Companies can be greedy.

When CD’s first came out into mainstream market they were to replace the cassette. Better sound quality and a more durable casement were to be the new way. The first problem was greed. Retail outlets in conjunction with distributers charged $20 a CD when cassettes were only around $10. This would be fine except now instead of $20 getting me 2 albums I now had 1 album. As technology quickly caught up people learned that blank CD’s cost .50 cents while CD’s were still averaging about $16 a pop.

A CD is easier to make than a tape. It’s not real time recording like a tape and has no moving parts. When CD’s were released they should have been cheaper than tapes. A generation of technology savvy college kids found a way to “share” music for their budget… $Free.99! Can you blame anybody?

We like it easy.

CD’s are 51/2 x 5 inches and carry roughly 10 -15 songs per disc. A 16-gig MP3 player can carry around 4,000 songs. That equals to an average of 334 CD’s with 12 songs. Here is an obvious deterrent to CD’s. They are cumbersome. They take up space in your house and they are not as portable as downloaded music. Even if you up load your CD you’re still left with the physical CD and jewel case. There is no competition when it comes to convenience. I don’t want to choose what music I bring with me when I can bring it all.

The challenge here is even though the quality of sound goes down form digitization and device playback (ipods don’t have sound amplification like a good set of speakers) audio quality in the majority does not trump convenience.

I don’t have time for that.

I can get it now. It’s in stock, I can preview it right there and I don’t need to buy the whole album. I love shopping for music at midnight. How great is it to get a new album as soon as it’s released? I can have it downloaded while I have my breakfast and listen to it on the way to work.

I don’t have to go to the Mall at lunch or after work. There is no interruption to my day by downloading.

I want my MTV!

Music sales up to the late 90′s were always climbing due to the way we found it. Early on variety shows and radio were a great way to discover music. Then came the launch of MTV. A 24hr television channel devoted to music. In it’s infancy it had music, variety programming for targeted styles (Yo MTV Raps, Head Bangers Ball, and 120 minutes) and artist interviews where you could learn and find new music. They also respected music. Songs had long intros and Videos (along with music) were allowed to develop. Advertising was important but did not over step its relationship with the craft.

Then like everything else a good thing was over exposed. MTV turned to new programming and spawned what was the beginning of the end. Reality TV! From the inception of the Real World, reality TV changed how we watch programming and also edged out time for music. Now you can heighten your intelligence with shows like the Jersey Shore and “insert teen semi scripted drama in CA” instead of being exposed to new music. I could get much deeper into the “dumbing down of America” but this article isn’t about that.

Songs are often cut off or talked over in the media these days. Radio and MTV do an excellent job of interrupting music to push advertising and maximize on “Advertising Dollars”. The days of musicians/bands getting respect are gone as well as the 5 minute song.

Radio hasn’t skipped my radar either. Instead of multiple channels I hear the same 10 channels playing the same 10 songs that sound exactly the same every hour. This has pushed music lovers over to a paid subscription service like Sirius/XM. Here’s another service to pay for to get a variety of good music and yet another reason to download it for free.

Conclusion

The sad part about all this is in the end we are only hurting ourselves. New music will never be developed if we don’t buy the albums of current artists. Weird right? You would never think that buying the latest U2 album would help find a new artist but that’s exactly what it does. Album money does not profit the band. After studio fees, distribution fees, and everything else the band see’s about .50 cents – $1 per album if they’re lucky. Most of the money helps feed the system. The more money that feeds the system helps allow growth and the ability to invest in new artist.

You can see this right now with Country music. Most Country music fans are not into downloading nor are they a young demographic. You see Country music is growing because an older generation of people with money and little torrent (computer) skills actually paying for there music. The end result is plenty of revenue to feed the system.

Is there a solution? Probably not, in the current business model it would take consumers actually consuming again and not stealing cough, cough..downloading (lets be honest it’s steeling so just own it). At the same time it would mean record labels would learn how to live of minimal profit and not try and take the very people they need for a financial ride.

