Appetite For Disruption

Whither the Car Stereo

I caught an article today in today's USA Today on how consumer electronics companies are now offering CD-player-free car stereos.  These are not OEM-installed systems, and automakers would be wise to continue having in-dash CD players as standard features on new vehicles.  Their customers have invested heavily in CDs over the past 25 years, despite the sharp downturn in CD sales this decade.  Even rampant downloaders do a lot of burning music to CD.

Car makers should definitely look to add on options which allow MP3 player owners to use their players in conjunction with car stereos.

As it is, there are still plenty of cars with cassette/CD players, and there are plenty of peripherals one can buy to stick an MP3 adapter into the cassette deck.

The transition to an all-digital music economy is moving rapidly, but those who stick with physical product aren't necessarily Luddites to be shunned, just as people who want to shop at brick-and-mortar stores for certain items they can buy on the web aren't technologically backward.  They just have preferences which are ingrained, preferences which shouldn't be ignored by marketers.

Kudos to Volkswagen and Wilco

Here is a fantastic example of what I feel is a great strategy by a brand interacting with music.  It's not surprising this move comes from VW, whose TV spots have always used music as a focused element of the advertising message.  VW has apparently signed a deal with noted alternative band Wilco to place not one, but 5-6 of the group's songs in upcoming TV spots for the brand.

From Wilco's web site:

"Why? This is a subject we've discussed internally many times over the years regarding movies, TV shows and even the odd advertisement. With the commercial radio airplay route getting more difficult for many bands (including Wilco); we see this as another way to get the music out there. As with most of the above (with the debatable exception of radio) the band gets paid for this. And we feel okay about VWs. Several of us even drive them."

Kudos to the band and to their management for taking a channel agnostic approach to getting their music distributed in unique ways - and recognizing the bottom line impact of music licensing.  As this is a band with so-called "indie cred," I would hope this would open the eyes of holdout labels, artists, and managers who decry the need to license in this manner to brands or be involved with brands at all.