Dear friends,

Not much happening around our non-profit dot-org site, not because there’s not much happening, but because we ran out of gas. Boat is sound, but we are out on the ocean without paddle or sail.

When some one -say one of your kids- comes to you for help, you have to figure out what they really want. Maybe they just want encouragement: “You’re not that far out, the tide will probably push you ashore.” Maybe it’s advice they want: “Use that cooler lid for a paddle….”  Or maybe (not often) criticism: “Next time, check the gas BEFORE you leave the dock!”

But sometimes it’s a straight rescue that’s called for, “I’ll toss this rope to you…” and that is what this is about. Interested in helping support folk music? Have some internet skills? Like to volunteer? We are looking for someone to take the helm- is it you or someone you know?

We’ve got a storied history, from our first MP3-by-the-track sales in 1999, through the dot-com bust, web 2.0, and we’ve out-survived a lot of them. It is now time for this sailor to stay on terra firma and take care of “business”, I’m volunteered-out. Sick of the nautical theme? But still interested? Please contact me, ASAP.

Boats rot at the docks, folks, we need to keep it moving. Take this website, please!!!

Sincerely,

Chris

PS Or a huge bequest would be nice.

Baroque.me (2011) by Alexander Chen. Video capture. http://www.baroque.me visualizes the first Prelude from Bach’s Cello Suites

Here’s a nice article, not about the music business, specifically, but still very applicable. It’s about the differences between “audience” and  ”community”.

They are not the same, at all. One you can buy, one you have to build. An audience can be purchased, and doesn’t require “substance”- community, on the other hand, requires some meat in the bun.

You can not buy a community. Creating a community of people who support your brand and its products takes time. Creating a community occurs when you tap into the passions of an audience and allow them to see your product or brand as part of their daily lives.

The difference between an audience and a community in new media

“We’re hearing 5% of the music…..we need a new iPod…..”

efolkMusic, 1999-style!

Been there?  From the Internet Archive, what they call the “Wayback Machine“, with a history of the Internet- I think they started before us, as they have us from the very beginning, if I remember correctly.

Here’s the record of efolkMusic beginning on Oct 9, 1999, snapshots through the ages! About the same, really, same rock to push. Luckily the edges have been worn down through the years and it’s a bit easier to roll (Depending on the size of the rock, you don’t always “pick it up and carry it on..” as we have been known to say; more often it’s OGS – of good size – and you ROLL it.)

A month later, Nov 1999, sorry about the missing graphics. Some of these hairpins are kickin’ grass’  as I write, somewhere, I hope:

The very first iPad, 2008

OK, OK, I didn’t invent the internet. But I sent an MP3 around the world way before you or Steve Jobs did. I told you it was hot, didn’t I? No way I was going to rest on my laurels, I kept after it.

Sometime early in 2008 researchers in our Carrboro kitchen created the first working iPad. You could, back then and probably still, get a printable version of the iPhone, ready to print on cardstock and fold into a iPhone-shaped model.  Combining parts from the model and a small notebook, we thought we had something potentially very useful. When used with any- and I mean any — writing device (100% compatibility!!) you could instantly be taking notes, sending messages, drawing pictures, writing songs, making tiny paper airplanes,  the possibilities are  endless.

So the iPad was born. I showed it to several witnesses and potential investors (loozers!!!!) who failed to jump in. Pictured at left is the (still) working prototype, a 64-page model, with fake iPhone cover. Didn’t come with a pen, that would cost you extra.

I coulda sold a million, damn. And if I hadn’t spilled something on the cover of this one I might be able to get a lot for it on eBay. Double damn.

From Brian McFadden:

God grant us the austerity to defund America back into recession, courage to ignore basic economics, and wisdom to know everything we do can be reversed by a future congress before any of it takes effect.

From the CBO via Krugman:

From the Economist:

Consumer Spending, 2007-2010