I wake up every morning thinking, “Man, what I could really use is a social network where I could discuss the societal ramifications of the Kai En Tai-Val Venis castration angle of 1998, or join ‘The Kliq was the best unofficial stable ever’ fan group.” It seems my wishes have been granted. World Wrestling Entertainment has launched its own social network called WWE Universe, which has been cooking since April. So far, the site has 200,000 members, most of which are men in the 18-35 age bracket. While the site is primarily what you’d expect from a “social network...
It almost sounds like EMI has been listening to Seth Godin, Gerd Leonhard and Ian Rogers or maybe reading Hypebot. The artist to fan relationship is taking center stage as the label group looks beyond music sales to find new ways to turn a profit. EMI.com is being retooled as a hub for fans and to gather information. “What you’ll see is less of a focus on sales of individual tracks or the conceptual equivalent of little round shiny disks, and more about helping artists learn things about their fan group that they can’t directly see ... ," new...
As Terra Firma's new broom continues sweeping clean at EMI - with restructuring, job cuts and savings on those lavish artist luxuries - it's clear the new leadership is thinking more radically. For one, it's tapping former Coca-Cola strategic alliances head Rafael McDonnell, who launched the now mothballed Mycokemusic.com download store, to the new role of brand partnerships VP (via Guardian.co.uk). After reporting 37 better digital revenue of £102 million and swinging massively in to the black with £59 million pre-tax earnings between April and September, EMI granted Billboard a sit-down with its top brass: CEO Elio Leoni-Sceti; A&R president...
