Introducing MusicBiz.com – Point, Click… & Rock!

(click on picture to open file) 

By: Michael D. Vogel & Jim Nelson

© December 20, 1996. Michael D. Vogel.  All Rights Reserved.

Published in:   

The Album Network magazine   – January 17, 1997

True or false: the digital revolution is the next big thing? Depends on your perspective, really. If The Clapper offers all the technology you ever needed, then you may be seeing this so-called revolution as a “future” sort of thing. But, if you live for the possibility of a Pentium 6,000, you’re undoubtedly inclined to believe that it’s already happening, and with it, the emergence of a new subculture of interactionists on the quest for the ultimate in truth and knowledge. Multiple choice: which one sounds more like you?

Welcome to www.MusicBiz.com, our informative and groundbreaking new web address.

What’s It All About? 

Now, armed with a browser and your password for www.MusicBiz.com, you can have convenient, round-the-clock access to a near limitless collection of stats and extrapolations about the current music, which is so vital to the growth of our industry. And everything from radio and retail reports to regional comparisons of specific songs are available any ol’ place that has a phone jack. Know which stations added your priority tracks…by format…narrowed down by consultant…according to number of spins…you name it! Know which songs and albums are being played and sold most in each region. And that ain’t all. How would you like to email anyone in the music biz? You can, thanks to our brand new, online Yellow Pages Of Rock. And there’s up-to-the-minute news and rumors about the people who make the biz happen. You can read features and articles from each and every one of our six magazines. Hell, we’ve even included Chucklehead, because we think you should be laughing while you point, click…& rock!

Because the info we feature at www.MusicBiz.com is updated roughly every single minute throughout each week’s reporting period, you get the freshest, most timely data available. Right now! Sure, this type of system is already in place for larger corporate clients who carry our Toolbox (system). In fact, www.MusicBiz.com is actually a grander, more in-depth version of the Toolbox, which has been serving the labels’ national promotion heads for eight years now.

This Toolbox can be defined as a single-user system. That is to say, it requires that we install hundreds of thousands of lines of customized computer codes in our clients’ computers. Via hundreds of dedicated modems, the Toolbox program updates each individual computer from a central communications server out here in LA. Historically, only the most senior executives, in the home offices of major labels, have been able to enjoy access to this service from the Network Magazines Group. Now, anyone with a reasonably new computer and Internet access can be a player in the music business information age. If you have a browser software program (Netscape’s Navigator 3.0) and a personalized account issued by the Network Magazines Group, you possess immediate ad constant access to this data. What was once difficult and expensive to deliver is now far more affordable and accessible for any industry pro…at www.MusicBiz.com.

The Sky’s The Limit! 

So, how does it all work? Well, for starters, www.MusicBiz.com offers the same features that are already familiar to fans of our Toolbox system. But we didn’t think that was enough for our website, so – call us crazy! – we’ve combined that with a healthy smattering of our editorial content and the first-ever online version of our Yellow Pages Of Rock to create a site that we believe will become invaluable to your operation.

At the center of our website is the station-master. Simply stated, this is a comprehensive listing of all the names, numbers and addresses for every station that reports to The Album Network, Urban Network, Network 40 and their sister publications, VirtuallyAlternative, TotallyAdult and Aggro-Active.

Directly correlating to the station-master are the playlists reported to us each week by more than 1,000 contemporary radio outlets across the nation. Among the several unique aspects of this playlist file are the analytical tools that can be used to manhandle numbers represented in these stations playlists. For instance, any two lists can be compared against each other to chart differences and similarities of their current tracks. Did you ever want to know whether Alternative stalwart KROQ/Los Angeles has more currents in common with an Active Rocker, like legendary WXTB/Tampa, FL, or with a Top 40 outlet, such as KDWB/Minneapolis, MN? We can show you on www.MusicBiz.com.

We’ve also included a complete artist-master at www.MusicBiz.com. Here, every song and album (more than 2,500 song titles alone) that are currently a priority for any label is represented with detailed information about the number of spins, phone reaction, PPW spikes, adds, drops and so on and so forth.

In addition to all this, we’ve also created “Action Menus” which contain a wide variety of charts, including airplay, requests and adds at nearly every format that our magazines cover. You can actually watch these charts change as more and more station and retail reports are entered and tabulated by our staff throughout the reporting day.

Catering To The Music Biz! 

To delight the right side of your noggin, www.MusicBiz.com is full of words. For example, our Network News file (conveniently located behind the “News And Rumors” icon of www.MusicBiz.com) is updated as stories unfold. No more waiting until Friday to read about news that happens on Monday. Plus, editorial commentary from Tommy Nast, Charly Prevost, Jonathan L. Rosen and Gerry Cagle are all online at www.MusicBiz.com, along with articles and features from all our magazines.

Another feature of www.MusicBiz.com that you’re going to love is the internal communications network. Through the use of email hot links to thousands of industry types listed in the Yellow Pages Of Rock, you can use www.MusicBiz.com to send out text, statistical information, videos and music samples upstairs, across the country or around the world.

Finally, with www.MusicBiz.com, a whole new method of direct marketing is up for grabs. Since any music fan has access to our new website, labels have the potential to ‘speak’ to an infinitely larger universe than ever before with their ads. 

To infinity – And Beyond! 

Because technology continues forward at a pace faster than any of us can comprehend (remember that digital revolution we mentioned earlier?), we’re dedicated to bringing you the most comprehensive and detailed data available on our computer-bases information system. Our Toolbox, for instance, is evolving into a system predicated on a multi-user client server. Through a windows-based environment, the Toolbox will soon consist of a single database connected to multiple users. This won’t, of course, in any way inhibit our clients from setting their own individual priorities, as they currently do. As for www.MusicBiz.com, though we’re tried anticipate all your needs, we know you’ll find new ways of analyzing the data that we tally up. When that happens, we’ll be right there to provide you with the tools to get it done so that you’ll have the information you need, when you need it – Right now! So, get ready to Point, Click…& Rock! – at www.MusicBiz.com. ^m^

Website:

www.MusicBiz.com

© December 20, 1996. Michael D. Vogel.  All Rights Reserved. This originally appeared on the Vogelism blog at https://www.vogelism.com authored by Michael D. Vogel. This article may be shared or reprinted as long as the entire copyright message, including the source location of this article, accompanies it.