How could Apple give Ping a boost? Buy Jango.
(Note: as I sit here in limbo, waiting for Jaime Durr to finish up with Sammy Hagar and Chickenfoot so I can put the final touches on my album, I'll be posting about other stuff -- diaper changes allowing.)
Apple’s Ping is a dud, as near as I can tell. And why not? It’s a social media island, an impressive feat given how interconnected everything is today, especially in music. I don’t know whose fault this is — Apple’s or Facebook’s — but regardless, without connection to the world’s number one social site, Ping will remain a dud. (Aside: what’s with the name? Ping, to me, means to gently prod someone about something you need, not alert them to something you think is cool.)
What should Apple do to give Ping a boost? Buy Jango. Jango is an Internet radio station that caters to indie musicians by letting them buy plays and be played alongside major artists. You can sign up for Jango as a listener or an artist (via Jango Airplay) and from what I can tell, a lot of both participate. Jango would be especially cool for Apple because it would give iTunes some much needed cred among all the people out there trying to make it in music, trying to be heard and not wanting to feel like little nothings in the vast sea of major labels, which dominate iTunes. Apple would be cool for Jango because 1) being on iTunes would probably lead to more sales for Jango artists, which would, in turn, attract even more artists; 2) Apple’s code jockeys could make Jango look and function like something polished, which would be nice, because right now Jango looks like a hacked together piece of crap, kinda like MySpace, only slightly nicer; and 3) Jango has truly crummy social features -- in fact, I don’t think it has any -- and this is a shame because songwriters and bands love to talk to other songwriters and bands.
What say you, Apple? Is this a good idea?
What should Apple do to give Ping a boost? Buy Jango. Jango is an Internet radio station that caters to indie musicians by letting them buy plays and be played alongside major artists. You can sign up for Jango as a listener or an artist (via Jango Airplay) and from what I can tell, a lot of both participate. Jango would be especially cool for Apple because it would give iTunes some much needed cred among all the people out there trying to make it in music, trying to be heard and not wanting to feel like little nothings in the vast sea of major labels, which dominate iTunes. Apple would be cool for Jango because 1) being on iTunes would probably lead to more sales for Jango artists, which would, in turn, attract even more artists; 2) Apple’s code jockeys could make Jango look and function like something polished, which would be nice, because right now Jango looks like a hacked together piece of crap, kinda like MySpace, only slightly nicer; and 3) Jango has truly crummy social features -- in fact, I don’t think it has any -- and this is a shame because songwriters and bands love to talk to other songwriters and bands.
What say you, Apple? Is this a good idea?