“This company has deep mobile software expertise, with two of the founders of this company being from Tegic, who created the T9 texting software,” added Dederer. “Here’s a cocktail party factoid: it’s the most widely-distributed software of any kind on earth. It’s on three billion-plus handsets. So we know how to make things for phones, and now there’s an extended marketplace.”

So who is this Dederer? It’s Dave Dederer, former singer and guitarist for The Presidents of the United States of America. And who is he talking about? His company, Melodeo, where he’s VP of Biz Dev. And what have they released? An iPhone app featuring all the band’s music from their four albums, demos, live tracks, etc. etc. Interesting.

Topspin is founded on the principle that while costs of production and distribution in the music industry are dropping, unlimited choice for consumers only increases the importance of efficient marketing. Marketing means both connecting and cultivating relationships with your existing fans (much of what Seth Godin describes as “Permission Marketing” applies) as well as discovering new fans. Topspin is building software tools to help artists market efficiently.

Topspin’s an answer to a question I’ve been thinking about off and on. The music biz isn’t about records, Sam Goody and Top 40 radio anymore. (And if it is for you still, be ready—things are changing fast!) To succeed as a musician you need to embrace the web, digital distribution, blogs, twitter, social networks, satellite radio and seamlessly transition from hyperlocal to global. How do you measure success? Is your marketing paying off? What counts? Radio plays? Downloads? Do you have the tools to even begin measuring success? How do you cultivate relationships with your fans? Touring sure. But where are you fans? Kevin Kelly had a great intro to this new world with his 1,000 True Fans scenario.

Madonna’s been making her own rules from early on and so it continues–she ditched the traditional music industry in 2007 and signed up with a concert promotion company:

“The paradigm in the music business has shifted and as an artist and a business woman, I have to move with that shift,” Madonna said. “For the first time in my career, the way that my music can reach my fans is unlimited. I’ve never wanted to think in a limited way and with this new partnership, the possibilities are endless.”

Topspin is going in a similar direction:

One point I want to make clear: we are not just another digital distribution company. Our belief is there are some very good digital distribution solutions out there already, and digital distribution is quickly becoming a commodity. What’s not anywhere near commodity status is marketing, and we are a marketing tools software company. We are about demand creation, not demand fulfillment.

Not to overstate things but the unstoppable shift from Old World music industry to New World could very well start here with Topspin. One to watch for sure.

A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author – in other words, anyone producing works of art – needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.

And published a day later, on March 05, 2008, Reznor makes $750,000 even when the music is free:

And it appears to be working quite well for Reznor, who has managed to sell all 2,500 copies of his $300 package without major label backing or much in the way of splashy marketing. If Reznor’s earlier experiments in digital distribution failed to recoup their costs, he’s clearly learned his lesson: grossing $750,000 in the space of three days isn’t a bad haul for any businessperson.

So it seems Kevin’s concepts can easily work for someone like a Trent Reznor. Kevin does spend a good portion of the article on how a lesser known could make this work as well.

From the pens I’ve loved and lost department comes this news: a local source for the absolutely fantastic Pilot Hi-Tec-C series of pens. Ink is great (doesn’t smudge ever) and flows so smooth and the tip allows great precision (I like the .4 but they go down to .25!) I sure missed them.

“We have no agenda other than helping you find new music to enjoy. You tell us your favorite song or artist, and we use our Music Genome analysis to find others like it. We don’t care if the artist you love (or we recommend) is popular among people who share your shopping habits, is on a big record label or part of the indie underground. All we care about is that the songs we suggest to you have enough in common with the songs you love, that they are likely to become your new favorites.”

I had high hopes for audioscrobbler.com and last.fm but well, things aren’t working out really. Pandora sounds promising. Extra points for asking for Lisp experience in their job req. Launching soon I hear….