It is reported in the Malaysian news, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has blocked 10 file-sharing websites.
Of course you Malaysians can still access all the ten blocked file-sharing sites: warez-bb, the pirate bay, movie2k, megavideo, putlocker, depositfiles, duckload, fileserve, filetube and megaload.
You can either use the network-tool.com site or you just change your IP address.
And now the Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM) has urged the Government to ban another file-sharing site; which is jiwang.org.
It is said that this site jiwang.org provides pirated Malaysian music recordings for illegal downloads. This file-sharing website is also popular with Malaysians for illegally downloading movies as well.
We always hear or read Malaysian musicians complaining and whining about cetak rompak (piracy) and now this notorious illegal sharing website.
Probably our local musicians should learn some of innovative marketing strategies from the iconic rock band Grateful Dead from the Sixties.
Even back in the Sixties, the Grateful Dead encouraged concert-goers to record their live shows, by putting up “taper sections” where their hardcore fans better known as Deadheads could set up their recording equipment to get great sound quality. That resulted in a huge network of happy and excited followers who can trade their recorded tapes. All this was already happening long before even the Internet days.
Besides, encouraging Deadheads to take pictures and record their music and trade with others, they themselves record and sell the stuff themselves too.
All these free stuff offered by the band, has created a buzz which has been driving millions of their fans to the band’s live shows for more than thirty years and earning them hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
They give away free recording and sell the show and other merchandise. So you got to be innovative and not just following the herd or give in to consensus. One great way to motivate people is to welcome them to be a part of you. Be with you.
The Grateful Dead knows how to exploit content marketing, rather than waging a losing war with piracy and now file sharing.
I know many of you may argue that Malaysian musicians do not have such a huge followings, like the Grateful Dead of the Sixties. I am not implying you should follow their ways of doing things.
But what I am driving here is, be innovative, creative and think outside the box. For instance, our Malaysian singer-songwriter ZeeAvi or the tudung-clad singer Yuna frim Batu Gajah, Perak. There are many ways to market yourself and your music.
Here is another inspiring idea. Not too long ago, Amazon did another so-called “impossible” in music marketing. They sell Lady Gaga’s digital copies of her new record “Born This Way” for just 99¢. And so far, it is reported that “Born This Way” has sold one million copies in the US in the first week of sales.
And mind you, that marketing idea is said to cause Amazon to lose of over US$3 million. But the real payoff is the assured chart position of the album, plus the increased profile for Amazon’s cloud service called Cloud Drive.
If you really want to know more about innovating marketing tips and strategies, not just for Malaysian musicians, even for those who want to be successful in money online, then get this book : Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History
According to Financial Times, this book is just like all the best teachers, it inspires you to do your own thinking. Need I say more?
Comments are closed.