Israel Venture Capital 2.0

The future of my music collection

In the past 20 years I have built a nice music collection. A lot of CDs, tapes, albums, and online music. All now represented in about 40GB of music. I still consume it in all formats (Even cassettes sometimes...), but mostly on my iTunes/iPod (Usually when running and when traveling). So far so good.

But lately, I am starting to get frustrated with the level of understanding/interaction I have with my own music collection. There are great technologies out there that help me find music that I may like (of course, there is a business model in that). Those include Pandora, Last.fm, and even Amazon.

But I am looking for something different. I want a technology that will help me discover and understand my own music collection. Apple recently launched Genius, which is a first step in that direction. The problem is that Genius is very predictable. I pick a Led Zeppelin song, and it doesn't matter what song, I get the same suggestions: Jumping Jack Flash by the Stones, Highway Star by Deep Purple. I don't need to be a Genius to do that.

So here are the 3 elements I want from my iPod in the future:

1. True (Business) Intelligence: What do I listen to? Not only the songs, but Genres, Albums, Artists. In what songs do stick till the end, and what songs do I skip? All that information is there. I want it.
2. True Discovery. What are some songs that I ALREADY HAVE, and that are left behind? Based on what I listen to, what songs I may actually enjoy (and are a bit less obvious than Light my Fire by the Doors).
3. And finally, a bit unrelated, Additional information on the Albums (and the bands). Can't I have on my iPod a bit of information (from Wikipedia?) on the band and the album? Here is an example. I started listening to the Silos. To be honest, I know nothing about them (I do own the album). Some local information would have been great, and would have helped me engage more in listening to the music.

Anybody interested to take the these ideas and implement them? Maybe there is a business there... The only company I know that is somewhere in the area is TuneUp. Maybe they will add what I want.

iTunes Digital Release

Like many other people, I have been standing at Starbucks in the past few weeks staring at the big music cards with the new Eddie Vedder Album and the new KT Tunstall album. The Starbucks-iTunes promotion has been covered on CrunchGear. Personally, I am much more excited about the music distribution format (iTunes "Digital Release"). It's an interesting combination of virtual music (iTunes) and a physical format (Plastic).

Back in the (good) old days, buying a vinyl album was a real pleasure. I always felt that bringing a record home was a feast for 4 of my 5 senses: I could SEE (read, enjoy) the album cover, HEAR the excellent music, SMELL the new print, and TOUCH the album (with the inside paper/nylon cover). Just for those (good) old days, check below a photo of my first ever Beatles album, bought in 1978.

Now, back to 2007, buying music on iTunes triggers only a small portion of my senses. I can hear the music (for sure), and see the album cover (or the digital booklet), but it's not the same. I guess that's why I still buy CDs. But this new format seen at Starbucks can potentially be the best of both worlds. A nice plastic cover with art and (limited) content, but the music is still downloaded virtually. Since the CD is gone, there is an option to sell the card in all formats, size, material, etc. Here is an opportunity to really break the physical representation of the music when you buy it.

I have a feeling that people will not have huge collections of music cards in the near future. I still think there is an interesting potential in that. In the mean time, I am collecting the free "song of the day" cards at Starbucks…

Album of the month – Portrait 4x4

I bought the new Portrait album a few months ago, but started to listen to it just recently. This album was reviewed on Ynet back in November, and did not get good reviews. The summary on Ynet was basically: Good not great. I probably agree to this, but still – in the past week I have been really enjoying this album.

I spoke with another local Israeli here, and he said that there is nothing better than driving on Highway 280 and listening to Israeli rock. I would agree with that, and even improve it: There is nothing better than driving on Highway 280 and hearing the Portrait song: "Instead of crying". Especially when they sing out "Even the US president deserves to dance"…

So what's good about this album? Great mood, excellent sound and production, and a few good songs (Instead of Crying, Small song, One more minute). For anyone planning a US road trip, I would throw this one in the CD bag.

Rita – Live in… San Francisco

On a great (sunny) Sunday afternoon, The Israeli community in the Bay Area celebrated a delayed Independence day. Great Israeli food, a lot of Isrealis, and a great concert by Rita.

This is an annual event, and the local "heavy-hitters" could easily compare Rita to Rami to Tipex and to Korine Allal, or just compare Rita's show in 2007 to the one in 2005 (or 04?). In any case, it was an excellent event, especially if you like Rita songs (I do). For someone that is used to seeing Israeli rock concerts, it was kind of weird to hear the English in-between the songs, but other than that, it was all very familiar. It was also surprising to see how many non-Israelis attended (Mostly from the local Jewish Community). Saying that, the majority of the crowd was happy to join in and sing "Not 16…" (A true statement for most people who know that song).

