The Future Of Business – Nine Inch Nails Business Model
The Nine Inch Nails Open Core Business Model is not new, in fact it’s been well documented. So why is it that few are using the model? As I have stated here over and over again, the future of business is not a bunch of steps, a list to execute, or a set of action items, it’s how you and I think about business, how we provide what customers and follower’s want. Our view of business in the world must change, we can’t keep applying old rules to a new model. Here is a short snippet of Trent Reznor’s Open Core Business Model.
The band (NIN) merely saw something better than the record labels channels of distribution, and more importantly, it’s control over the bands music. So here’s Trent Reznor’s Business Model:
CwF + RtB = $$$$
Do you get it? Probably not, unless you have already read the case study.
This is the Open & Free Business Model working, this is really a precursor to the future of music, so what does the equation stand for or mean.
CwF is Connect With Fans, simple enough right? RtB stands for Reason To Buy. So how did they do it?
After NIN left their record label, released 36 tracks on the Internet, they were put under the Creative Commons License, and then made the first 9 tracks of those 36 available to fans, FREE! How did that help them make money, stay with me.
Nine Inch Nails – Trent Reznor, packaged their music along with other great things you couldn’t get anywhere else, that couldn’t be copied. They made two packages giving you the fans an experience to be relived over and over again, one a deluxe package at $75 and another Ultra Deluxe Package at $300, the difference between the two, the $75 package was made unlimited, the $300 package was a limited set of only 2,500. Oh, these larger packages were personally signed by Trent Reznor as well.
So what happened, well, the $300 package sold out in 30 hours, so…2,500 packages x $300 = $750,000!!!
All without the controlling record label, they did it by giving the fans something they really wanted…hot tip there. Is this starting to take shape in your mind, are starting see your business doing something your customers truly want?
Now, not all of us has the following or resources of an already successful band. That’s not what I’m try to show you. The way they looked at the record business, how they were willing to risk everything but trusting the fans, are you willing to do business by trusting the people formerly known as consumers?
This business model, the future of business has many shapes and sizes, the hard part is stepping away far enough from your own business to see how to leverage this Open & Free Business Model.
Mike Masnick shares the entire story of this business model and some of the other great things Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails did:
SHAMELESS PLUG:
I will be speaking at The World Futurist Society Conference July 8th – 10th in Vancouver, British Columbia on The Future Of Business – Open & Free Business Model. Specifically I am schedule Saturday July 9th at 8:30AM to share, it would great to meet you there.
Change the way you think about the future of business and explore what could be, I would be honored to help you.
The Curse Of The Entrepreneur
I was chatting with a friend of mine the other day and we got on the topic of why some entrepreneurs succeed and why others fail. I should premise this with, failing most of the time is a good thing when you are an entrepreneur. Also, the curse of an entrepreneur does not reside in each and everyone, it tends to be found in individuals that believe no one could possibly understand their vision and tend to be an authority on everything.
The curse is simply put, someone (an entrepreneur) who will not listen to input from others, tends to try and do everything themselves, and thinks people are telling them what to do. I might fall into this category on the last point, I can’t name very many people that made me feel good about myself, or helped me get to a place higher than they were. I’ll admit I struggle with being told what to do, that’s why I don’t conform well, to me rules are merely guidelines : ) I just want to get the job done without someone yanking my chain, I’ll bet you feel the same way.
The secret sauce, it’s merely the opposite of the curse, the entrepreneur that finds success more often, listens to a great many people and uses the shopping cart method. The shopping cart method is this, leave on the shelve the things you don’t believe or agree with, take from the shelf what you believe will help you reach your goals or desired vision.
I like to surround myself with great people, not good people, great people, great people who are passionate about what they do, and want to make the world a better place. Great people want to help others accomplish what they thought they couldn’t.
This is just one ingredient to the secret sauce, an ingredient to success as a leader and as an Entrepreneur.
The Future Of Business – Findability
I’m not going to beat around the bush here, I spend almost 90% of my time on Twitter, it’s where my research comes from, my business, and most of my relationships. Twitter is the service I use to expand, learn and teach what I do, FaceBook, has it’s place but I rarely spend much time there, why? I use TweetDeck , I feed multiple social networks this way, including FaceBook. Rumour has it TweetDeck is about to be purchased or already has been, by Twitter, that’s good news in my books. Twitter will be able to add so much to the experience of using their real-time service.
The secret sauce if you will, the secret tool is not that secret when trying to maximize Twitter, it’s the search in Twitter that brings the most value in terms of data. If you spend enough time listening in the Twitter search, you start to see trends, interests and needs, businesses don’t pay enough attention there in my humble opinion.
