Comments on: Pearl Jam Does Business++

By: calum

calum — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:51:44 +0000

This would be a bit of a big deal if I knew anyone who had ever gone and bought a single music promo video but I dont. My experience is that people dont want to really own music videos but just watch them a couple of times instead. Im going to record a video with my band and let the world have it for free. The world won’t want it though, because the world doesn’t want anything with a perceived value of nil. Ill let you know how I get on though. Great blog by the way. Ive stumbled it.

By: ABC Almost Gets It » Wisdump

ABC Almost Gets It » Wisdump — Tue, 30 May 2006 12:42:14 +0000

[...] Not sure how I missed this but ABC launched their online video player at the beginning of this month which allows you to watch selected ABC shows online with short 30 second interactive ads sprinkled in. However, they are making the same mistake along the lines of Sony and Pearl Jam by only keeping the episodes free for a limited time. If advertisers are willing to pay for those eyeballs and be the sole advertiser for a single episode then why not keep them free forever? [...]

By: Steal My Content…Please » Wisdump

Steal My Content…Please » Wisdump — Sun, 21 May 2006 19:27:31 +0000

[...] In yesterday’s entry on Pearl Jam I wrote: [...]

By: Scrivs

Scrivs — Sun, 21 May 2006 05:35:36 +0000

Well the Holy Grail will always be something that every industry will look for, but fighting the natural forces of the crowds will only bring about trouble. Does that make any sense? Who the hell knows because I’m exhausted.

However, if iTunes does become the Holy Grail then you are looking at a Apple/iPod monopoly. Don’t know if I want that.

By: Shawn

Shawn — Sun, 21 May 2006 04:30:55 +0000

Absolutley, Scrivs. One word: iTunes! The Holy Grail … of any future music industry, IMHO. Plus, Axl Rose “leaks” on the Internet (the new promotional gimmick!). :)

By: Scrivs

Scrivs — Sun, 21 May 2006 04:17:29 +0000

Well free videos doesn’t mean instant success of course and just because everyone can do it that still doesn’t put you on a level playing field. Not everyone is able to get on MTV which still goes a long way in helping out any band.

By: Shawn

Shawn — Sun, 21 May 2006 04:12:29 +0000

PS – I agree with you about MTV programming … I’m not even sure why they call it Music TV anymore.

By: Shawn

Shawn — Sun, 21 May 2006 04:11:35 +0000

I’m just betting the past success PJ has under their belt is a huge advantage over bands who are just starting and trying to “make it big” through free vids on Google, You Tube, or even MySpace. I think those venues would be huge – HUGE – if taken advantage of by an already very successful band. I just think it would be a tough haul for lesser known acts. I could be wrong.

Also, I didn’t say “releasing your video for free a promotional risk.” I said Pearl Jam boycotting MTV back in the day was a HUGE risk for them, as a band. Arguably, it never paid off because their sales went steadily downhill ever since … They still sell big, but not as big as they once did.

By: Scrivs

Scrivs — Sun, 21 May 2006 03:35:21 +0000

Well I will explore the question in a future entry maybe, but let’s look at the history of Pearl Jam and MTV. You say that Pearl Jam can do these kinds of things and I think any group can do this because it doesn’t sidestep MTV at all. Sure they could skip MTV in the past, but who says that releasing your video for free means you should also skip MTV?

How is releasing your video for free a promotional risk? Besides we know MTV doesn’t play videos now anyways. You have to hit up MTV2 for that and soon you will probably have to hit up MTV35 to even catch a hour of music videos.

By: Shawn

Shawn — Sun, 21 May 2006 02:56:41 +0000

You ask an interesting question, Scrivs. I think more would opt for the small fee for better product, in all honesty.

Also, Pearl Jam can do this sort of thing because they claimed huge fame from their first album (Ten) and the first few singles/videos from that album (Alive, Evenflow, Jeremy), and a huge hit single/video from Temple of the Dog (Hunger Strike). Pearl Jam, after this huge initial success, simply quit making videos and swore off MTV completely. This move was a huge promotional/marketing risk. I don’t mean to give a history of Pearl Jam, but only to say they only had the privilege of skipping MTV and traditional video after becoming huge by using MTV and traditional video. Their sales have faltered ever since. So, I’m a bit curious as to how this works out for them.