Demand is another thing. All businesses only do what there consumers want. We are at the height of data collection. Everyone is monitoring what you watch and what you click. A drop in viewers or selected times of viewing/listening will send a clear message to bug business. Again it is unfortunate that this would need to be a wide scale effort.

As you can see downloading is a Major convenience for getting music. Until we place more value in what it takes to make quality music (assuming industries supply us with quality music)

These are just a few of my thoughts on the subject. Often I find that people want to place blame but they never want to argue the “why”. Let me know if you agree, disagree or just have something to add.

9. “I’ll know it when I see it” – The phrase says it all. Don’t do anything! Ask lots of questions. Keep in mind you should keep showing other websites to narrow down what the client is close to liking. Also have some sort of clause in your proposal that states how many versions and how long the design part of the job can last. Keep clients aware of how much time they have left. If they have to spend additional money suddenly they will know what they want.

8. “Take it to the next level” – What level? Stage two on Super Mario Bros.? The next level is an ethereal plane where great websites and the ending to Lost live. Be careful, the next level usually means something way out of budget or way over the top. Keep in mind – you have to ask,ask,ask. Most clients (especially the small budget ones) don’t know the difference between a simple HTML page and a mySQL database driven application.

7. “Web 2.0” – Yes! Early on the list but a favorite non the less. The best part of this description is the client probably has no clue what web 2.0 means. They just heard it from their son or intern. Keep in mind – Stop !! Get examples when you have a new client and make sure the examples are relevant. If they have a dog walking business the Apple website is NOT a good example. Ask for competitors’ sites. They’ll always say what they like and don’t.

6. “Fresh” – Hmmm, fresh like my groceries? I get it you’re trying to say “not like every other site on the web” but let’s be honest, if you did anything interesting the client would veto the idea. To be fresh/new you need to do something different. Another question I would have is what constitutes stale? Keep in mind – my current site is old can you make a “fresh” design? I.e. can you take the same elements and move them around till I feel like you did something. Don’t reinvent the wheel.

5. “Modern” – This is a favorite of mine mostly because you really need to ask what is Modern? I think the Ipad is modern but I also think the matrix is modern. Now I can go buy an Ipad but I can’t quite seem to hack into the Matrix. The point is your client’s age and exposure to pop culture will deem his “modern” views. Keep in mind: I was asked to make a website more modern, more web 2.0 !!

4. “Edgy” – Ok edgy, so what am I supposed to put some curse words on the site? Should I add lots of pointy objects? What client really wants edgy? Ninety percent of the web work I’ve done has been very safe designs for very conservative companies and products. Should I throw a tattooed sexy (see #3) woman on the home page to sell tomato sauce? Is that really the target market? Keep in mind – don’t be afraid to politely tell your client their vision is bad and has nothing to do with the product. If they don’t listen adjust your budget for a redo.

3. “Sexy” – Sure I got it, If I’m creating a site for a clothing line, a casino or anything adult but I’ve been asked to make the weirdest things sexy. It is usually lumped in with edgy and contemporary (oh wait). I’ve been asked for some odd product sites to be sexy but my favorite request was to make a website for realtor sales tools sexy! Really? Keep in mind – when a client wants to make their law firm’s website look sexy try not to laugh in their face.

2. “Pop” – Oh so close to being number one. This simple three-letter word is the holy invocation of the drop shadow. Usually when the “pop” description is fired it’s because the client has over crowded their site or convoluted their message with useless information that no one will read anyway. Keep in mind – add a drop shadow but use a distance of 1 or 2 and lower the opacity to 50%. It will help the text elevated off the page without feeling dirty for using a drop shadow everywhere.

1. “Contemporary“– This is by far the worst. A previous employer used to use this phrase for every website design that came in. Ok so on the surface sure I understand the request but honestly next to Rock n’ Roll it’s one of the most generic descriptions for a look I’ve ever heard. This description can leave an open interpretation for anything not conventional. Not to mention that if you really made a site contemporary the average client would turn down the design. Keep in mind – contemporary means use Helvetica, a solid color and some white space. Grungy, Illustrated, or anything that has less than four boxes is probably wrong.