The #FutureOfBusiness hashtag is where I like to hang out, to see what others are saying and thinking about on this topic, we are headed to a day of the open & free business model. But what does that mean really. Does it mean everything is free and open, of course not, it is however, a strategy, a successful business model. So how do all these social networks fit into the equation?
Think about where you do business today, what is the business model you execute today, does it leverage social networks? And if it is, how did you determine which social network to invest your time and money in? I’m almost certain very little research went into that determination, you probably just sensed you should be on FaceBook because most of your friends and business associates said you should be there. When a business owner asks me if they should be on FaceBook or any other social network, I like to ask them why they think they should be there. Almost everytime it has nothing to do with a business case or sound data to backup that question, it is always an emotional reason, like the fear of loss. That’s not new, it’s as old as time that emotion, but it has as much power as worrying, and probably the same results worrying brings you.
So where do you spend your time and money in terms of social networks, and why? The Future Of Business is not social networks, it is however, social & mobile. Social Media is not new, the conversations you and I were having offline our entire life, has merely gone digital, they are now happening on the Internet. The difference, the world can now listen in and share your feelings, spread your conversation everywhere. Everything will create a stream everywhere.
With 3 billion people yet to hit the Internet, being found should be your primary concern, it’s going to get noisier than it is today, findability will determine the life of your business online. The best way to be found, create more content than you consume, then leverage every social network you can to help that cause.
So where do you do business, which social network do you use the most, what is the hardest part about being found for you, how do you get found? I would love to hear your thoughts on findability, not SEO.
A Great Success At Mill Lake – Walk For Kids Help Phone Fund Raiser
It was a most beautiful day on Mill Lake this past Sunday (May 1st, 2011), the sky was clear and the lake was calm as it hosted the 2011 Walk For Kids Help Phone Fund Raiser. Two laps around Mill Lake on a sunny beautiful morning was in order, a great day to help the kids in our area. Last year it rained, it was miserable but we had a great time regardless.
This year there were more sponsors, and I would like to thank them all; Envision Financial, Owen Greaves (Emcee), The Abbotsford Heat, The News, Fraser Valley Pulse, Galaxy Bowl, Kal Tire, SAVE-ON Foods, 100.5 Peak Radio, The Yummy Mummy Club, Abbotsford Police Department, M & M Meats, Butterfly Treats and it was all topped off with the talented Emily Taylor Adams.
Emily Taylor Adams also donated 50% of CD sales at the event and her stand against kids bullying, she was our official cake cutter too, and she played and sang all morning long. If you don’t know who she is just yet, you can see her perform at the Cloverdale Rodeo, and she will be at GABBY’s Country Club in Langley on May 29th raising funds for Cancer. M & M Meats cooked Hot Dogs for everyone, there was coffee, water, oranges and other refreshments as well. Eileen Fisher coordinates this event every year, and does an amazing job, it’s always a treat to work with her.
I should mention his Worship Mayor George Peary, and his lovely wife made the walk , it was one of three walks they were taking part in Sunday Morning. Thank you for coming. Joyful George and Dilly the Clown were on hand, and there was lots of face-painting going on too. A handful of local mascots were on hand, Joyful George, Dilly & Hawkey, they paired up with a few of the kids and ran a 3 legged race, fun was had by all.
Next year this event will take place on May 6th, 2012. It’s the first Sunday of May each year, this is a fun event for the whole family to attend and take part in, put that date on your calendar. If you want more information on the Walk For Kids Help Phone, contact Eileen Fisher in the Fraser Valley or visit the website: http://www.walkforkidshelpphone.ca
There are many ways to get involved, you can participate, donate, volunteer and or sponsor the event. It’s a great way to ensure the kids have help when under attack or not, make a donation to ensure the service continues.
100.5 Peak Radio was on hand, along side of the Abbotsford Police Department! Thank you for being there.
This is the 2nd year of this event and it’s growing, and it will continue to grow with your participation, and we thank the many who helped make this years event a success. Not only can you make a difference, you also enjoy the process, a good time was had by all, until next year.
Many Blessings
The End Of Organizations As We Know Them – Thomas Power
You have read it here over and over again, I am not the only one sharing the message about the death of the industrial age, how community will over power corporations unless they embrace them, join them and even buy them. Big business must change how they think, small and medium business owners must change the way the think, there is much pain coming in this paradigm shift.
Thomas Power has a few words on the topic of community and love, I’ll let him continue the message you find here often on this blog. This is one of many great talks on the changes yet to come. Enjoy!