Pixar Wins With Up

Pixar has done it again! With great story tellers and consistent delivery, they have continued their movie success with Up.

No doubt, one of the reasons Pixar scores so high with their movies is that they are dedicated to creating great stories. Poignant characters and a solid plot are regular Pixar qualities. The casting of just the right actors to supply characters’ voices add to the movies, as well as the creativity applied to character details. And, of course, the quality of the animation and soundtrack is always top-notch.

Then there’s the marketing side of the films. On this latest film, Northwest Airlines teamed up with Disney and Pixar to create the “Up Adventure of a Lifetime” sweepstakes. To enter, users had to be registered on MySpace, list the Up MySpace profile page as one of their top friends, and add a comment to the Up profile.

Up’s MySpace page let visitors view trailers of the film and watch short episodes, download wallpapers, posters and buddy icons. And its dedicated movie page on Yahoo had videos, stills and a countdown widget. Up also premiered 40 unfinished minutes of its story at numerous events around the country earlier this year.

Hollywood has lost trust with most people, but Pixar continues to own it with their audience. Go see Up!

Rotten Tomatoes gives it an astonishing 97% – Read more, see trailer…

Live Music Lives

The record labels tell us that the Music Business is failing and in decline. What they mean is the Record Label business is headed on a downward slope.

As my good friend Tom Jackson claims, there is a “huge” difference! Indie artists and Live Music seem to be thriving, and it is only a matter of time before we see the birth of some wonderful new trends.

In reality, music has always been a multi-faceted trade. In addition to the highly visible recording industry, there is the live music industry and the publishing industry. Each of them are separate areas of the music business. And if the sagging economy is effecting the recording and publishing industries, it doesn’t seem to be hindering Live Music in the same way.

If you don’t believe me, then check out USA Today – Bands warm up for busy summer on the road…

It is about the audience

The music business is an interesting animal.   I have worked in some facet of the entertainment world since the beginning of my career.   The first major event I ever did featured Christopher Cross.  While running our independent record label, I felt I was in the Groundhog Day movie watching the same car wreck over and over, only to wake up and do it again no matter how loud I screamed, waved my hands or made suggestions.

The record business was a “push” business and I had spent my entire career re-engineering businesses into “pull” models to grow audience and serve customers.  As the Indie music scene continues to emerge, Rome burns on.  But some are starting to realize that maybe it really is about the audience after all.  If the ants ever figure it out, the grasshoppers are in big trouble.  Check out this article in USAToday – Music and Fans…

Comments on the article are interesting as well, like this one:

eldude1277 wrote: 13m ago “Shocking concept. Music is about the fans? Really? Anyone who isnt filling stadiums and is playing locally or mini tours can tell you that. Live music is the only real way to make any money. Why pay for what you can get free? Maybe if the value is on the live music it’ll force REAL musicians to do what they do live and not dress up in the studio. You gotta go there to come back.”