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Description

Core vs. Secondary Technologies
We define core technology as the infrastructure upon which multiple secondary
technologies and applications are built. The most obvious example on the web is Google,
whose core technology is search. Upon this core technology Google and many other
companies have built their businesses.
Regarding the web-based music industry, however, two questions need to be asked:
• Is there currently a core web technology?
• If not, does there need to be?
Apple?
Many would answer the first question with the words "iTunes/iPod." Apple's software/
hardware combo is certainly the dominant retail model for the online-offline music
experience today, and with the imminent removal of DRM (digital rights management),
their market share only stands to grow, at least in the near term. But does that mean
that iTunes/iPod is a core technology? We would say no, because it doesn't fit the
definition—it is not a platform upon which multiple secondary technologies or
applications can be built. (On the other hand, the iPhone does fit this description.) It is
indeed a complete solution (something Apple excels at) but is essentially a closed loop,
not a platform. All development for this system comes directly from Apple.
 
Who Needs It?
No other company even comes close to iTunes for market share, but If iTunes is not a
core technology provider, the question arises— do we even need it? MOA is, of course,
built on the premise that we do. But why? There are, in fact, four constituencies that
would benefit significantly from such a platform: musical artists, online music
developers, the music industry, and fans. We will discuss why each of these need our
 
technology, and how the confluence of those needs with our technology can lead to a
more vibrant, robust music industry.
 
Artists
Music starts with artists and ends with fans. The rest are middlemen. This statement
may be obvious, but it is in fact easily overlooked in discussions with topics like, "How
Do We Monetize Music On The Web?" The real questions should be,
how, in the context of a web-dominated music scene, do we create
an environment conducive to making artists happy and
productive so they can generate more product and grow the
industry?
When we look at the current music scene on the web from the
artist's perspective, we see a number of things: multiple modes of
monetizing music (downloads, subscriptions, targeted ads); music
hosting/presentation systems (e.g. MySpace and Broadjam); and music
retailers (iTunes, Rhapsody, etc.). What we don't see is a system for creating a larger
context for musical work, that connects these and many other online music modes into a
cohesive system for presenting and monetizing music.
By "larger context" we simply mean the way a single piece of music fits into a larger
form. In the past, from the technology standpoint, the LP and CD were the formats to
which a single track belonged. They provided the larger context—the larger story or
dramatic structure—that generated the hits, that in turn generated sales. Many in the
industry now see the lack of a viable modern internet-based album format as the root
cause of the industry's problem. A viable larger context—an album format—is needed to
sustain both artistic and bottom line growth in the industry.
MOA has created such a context with the Virtual Album.(For a detailed description
of the Virtual Album, please see our full business plan.)The Virtual Album simply takes
the idea of a larger context, formerly in the form of the CD/LP, and marries it to the
modern web. It gives artists a consistent, flexible, artistically satisfying way of
presenting and monetizing their musical product on the web. The dynamic architecture,
based on MOA's MusicOS, allows artists to create their own unique contexts and to
connect them with the larger web. It inspires both artistic and commercial innovation
that in turn leads to new products, and new revenue streams.
Online Developers
In the context of computer technology, a platform is really an operating system, or OS. A
well designed, consistent OS (like the Google or the iPhone platforms) inspires
technology innovation, which leads to new revenue streams for both the developers and
the host. In the world of online music, there is indeed a great deal of innovative
technology—from online media players, synthesizers and DJ products, to tools for
licensing, promoting, sharing, distributing, and discussing music. What is missing here,
once again, is a larger context, or platform for these myriad technologies to coexist and
flourish. When a beautifully designed software application plugs into a well designed OS
(or host), it creates a synergy that is impossible in a vacuum. Unfortunately, some of the
most brilliant innovations in online music are lost in the vacuum of the webosphere
because they lack a larger meaningful context within which they can thrive. Fortunately,