What Do Cars and Music Have To Do With Selling Computers?

Resellers - consider the lessons learned in other industries. You may be surprised at the similarities to YOUR business.

"In a lot of ways, the computer industry has just emerged from the automobile industry's 'big fins' era."

"The music business has both mechanical royalty and performance royalty systems that are a nearly ideal model for digital media."

A metaphor is often a useful way of thinking about the way we do things in business. Indeed, sometimes a precedent extrapolated from a completely different concept can help us figure out emerging trends. Naturally, the benefit is an opportunity to foresee a trend as it is just taking off and get the best (and most profitable) piece of the action, on the leading edge of the curve. Here, then, are some metaphors to consider.

The Automobile Industry

If we look beyond the obvious automobile references of "where do you want to go today?" and the done-to-death "information superhighway" metaphors, there are a number of interesting parallels between the auto industry has been and where it seems the computer industry is going.

• The U.S. auto industry had a crisis in quality control and - more importantly - consumer confidence. But while it was figuring this out, high-quality/high functionality designs from Japan gained a dominant position in the market-place. By the time the U.S. automakers reinvented themselves, the market-place had a new set of values. Part of the U.S. auto industry's problem was that it was operating on a "planned obsolescence" model that consumers got fed up with. I think the parallels are obvious here. Need an example? Look at Apple.
• How fast does it go? At a certain point, speed stopped mattering to the mass market (of course, some enthusiasts continue to care about the zero-to-sixty factor, and are willing to pay dearly for it), and other issues became more important. What happened after the "muscle car" phase of the '60s and early '70s?
• How are cars marketed and what do consumers buy? How did you buy your last car? How long did you own it, and what did you do with it when you sold it? Consider that used (make that 'pre-owned') cars are a very big business - a business that is still struggling to overcome its "sleazy salesman" image problems.

In a lot of ways, the computer industry has just emerged from the automobile industry's 'big fins' era. Think of the monitors and PCs of a couple of years ago: Emissions were high, power economy was low and units were big and bulky. Hard to maneuver - but just look at these power windows!

If this metaphor carries any weight, then the new-generation 'sculptured' PCs from Acer, Apple and Compaq are just more 'big fins.' The real market-shift happened because of compact cars - the portables. They made economic sense, and they cost plenty. But when was the last time you bought a new car with cash?

Take a few minutes and think about the way the automobile market has evolved; for example, the leasing, the used models, the imports, and the 'lifestyle' advertising. Perhaps you will agree that this metaphor 'has wheels.'

Music As a Metaphor

Here's another metaphor that may ring some bells. Think for a moment how music permeates our lives.

As children, we use simple nursery rhymes to learn the fundamentals of melody and rhythm. Even if we grow up as adults with a tin ear, music surrounds us. It's in virtually every TV show and every ad. It's on the radio, in our cars, on the street corner.

It may be worthwhile to consider that music is a metaphor for how we - or our children's children - will someday view technology and computers.

Ponder These Facts

The music business is big. One of the largest trade shows in the world, in fact, is the Music Messe in Frankfurt, Germany.

The music business has both mechanical royalty and performance royalty systems that are a nearly ideal model for digital media.

Electronic musical instruments have seamless, ubiquitous networking, that is both plug-and-play and virtually dummy-proof. Electronic musical instruments have evolved to include a variety of highly visceral input devices, including "aftertouch" touch sensitivity and pressure sensitivity, plus more exotic I/O devices such as joysticks, ribbon controllers and breath controllers. M-Audio offers a "control surface" shaped like two human hands. There's even an updated version of the Theremin, an instrument originally invented in 1919, and later popularized in several sci-fi classics. The Theremin is played by simply (or not so simply, as the case may be) waving your hands. When you consider the "future computer" interfaces presented in movies such as Minority Report or the various Star Trek epics, their imaginative interfaces don't seem so futuristic when you consider that musicians have been using interfaces a little like that for decades.

Musical instruments are used for both business (and a very big one it is!), but more commonly for entertainment and pleasure. Many homes have a musical instrument, even if it is not currently played. It is both a symbol of culture and an entertainment device for guests.

Many forms of music (and/or the artists that create it) emphasize sex. It richly communicates virtually any emotion. Most people don't want to create their own. Music fans buy T-shirts, posters and other memorabilia in large numbers. Stores sell pre-packaged collections. Although there are many content creators, a few titles generate most of the profits. It is a part of every culture on earth.

Music can be distributed in analog or digital formats. Consumers prefer random-access over linear access (tape). Resolution is important. Music transmitted via wireless methods did not replace disc-based media, although tape is increasingly obsolete. It can be improvised, created algorithmically, or via a variety of languages and structured learning systems.

It has a corporate infrastructure that is in danger of breaking down as smaller, more nimble companies release 'independent' products. It permits communications that are rich, and that may be easily integrated with other media types. Music is freely available, yet supports a multi-billion-dollar recording industry.

Modern musical instrument technologies have put some musicians out of business, and forced others to change their job descriptions.

Questions:

• How many radios do you own? Where are they?
• What was the last piece of music you heard? Where were you?
• Consider musical learning. How does the school system make band instruments available?
• How do children receive private lessons?
• What is the model for mechanical royalties?

Now, imagine that it is a few years in the future. Mentally substitute the words 'computer technology' for 'music' and 'musical instrument' in the previous statements.