Bob Lyons

Emerson College BCE @CreativeEnter, Streaming Wars, China's music streaming apps, Mysteries of the Open G Tuning

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

@klafyshop pfa

[Holly Figueroa O'Reilly @AynRandPaulRyan]

This is what we need right now from President Biden.

Less smoke, more fire.

Get em, Joe.

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

https://t.co/fcfuHXlKP6

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

Talk about blockchain in terms of crypto currency and NFT's reminds me of late 90's talk re: the internet as "Information Superhighway"--sorta true, but conflates platform with applications. The big changes may take 10 years or so, and are not likely to be what we expect.

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

Big fun last week with BCE Seniors, looking at the business of Streaming Wars. (In this exercise, Disney got some tough love, AMC won big, Tencent lost out to Epic and Scarlet's agent definitely earned her bonus)

[Emerson BCE @CreativeEnter]

Professor @RSL125 speaking to our Senior Residency class. Great exercise as we renegotiated Scarlet Johansson’s contract with @Disney and diversified her brand. Windowing with @AMCTheatres Gaming deals with @EpicGames & @TencentGames What people do for fun, we do for credit.

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

@MusicDish_China No Hiperson? WTAF?

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

@OhNoSheTwitnt Breaking Bad. Satisfying end to story arc+on the nose Badfinger song. Perfect.

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

@e_whelly Agency-Wm Gibson

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

Tencent’s 3 streaming apps at 80% market share in China, their Joox app dominates SE Asian markets, and Boomplay is a JV between a Chinese cell phone co. and Netease , the #4 Chinese music streamer. Tough for Spotify to expand in those mkts against parent co.s that size. 5/5

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

https://t.co/hGVgDFPMgl
@Mark_Mulligan looks at Spotify in 2021, with three scenarios.
#3 (Spotify morphs into a multi-sided entertainment platform) is v. plausible, and they are moving in that direction w/Podcasts, artist tools. 1/5

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

This is because, while Spotify has a clear lead and is busy trying to widen their moat, it basically is DOA in China, while in other markets it has to contend with powerful locals like Joox, (SE Asia)
Melon(S.Korea) Gaana (India), Boomplay (Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana) etc.
4/5

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

Am I the only one underwhelmed by Branson and Bezos using 2021 tech to do something already accomplished twice by the end of 1961? https://t.co/xanOb7vVRJ
Like celebrating a remake of 1961’s #2 TV show.
https://t.co/IdKrVypHh4

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

3) the endpoint of nearly infallible Facial Recognition strikes me as just begging to be abused and 4) quite aside from that ethical dilemma, this reminds me of drug companies selling remedies for the side effects (e.g. constipation) of the opiates they market. 3/3

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

I find this fascinating: https://t.co/bTPbb3wdkx The government is concerned about minors' overuse of mobile gaming, so the gaming platforms have curfews for them (can't play 10 pm-8am). So kids have found workarounds, by pretending to be their parents 1/3

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

So Tencent is now using Facial Recognition to enforce the restrictions. Four thoughts: 1) how long before kids/hackers find a workaround? 2) the workaround will then be addressed by Tencent's engineers, improving the efficacy of Facial Recognition tech for other purposes. 2/3

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

https://t.co/CeSZzGS0g4

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

https://t.co/CeSZzGS0g4
Excellent, timely article in @protocol on short video dramas emerging on China's Kuaishou, (快手) hugely popular video app esp. in smaller cities/rural regions, which competes with Bytedance’s Douyin (抖音), China’s domestic version of TikTok. 1/4

[Bob Lyons @RSL125]

It’s fascinating to see the fierce competition, as Tencent and Bytedance scramble for content, and face each other’s innovations. As the article suggests (and as we are seeing in our own SVOD wars) this may drive up production values, budgets and rewards to creators.4/4