Please write opinions or add to the list. If you have any questions hit me up in the contact section.

The “teacher” that I had the previous discussion with found our conversation on my blog and proceeded to give me a deadline of mere hours to pull it down. I didn’t receive his original request (not that I cared) because he went through my spam filter.

Regardless, he gets very mad throwing insult after misspelled insult at me and confusing the “T” and “R” key quite often. It’s AWESOME!!!! I laughed so hard I had to share it. It’s great the guy actually went out and purchased www.boycottvastergraphics.com. Now that’s sweet. I hope that site is successful and I can buy advertising on it.

Oh and you wouldn’t believe the response I’ve had from some other people in the same situation. After he threatened to destroy me because “We are total master at SEO” (I have no clue when he became we) I did some research and here is what many others and I are dealing with.

www.robertfarrellnyc.com

So here’s your read more teaser:

“no clown you’re the joke
we are successful and make money more then 18k a week
that’s why WE all live in an expensive part of manhattan and you life in the boros monkey boy”

Good day Stephen

I am only going to ask this one time
PLEASE remove my name and private email ASAP
from your blog- you dont have my permission
to use my emails to you in a public forum
ie;

http://www.vastergraphics.com/Blog/archives/1132

I am asking nicely mr Frederick
please remove my emails and name form your blog ASAP
I will NOT ask again

If i dont hear back from you by 1pm today
June 14th 2010 to resolve this matter
I will take action ASAP against you
I have 100% NO TIME FOR GAMES STEPHEN

Please do the RIGHT THING!

much thanks

Robert
——————————————————-

OK CLOWN aka Stephen the ass monley
the gloves are off and this is only the beginning
it’s time for hardball – you have no idea who are what you are dealing with
we asked nicely… fuck boy

We are total master at SEO – so good luck on doing a google search for your company
RIC ROC RIC ROC- time is up

http://www.boycottvastergraphics.com/

you are done ass clown!

——————————————————-
Steve responded
Ahahaha no problem bro I have a life and didn’t catch your emails till now. I got no problem taking down the email and name. Dude your such a joke. Keep up the entertainment. Oh and you’ll get faster results if you contact Stephen@vastergraphics.com

When I get to my computer I’ll respond to your emails individually.
Thx

——————————————————-
no clown you’re the joke
we are successful and make money more then 18k a week
that’s why WE all live in an expensive part of manhattan and you life in the boros monkey boy

so how do you like:

http://www.boycottvastergraphics.com/

??????
nothing but love

Ben <--- Who's Ben ?
——————————————————-
Steve responded
It’s not up anymore? If you relaunch can I buy advertising for vastergraphics?

Thanks!

From Steve:
Hello,

I have a few questions,
• What is the rate?
• Where do you teach?

Thanks,
Stephen Frederick
_____________________________________________________________________________

From Robert:
Good morning Stephen

Hope all is well
I have been teaching pro level Adobe software since 1987- 23 years
What are your goals with Flash and Actionscript?
What is your current skills level?

My proven – time tested method is 1-on-1 training and it’s the very best way
to develop professional level Flash skills that will make you REAL WORLD money

Did you need day, evening or weekend classes?
My training studio is easy to reach on West 57th st
let me know
Robert
_____________________________________________________________________________

From Steve:

Hey Robert,

Thanks for getting back to me. My goal is to get a good grasp of writing AS3. I am a web designer that learned flash during the AS2 days. I started with typical timeline manipulation and button scripting. I am self-taught and was comfortable with writing functions, creating variables, and external image loading. I also scripted banners using the tween class. I started to touch on writing arrays and understood how they worked but never understood when to use them or how to construct them.