The surprise of the event was a guest performance by Meshi (Spelling?) Kleinstein, Rita's daughter. I guess the talent runs in the family. It was also amazing to hear her perfect American accent. Finally, check out this great photo (credit to Ronit). Publishing this photo was the main motivation for this post.

Album of the Month - Ninet Tayeb Barefoot

Writing about Ninet's new album (well, not that new) is not just about a review of Israeli music. It has to do a lot about the Internet as well. After all, Ninet was the first winner of the Israeli American Idol, one of the key TV shows in the world of new media.

As a rock fan, The Pop Idol/American Idol/Star Born (Israeli name) is something I despise. After all, this is not how rock stars are created. It is never that instant. Rock starts grow through years of pain, creativity, dreams, until the moment of discovery. Think about the stories of legends like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrisson and Kurt Cobain, and try to reflect those on American Idol...

However, the new media changed a lot of things, and its now all about user-generated, user-selected and the ability to leverage the masses to create instant changes. And... since I own the Kelly Clarkson album (and I even like it), I thought I would check out Ninet's new album. In addition, I always liked Ninet. I thought there was something authentic and real about her, much more than the other "born stars" that emerged in the years after. The fact she took 3-4 years to issue a first album was an indication that she is trying to be something "real"

So, how is Ninet's new album? I guess I was not too disappointed. Aviv Geffen is a great musician and his influence and song-writing is highly visible (and audible) in the album. But, this is not a great album. Part of it has to do with the Genre (I am not a big fun of mellow female performers) and a bit with the fact that it all seemed a bit... technical. Ninet is trying hard to be emotional, but it couldn't get through to me. The only exception is the excellent opening song: Barefoot.

The album is still on my rotation. But I guess, being old fashioned, I still miss the pain of albums like Algir or the first Eifo Hayeled.

Technorati tags: Ninet Tayeb, Algir, American Idol

Rock bands & Start-ups: The naming issue

My good friend Aner Ravon wrote (another) excellent post a few days ago, comparing rock bands and startups. He tells the interesting story of Geffen and Guns 'n' Roses, comparing that story to the one of YouTube. It's an interesting comparison, although my initial reaction was to write a serious post on why Aner is absolutely wrong. Rock bands don't live in the world of "Barriers to Entry" or "Unfair advantage", and most of them don't "Fulfill a need". But then I realized how non-interesting that post will be. And then I realized, that from a different angle, Aner is absolutely right. Rock bands and startups deal with exactly the same issues when it relates naming.

First of all, rock bands and companies do actually share some names. A quick look into the Gemini portfolio, shows companies like Silverback systems (now part of Brocade). Compare them to Silverback artist management (Not really a rock band, but related). Another example was Riverhead, acquired by Cisco in 2004. Compare them to a small band out of Salt Lake City: Riverhead.

I assume this overlap will not always occur (Find a band called Cisco or SAP, and find a startup called Smashing Pumpkins), but overall, the naming conventions are similar, and can be divided into 3 main categories:

1. DESCRIPTIVE NAMES: These are very common in startup companies, and less so in rock bands. Great examples include Salesforce.com, Myspace.com and even YouTube. In the rock band world, it is less common, although you could definitely include classics like: The Beatles (From the word "beat"), the Beach Boys (Their main hobby), and even Metallica.
2. REAL PEOPLE NAMES: So many great companies were called after their founders, with some of the famous ones being Dell (Michael Dell) and Siebel (Tom Siebel). the Rock band comparison should include Van Halen (Named after the 2 brothers Alex & Eddie), and Dave Matthews Band. Back in the late 50's all bands were named after their lead singers (Even the original Beatles: John Lennon & the Quarrymen).
3. "TRYING TO BE COOL" NAMES: Which puts all the rest (90%). In the startup scene it will include Google, Yahoo, and even del.icio.us. My favorite rock band names include Black Sabbath, the Clash, Sex Pistols, Foo Fighters, and probably the best one of all times: The Who.

Not sure I will fund a startup by that name.

 

Rock Concert 2.0 (Switchfoot Live!)

A couple of days ago I went to see Switchfoot, an emerging rock band from San Diego, performing live here in San Francisco (They played at Slim's).

