Think Tank 4 – Squaring The Circle December 2, 2008

Let's Sell Recorded Music!

Illegally downloaded any music recently? Given that nearly two thirds of all internet traffic is made up of P2P activity these days, if you haven't, then most young people you know are. Since Napster first reared its head in the late nineties, the recorded music business has tried in vain to put the genie back in the bottle; the result some pr blunders and an estimated 20:1 illegal download rate.

For music fans it's been a golden age where hard to find and out of print releases have been readily available alongside the latest hits of the day, but with no way of monetising these streams the record labels have been forced to watch their profits dwindle while the world's been moving online.

The government has taken notice and is overseeing a three-pronged initiative aimed at educating and developing awareness, dealing with the most serious infringers and facilitating legitimate offerings.

This series will focus on that third prong: effective legitimate alternatives. Over the course of the four events we will review what people want, where technology is heading, what the most plausible new models are and how they might be licensed.

Think Tank 4 – Squaring The Circle

The final think tank will look to pull together the conclusions from the series.

How can the different stakeholders better understand each others' needs in order to develop the most effective and compelling new services? Is further consumer research necessary? What can be modeled and test-marketed? How might UK platforms be affected by developments in other territories? And how could the film, TV and software industries plug into these new models?

In scoping areas for further development, MusicTank will facilitate consultation, analysis and research required to better inform the conversations that will deliver real innovations and help square the circle.

Official Website: http://www.musictank.co.uk