With the launch of AS3, Classes and OOP I feel lost. Sense I am not a programmer but a designer I can’t quite grasp the technical instruction of a book.
I would like to be able to create classes with comfort. I would like to be able to create rich banners, websites and image loaders with some ease.
Getting to your studio will be easy as for time is there any price break for weekdays? How many days do you think I would need? How long are the lessons?

Thanks,
Steve
_____________________________________________________________________________

From Robert:

Good afternoon Stephen
Thanks for your reply
I teach both AS2 and AS3 – and have been teaching since 1987
and if you are doing web dev – then AS2 will continue to be the industry standard for the next 4-6 years
if however you want to develop apps for Flex, Apollo and Air then yes AS3 would be a good choice

But to be candid DONT expect to be hired as a AS developer unless you have a serious background and years
of flash experience
In addition Stephen the job market for building hi-end flash apps is being built in India and Eastern Europe countries like Romania

If you ARE SERIOUS about making money in web dev – then I suggest you master pro level CSS, AJAX, PHP mySql and e-commerce
via Dreamweaver along will XML FLASH and AS2

I have many many students that made over 140k last year after taking my in-depth 12 week A-Z web course
I had one student that made 247K last year.. but she is the exception

here is more details about the course i would suggest for you
* I removed the link because I don’t want help linking his site

let me know
Robert

PS:
Did you need day, evening or weekend classes?
_____________________________________________________________________________

From Steve:

Hey Robert,

I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear or to brief for you to understand the situation.

I have been using flash for 3 years. I am looking to take my intermediate as2 knowledge and update it to as3. I mentioned that I was a designer to point out that I am not a programmer so I do not have programmer education. With that said I am quite comfortable using HTML and writing CSS in Dreamweaver. I have been using photoshop for 8 years and programs like illustrator and fireworks are not a problem. Here are a few example sites that were designed and coded by myself and only myself.

http://www.thenewtaj.com/

http://www.airesjewelers.com/

http://www.askmitra.com/

http://www.vastergraphics.com/indexFlash.html

http://www.gullscove.com/

With that said I am not looking to leave my job, nor do I expect to instantly earn 140k a year.
What I hope to do is to have a better grasp of AS3 so I can continue my education through books and online tutorials after I have a strong backing in the basics.
I also feel that sense I have an Actionscript background it will be easier to learn OOP through AS3 which I can than apply to php.
As for time I’m looking for it would be days.

Thanks,
Steve
_____________________________________________________________________________

From Robert:

Hey Stephen

I never said that YOU would be making 140k a year
ONLY serious people make over 100K a year
and I can see you are NOT serious

The whois says fortgroupinc.com is owned by: Anthony Forte
if it’s the same Anthony Forte – he took classes from me back in the 90′s

If you really built those websites – then you already know flash
but NOT flash XML and that’s how those site should have been built…

ALSO FLash is NOT search engine friendly do you avoid building 100% flash websites
and if you DID built those sites Stephen – then you should already be making more then 100K
and if not it;s because you dont know PHP and mySQL e-commerce development
I have been doing this for 23 years and I know what I am talking about

AS3 – was intended for FLEX, AIR and Apollo apps

Yes ) I am a total master and expert in AS3 – but you cant afford my fee
so I dont think I can help you Stephen
and if you think you can learn REAL WORLD skills that will make you money from a BOOK
you are totally dreaming Stephen

Good luck

all my best

Robert

PS:
2 of your flash websites CRASHED Safari
_____________________________________________________________________________

HAhahaaha – Stay tuned for a reply

If your reading this post it means I’ve asked for your opinion. Here are some new backgrounds I’ve been working on to spice up my current template(http://www.vastergraphics.com/index2.html).

So take a look at the 4 below and tell me what you think.

Thanks,

Background #1

Background #2

Background #3

Background #4

I haven’t done a thing yet !! I’m still styling this darn site. So for now I’m going to tell you what I’m not going to talk about. No politics, world topics or anything really important. Honestly I’ll probably just talk about everything adobe, music and my day to day complaints.

So feel free to join in a discussion if I ever get off my but and do something.

Steve,