field phone calls, play MP3s, manage your e-mail accounts, etc. (This is the current iPhone). Now... Imagine if you will, a device that performs all of the aforementioned tasks, and in addition can perform the following:

1. This one device will be able to play through your car stereo via Bluetooth without having to take your ride to "get pimped."

2. This new device will act as your CPU in addition to your iPod, Outlook, and cellular phone. Picture seamlessly bringing your computer with you wherever you go; much like a laptop, but the size of an iPod, and having the ability to be "docked" to a monitor, keyboard and mouse via laser technology.

3. This device will replace TV, offering the same major and cable television networks that one would get at home. (Think Apple TV without all that "being too ahead of its time" problem.) Wouldn't it be cool to watch CNN on your phone as if you were sitting in your living room watching Time Warner Cable? Better yet!!! This device will play through your computer or Plasma TV via laster technology.

Moving on...

**Note** I've been pretty harsh on the record labels and music biz as a whole lately. I probably should apologize, and just may when one of you inevitably hires me : )

* Yes, Jim, the iPhone rocks, but what does that mean for the Music Industry?  - Good question, music biz! The industry will eventually have to jump on this technological bandwagon in order to make money. I'm going to outline a few ideas covered in my New Media Plan. The following are dilemmas; my plan solves them.

1. The app - Disney has a Hannah Montana iPhone app that managed to entertain me for a few minutes. Kudos, guys!!! Lady Gaga (Geffen/Universal) has a similar app. Kudos, IGA!!! These apps, however probably cost the label in R&D costs and labor, and fail to monetize, thereby spending money to attempt to reignite the antiquated business model of "selling records."

2. Point and Laugh at Zune... then say you're sorry. - We've all seen Chicago MC, Common on the Zune commercials. In the blink of an eye, Zune has gone from being behind the times to being ahead of its time. Imagine that this new device we've been talking about has an opt-in subscription service in which consumers will be able to listen to any song they want at any time and however many times they want for a pittance of of $18.99 a month ($200.00 a year). This is the scary reality of the digital age. How can labels stay afloat on $200.00 a year? 

3. Analytics - Labels and constituents... We all have a mailing list, how many of us have checked our analytics? Probably not a lot of us have looked into this on a higher level. This occurred to me a few years back when the honorable Ms. McCartney of iFanz.com turned me onto the concept of deeper-level web analytics as it pertains to nurturing an artist's fan base. Yes, Interscope, you send me a form letter whenever you release an album, but how can you tell if I opened your e-mail and read it? Better yet, how can you tell if I bought the advertised album and where I bought it from? In the age of cyberspace, content may be king, but analytics are the man behind the throne. Afterall, every Napoleon needs his Talleyrand.

Hey Labels! - I've explored and conquered these notions in my New Media Plan. Shoot me an e-mail to set up an interview.