I like Switchfoot a lot, and the concert was really good, although it was a bit too crowded for me (I guess it's an age thing). Some of the better songs included: Meant to Live and Faust, Midas and Myself.

But this post is not about Switchfoot so much, and not about the fact I am approaching 40. Throughout the concert I was amazed to see the influence that technology & Internet has had on rock concerts. A few examples:

1. MySpace: Switchfoot, like every popular band these days, have a page on MySpace. But not only that, they use it to interact with their audience (How obvious). At some point in the show, they played "Learning to Breathe", a song that was chosen online by the crowd, as the most desired song for the San Francisco show.
2. Bootleg: Do you remember, way back when, how great it was to find bootlegs of lives shows? I remember I bought MudSlide by Led Zeppelin. I was so proud I owned that album. Well, Switchfoot took bootlegging a step further. They recorded the first 6 songs of the show and printed the CDs on the spot. In the future, these recordings will probably be available online.
3. Cameras: This is old news, but I think that I was the only one in the crowd not filming, recording or taking photos during the show. Not sure we will see sites like Musicfoto.com 20 years from now...
4. Ear Plugs: This was a big turn off for me. Many people in the crowd were with ear-plugs. Ear Plugs! In a rock concert! That's like wearing sunglassed in a movie theatre. Lennon, Cobain, Hendrix, Morrison and the gang are turning in their grave.

Album of the Month - Ehud Banai Karov

This month's album of the month was released in 1989. I was in the army, not sure what lies ahead for me. I didn't know my wife yet, I had no clue what the words "venture capital" mean, and I was probably still thinking that I will have a boy one day (not only girls).

I recently bought Ehud Banai's album, Karov, again. Since then I have been playing it over and over. Overall, its an amazing album, especially as a whole. The combination of great music ("Sweet is the Knafe", "Everybody Knows") and great lyrics ("Northern Winds", "You touched the tree tops") make this one of the best albums ever released in Israel.

Overall, getting reacquainted to this album, was like meeting an old friend from high-school. The songs are not new, but yet very different from what I remembered.

Album of the Month - Arkadi Duchin Adult Dreams

bvgIt's funny to call this post "Album of the Month". The last time I reviewed an Israeli album, was back on June 1st. I guess I had a problem to review albums once I moved to the US. Finally, I decided to regroup myself, and start listening to Israeli music... again. Every time I fly back from Israel to the US, I try to buy 3-4 new Israeli CDs. That's the only possible solution, at least until XM Radio will have an Israeli channel or when Apple will launch an Israeli iTunes...

I returned last week with 3 albums in my hand: Ehud Banai (Live), Tal Gordon and Arkadi Duchin. Regarding the latter, I was quite hesitant before buying it. Arkadi? The man has been moving more and more mainstream as he was leaving behind his rock 'n' roll days. All I could think about is "Who loves you more than me..." At the end - I was highly surprised.

What a rock album! The 1st song is a bit soft, but after that Arkadi is really rocking. Best song is probably "Duty Free" and right after that "Albums". Song 11 (Stupidity) is also very good.I have a hard time expressing how much I enjoyed this album. Arkadi sounded different - less bitter than Natasha's first, but a bit more aggressive than Natasha's 2nd. Overall, a very pleasant surprise.

Next month I will try to write about Tal Gordon's new album.

Album of the Month - Eyal Kofman & the Nagarim

Remember the Carpenters? A band from the past, that had some good songs, but mostly very sticky ones? Well, here is Caprenters 2.0, or in better words: The Israeli version of the Caprenters, 2006 model.

Remember the early 90's? The Israeli rock scene emerged from the 80's with some new, young and exciting Rock bands: Eifo Hayeled, The Church Mind, Ta'arovet Eskot and others. Those were the Nirvana days, and hard rock was as mainstream as Madonna and Rita. After that, other trends emerged, and Rock (with Capital R) moved back into the sidelines.

Back to 2006, and back to "One Second before". This is an excellent rock album. There is nothing special about it. No real news. Just good old rock. It reminded me a lot of the early 90's, and that is great. The songs are really good, and the presentation (singing) by Eyal is excellent. A bit of background on Eyal: He was at Olive and at "When Nico starts talking". This is his 3rd album, after Don't close your eyes and Spots of Time.

I highly recommend this album. I am sure it is not a hit, but if you love Israeli rock, you will enjoy this one. Specifically, I like the 1st song (I will wait for you) and the hit (Candy in the pockets).

And one last words: Eyal Kofman & the Carpenters (2.0). Nothing to do with the Caprenters 1.0.