DISQUS

Chris:

Well done. I think Nova is a brilliant soul. I have been on Twine since mid-last year and I enjoy it. Two weeks ago I found him on twitter and connect w/ him (or vice-versa, don't remember), which I thought was great b/c I have seen him speak at conferences and I think he is amazing.

Unfortunately, shortly after I connect I get that ridiculous tweet that you documented. I replied telling him, "Please, no bots...", and that he is a brilliant mind, please don't ask me to join Twine when I have already been using it for some time. I think I mentioned the Semantic Web and how I wish it was here!

He was kind in his reply, but I am glad someone like you took them to task on this b/c we don't have time for it currently and it easily changes our perception of him and his site-that is not needed since I, and many, hold him in his site in the highest regard.

I am glad they are seeing the error in their ways; special thanks to you for speaking for many of us that don't have the clout that you wield.

I will continue to use Twine.com and follow Nova with much more interest now that I know this episode is over.

Thank you. I have found myself contemplating this topic quite a bit recently as I find myself more and more drawn to YouTube, Miro, Hulu, and Joost. I watch broadcast TV b/c I work in media and I need to monitor what is going on in certain niche markets. (USHispanic) I know I am not alone, and if I am not alone, this marks the start of a tremendous transformation of how media is created and consumed {to echo your remarks}.

As you also said, certain media are not going anywhere. They will always be with and transform to adapt to changing times. But more and more digital, user-created media is taking the pie that was once shared in great part by TV, Radio, and Print. Exciting times!

Thanks, Nick, great post. Your post's title really surprised me as I, like you said, had just read about LinkedIn.com's strong increase in funding recently. 2009 will be interesting, to say the least.

I am of the opinion that if you encourage fans to 'bootleg' your music when you are starting out, you really should not be a 'cyber-narc' years later; it is rather hypocritical.

'Bootlegging' recorded music on cassettes was illegal, under the law it was considered stealing.

I grew up in the mid 80's with groups like Metallica, Antrax, Slayer, Overkill, Megadeth, etc. I was at concerts in the Meadowlands, NJ, when Metallica stole the show from Ozzy's headlining show as well as at infamous shows at the now-defunct, temple of heavy metal/nightclub, L'Amour in Brooklyn.

The mainstream rock crowd was not enamored with Metallica in any way. I distinctly remember when people who did not like any thrash groups started getting into Metallica b/c of the MTV airplay of 'One'. That was the end of Metallica for me, as it was for many others. Part of Metallica's allure was that nobody liked them other than the true fans! They were even a group who bad-mouthed most rock/heavy metal groups. Once the rock fans started liking them, it was not the same, the music was not the same and the allure was gone.

In regards to my comment about one song, I was merely stating that many people bought the Black album for one song-in today's marketplace they may not have sold as many records, but rather an insane amount of digital downloads for the song 'Sandman'.

No one can disparage Metallica's success. It is tremendous. I, like many people (but not all people, not all 'millions' of fans), refuse to support a band that has the gall to complain and narc on fans because the paradigm has changed, instead of welcoming it and finding/inventing new revenue streams (which they are now forced to do). When I hear bands like Metallica and Kiss say how much they love their fans, it makes me laugh. They love their fans when they can maximize their profits off of them, yet when they can't any longer b/c of the evolution of technology/markets, they damn the system, damn the universe, and present the names of fans who have spent money on them in the past, to authorities b/c they downloaded some of their music.

It's actually comical-they are actually upset b/c they can't be on a pedestal anymore. Someone needs to tell them that, "...the only constant is change".

So, my apologies, if I disgraced your favorite band. I was just stating my opinion. I just think that either you don't remember Metallica when they started out or you weren't a fan of theirs in the early days b/c their actions against fans in '00 was so anti-Metallica ethos-they had a strong bond with their fans, you have to remember, they spit in the face of the Motley Crue's, the Ratt's, the Quiet Riot's-all those other group where the standard for 'metal'-they were the exact opposite.

They were so hungry, they were so street, as I said, I knew people who would have Metallica bootlegs-I used to buy them in NJ! There were even 'white-label' records! They did not care, they knew they needed it and it was sort of their way of connecting with the fan base and creating more hype for the group. And, boy, did it work. A Metallica fan was much more dedicated than any other fan for the aforementioned groups. They developed a kinship with their fans which was the reason they grew.

Perhaps they should have broken up after the Black album? I mean, The Beatles as a group only stayed together for 10-13 years...maybe there was no place for them to go other than a downward trajectory, since they started so strong, so revolutionary. Again, just an opinion.

Well written, Tiran Dagan. Metallica were beneficiaries of a system tilted towards the producers of music: music labels, artists and publishing companies. As we have experienced the democratization of the music industry, the consumer has become the beneficiary.

It would be interesting to speculate the amount of 'Black' albums that would have been sold if digital downloads were readily available in the early '90s. I remember how the mainstream rock public abhorred Metallica in the mid & late 80's, until the 'Sandman' came out and changed everything.

Most of the millions of people who bought the Metallica 'Black' album did so for one song. One song.

It is sad to see Lars and Co.'s adverse reaction to change, especially a change that would benefit the supposed fans they claim to care so much about. What they have done now, for many, it too little, too late.

I can't understand how someone can support a group who did so much to undermine their fan base, the same fan base they purported to be 'One' with.

I think 'Sean P. Aune' mistakenly used the term ROI. The current state of the music industry allows for artists to make much more money from touring than from CD/digital download sales. In terms of ROI, it is difficult to say b/c each artist is different, some artists are bigger internationally-others domestically. This and other variables such as production costs and transportation influence the ROI on touring.

More than likely, with technology advancing and the cost of recording high quality music not expensive at all, it is more than likely that artists would get a better ROI from CD/digital download sales, but there are less CD/digital downloads that are successful in relation to tours that are successful.

Metallica is so tired. Can they please go away? Funny, the way they shut down Napster and submitted info on people who downloaded music, if they were in the hip-hop community, we would not even be talking about them-no one would be.

Maybe if we stop talking about them they will go away. I suddenly feel the urge to download Megadeth tracks.

Great post, your logic makes sense. Why not?

LMAO !