Google Plus Artists Equals....?

Google+ has been the latest trend tested early adopters of social media. While many Internet users may not know quite what to do with Google+ yet, there are many who have found ways to using Google+ in their social media strategies.

What can Google+ do for artists? Google+ is still in a testing phase, but for personal pages the amount of information that is available in one place is incredible. The profile page allows the users to write in-depth about themselves without much restriction and includes links to other sites the user may have setup. Pictures and videos are easily included and the android app is incredibly intuitive to GPS notifications for check-ins and media uploads sent as soon as the pictures or video are taken.

One of the most outspoken artists on Google+ is Mark Hoppus the bassist of Blink-182.  All three members of Blink-182 have used Facebook and Twitter to reach out to fans. Rarely does someone who is not a member of Blink-182 make posts to the official pages. The posts are usually an-inclusive and provide exclusive content such as videos of recording sessions or pictures while one tour.

When Hoppus first joined Google+, he tested out the hangout feature, which allows up to ten people to video chat simultaneously.  The lucky few who were able to join the hangout responded positively to the event with Hoppus and there continues to be requests on other posts by Hoppus begging him to do it again soon.

Recently, Hoppus used his Google+ account to launch the latest single of the new album. While I have not found any reason that this spiked membership to Google+, it certainly did not affect the fan's reaction to the latest single negatively or dash the hopes of the new album.

For now, I think Google+ is more of an accent piece to the current platforms of social media, but in time I believe it will be a stronger tool for networking and sharing than the usual sites we have been using these last few years. 

ISP Companies Join The Fight Against Piracy

Bloomberg reported Thursday that Internet service providers are volunteering to send notifications to suspected piracy users. ISP providers such as Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast have joined with music and movie groups to help curb piracy in the industry and possibly put off stronger legislation against ISP companies.

What this means for those of us that are working hard to break into the industry is that ISP companies are starting to have our backs when it comes to piracy. They have access to information that could lead to significant piracy rings and they are going to use it. For now it is just an email scare tactic but volunteering the information is just one step closer to stronger enforcement.

There is no doubt in my mind that piracy affects big labels and big picture companies, but I have been of the belief that there are stronger side effects to piracy than a cut in profits. For independent artists, piracy means that your music is being spread almost virally to people who may have never heard your music before.

Even if it's free illegally, these pirates may become fans that purchase merchandise at shows. For a larger artist, merchandise is treated almost as important as the disk sale. An independent artist might find that the most important thing to their survival and profits is merchandise.

The LA Times has reported a large amount of negative feedback from readers on Friday, after the news had broke out.

What the ISP and entertainment community should focus on is why people pirate in the first place and recognize that pirates will find new ways to obtain illegal materials. Is it possible for the industry to lead into a market with free material? Is it worth the advertisements and endorsements in movies and music to allow pirating to affect the profits of the industry? I think that for our industry, it is too subjective to predict the future but something must be done to continue to produce higher quality material.