Pandora has been at the center of quite a bit of controversy in recent months. Basically it boils down to this: Pandora feels that the rates it pays to artists and record labels in particular are too high. Artists, on the other hand, feel the amount they receive from the internet radio service is too low. Despite this, the public company recently reported its second quarter earnings for this year, which shows revenue is up 55 percent, even though net loss increased as well, up 44 percent from the same period last year.
But there is one number that is up even more than those figures: Pandora’s mobile revenue increased 92 percent to $116 million. That number now accounts for nearly three-quarters of the company’s entire revenue.
The Increasing Importance of Mobile in the Music Industry
Certainly the increased mobile revenue for Pandora is no surprise, as the company inherently provides a mobile-centric platform. But this trend toward mobile is certainly not only limited to Pandora, and not even limited to the music industry. However, many companies (and artists) have had trouble using mobile to its fullest advantage, though that may be changing quickly as smartphone and tablet sales continue to rise at huge rates.
In the 14-month period between April 2012 and July 2013, tablet ownership in the U.S. nearly doubled, showing the rapid rise in mobile ownership. With smartphones being quickly adopted as well around the world, the audience for mobile platforms, advertising and campaigns is growing exponentially. Pandora is obviously taking advantage of this fairly new sector of the market, and others in the music industry will likely be doing the same.
How to Take Advantage of Mobile for the Digital Music Industry
Mobile tech can be leveraged by companies and artists alike, and both will be doing so in ever-increasing numbers in the coming years. At this point, the biggest advantage to artists is that they can use mobile to increase the reach of their current social media and online campaigns.
For example, we wrote recently how Matchbox Twenty now has a mobile app that includes geofencing that can identify the exact location of a concertgoer inside a venue. This allows the group to communicate directly with fans with the app during their concerts to build fan engagement, and this will be further refined as technology improves. The group’s manager says he hopes to eventually use geofencing for practices like helping fans find their seats and to offer discounts when they walk near the merch table.
Of course, this is currently out of reach of smaller, independent artists, but it does show a great way of how mobile can be used to increase fan engagement. Likely, as mobile tech becomes more ubiquitous, additional low-cost options will be available to artists to use to help attract and keep fans in the mobile realm.
Again, all the possibilities remain to be seen as technology expands and becomes more accessible to smaller artists, but it is clear that mobile is the wave of the future in the music industry and beyond. Artists and companies will do well to pay close attention to where the trends are headed.
So, Why A Membership?
Let’s face it — trying to create professional mixes without the correct knowledge, tools, services, and network is like playing a concert with a broken instrument to an audience of no one.
That’s where the Sage Audio membership comes in — the membership gives you everything you need to create professional mixes consistently.
The membership is the secret to your success — it’s the difference between the 1,929,999,999 of poor-sounding mixes and the .00000002% of mixes that make people say 'WOW!"
There are 7 unique value-points included in your Sage Audio membership.
Let’s go over each one so you can decide if the membership is right for you.
1. Sage Audio University
- SAU Flagship Mixing Course: 23-video in-depth mixing course that reveals the little-known secrets of mixing and matches the needs of the new music industry.
- SAU Flagship Mastering Course: 19-video in-depth modern mastering course that dives into every nuance of making professional-sounding masters.
- SAU Pre-Mastering Course: Concise pre-mastering course that details the latest industry standards for preparing your mixes for mastering.
- SAU is designed for every experience level, ranging from budding mixing engineers to advanced engineers. The techniques and concepts taught can be applied to any DAW to create industry-leading mixes without expensive software or plugins - and free plugin alternatives are suggested throughout each course.
- Each SAU course includes Start-to-Finish session walkthrough lessons for multiple genres so you can follow along with your preferred genre.
- SAU Certification Document, which can be downloaded and showcased on your website and social channels.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
2. Private 1-on-1 Mentorship
- The Sage Audio private 1-on-1 Mentorship gives you direct access to us for advanced mixing feedback, in-depth discussions, and customized guidance that's tailored to your specific needs.
- Unlimited private access to us for advanced mixing feedback, where we provide detailed suggestions for improvement.
- Unlimited private access to us for in-depth discussions to help you improve every aspect of your mixes and masters.
- Customized guidance that’s tailored specifically to your needs.
- Fast communication so you can improve your skills quickly.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
3. Unlimited Mixing Feedback
- Unlimited professional mixing feedback directly from us so you can consistently improve your skills and create professional mixes.
- Mixing feedback is invaluable, and the Sage Audio membership gives you continual direct access to us for real-world feedback so you can improve every aspect of each of your mixes while you're in the process of mixing.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
4. 50 Free Mastered Songs Per Year
- 50 free mastered songs per year with your own dedicated professional mastering engineer so you can get all your mixes sounding like professional songs.
- You get your own dedicated Sage Audio mastering engineer to create custom masters that are specific to you and sound exactly how you want.
- Unlimited revisions with your dedicated mastering engineer. As a standard of our service, we are not happy until you are happy with the sound of your masters.
- All masters are delivered as commercial, industry-standard high-resolution 24-bit HD WAV masters so they will sound clean and clear on every platform.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
5. Community
- The Sage Audio community is a tight-knit community of passionate audio engineers who can provide you with additional real-world mixing feedback, meaningful discussions, networking, collaborations, and more.
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6. 70+ GB of Curated Sage Audio Downloadable Content
- 36 multitrack sessions spanning multiple genres for mixing practice.
- 57 un-mastered mixes spanning multiple genres for mastering practice.
- 62 Recommended Free Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 39 Recommended Paid Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 71 Sage Audio custom plugin presets to improve your mixes and masters.
- Sage Audio Membership Badge to showcase on your website, social channels, and portfolio.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
7. 800+ Video Catalog
- Access 700+ in-depth Sage Audio mixing and mastering videos - curated and organized into categories so you can easily take a deep dive into all aspects of audio engineering with thousands of hours of concise, expertly crafted Sage Audio videos to continually improve your skills at your own pace.
Yes, I want to join the membership now >
