HMV’s slow digital response to blame for demise – Musicmetric chief

HMV’s slow digital response was its undoing, says leading digital music expert

HMV confirmed the end of its three-year nose-dive into administration last night with the appointment of accountancy giant Deloitte. But its fate was sealed long ago by its slow response to the digital revolution, according to a leading digital expert.

The firm, which employs more than 4,000 people, ceased trading shares and issued a statement which said: “The board regrets to announce that it has been unable to reach a position where it feels able to continue to trade outside of insolvency protection, and in the circumstances therefore intends to file notice to appoint administrators to the company and certain of its subsidiaries with immediate effect. The directors of the company understand that it is the intention of the administrators, once appointed, to continue to trade whilst they seek a purchaser for the business.”

Gregory Mead, CEO of Musicmetric, the global music analysts, said:

“It’s a sad but inevitable fate for a much-loved stalwart of the music industry. But where retailers like John Lewis have embraced the internet – building customers through its Click and Collect service – HMV simply failed to adapt to the changing tastes of music fans and the seismic shift we’ve seen as everything has gone digital.

“While figures from the 2012 Digital Music Index showed file-sharing to be rife right across the UK, the upshot of this is that there are millions of fans accessing music each day. The challenge for retailers like HMV has been to find ways to tap into this – but you’d be hard pressed to be able to walk into an HMV store and buy songs directly on to your iPod.

“The changing face of music, and that digital technology has overhauled the way we interact with records, means that artists can engage directly with fans, meaning physical retailers have needed to evolve as well. While previously it was all about CD releases and the Sunday chart show, now the most important thing is knowing where your fanbase is and what drives them so you can market to them directly and maximise revenues from a myriad of sources.”

EX-MINING TOWN PIONEERS ‘CROWD FUNDING’ MOVEMENT

EX-MINING TOWN PIONEERS ‘CROWD FUNDING’ MOVEMENT ALLOWING COMMUNITIES TO TAKE PLANNING PUBLIC SPACE INTO THEIR OWN HANDS

I really love this story, it shows what can happen if you but your mind to it.

Stephen Fry, Martha Lane Fox, Wales’ rugby heroes and firms including Admiral, Asda, Tesco and Deloitte have all helped to pioneer a new online hub allowing communities to fund public developments that have suffered following a halving of council spending.

The ex-mining town of Glyncoch, South Wales, has become the unlikely pioneer of a “crowd-funding” movement that harnesses private funding for community building projects.

After spending seven years chasing state cash for a much-needed £792,000 community centre, residents turned to Spacehive.com, an award-winning new initiative, to reverse their fortunes.

With tens of thousands still to raise before their grants expired, the town appealed to local families, celebrities and businesses to fill the void. Using Spacehive.com as an online hub for donations, the town was able to garner support from an unlikely array of places.

The site works by allowing anyone with an idea to pitch it online and, once it’s been certified by the Spacehive.com if it achieves the necessary funding, it can go ahead and get built.

Their success this week, after Tesco contributed the final £12,000, raised hopes that Spacehive’s model could help revive hundreds more community building projects hit by the economic downturn.

State spending on such projects, from sports facilities to parks and playgrounds, is estimated to have halved from a pre-recession average of £500m a year, according to the British Property Federation.

Glyncoch’s campaign was boosted by comedian Stephen Fry who asked his four million Twitter followers to each donate “the cost of a cucumber sandwich”, Matha Lane-Fox, the government’s “digital champion” and co-founder of Lastminute.com, and Welsh comic Griff Rhys Jones, who urged supporters to: “help Glyncoch win.”

Fresh from their Six Nations triumph, the Welsh rugby team also encouraged people to dig deep. Yesterday Captain Sam Warburton said: “We think what Glyncoch has done is amazing and an inspiration to us all. We’re right behind the community. The regeneration of this town – which has produced so much rugby talent over the years – is another victory for team Wales!”

Corporates including Deloitte, Asda, and Wales and West Utilities quickly added to the pot, alongside local businesses from the coach firm to the golf club. Henry Engelhardt, founder of Admiral Insurance gave £10,000 and Tesco finished the campaign off with a £12,000 donation.

Residents themselves dug deep, raising thousands through street collections, bingo nights and even a sponsored silence by the town chatterbox. Pledges came as far afield as Newfoundland, where a Welsh descendant pledged £100.

As the community celebrated yesterday Deputy Mayor Doug Williams said: “We’re absolutely ecstatic that by summer we’ll see a state-of-the-art centre offering the types of training and education that will kick-start people’s ambitions.

“Glyncoch is a deprived area; people are used to being let down. Now people are thinking ‘we can get out of this rut.’”

Lucy Neville-Rolfe, from the Tesco Charity Trust, the retailer’s charitable arm, said: “This unique project shows just how much communities can achieve when they work together. We’re delighted to help the people of Glyncoch reach their target.”

Spacehive aims to shake up neighbourhood planning by allowing anyone to pitch proposals for community building projects and anyone to pledge funding through Spacehive.com. Funders are only charged if the project goes ahead.

The model, co-designed by Deloitte, means the cost of popular projects can be split between hundreds of individuals, businesses, and councils.

Projects in Spacehive’s pipeline range from new playgrounds to the transformation of a derelict East London dock into a creative hub and marina.

Founder Chris Gourlay said: “Success in Glyncoch, one of the UK’s most deprived towns, really shows the potential power of Spacehive’s model in helping communities to transform where they live.

“This isn’t about privatising planning. The state mustn’t shrink from its responsibilities. It’s just an approach that allows communities cut through the inertia and make popular projects happen. We think town planning should be faster, more people-powered, and more fun.”

Liz Peace, Chief Executive of the British Property Federation, which along with the Royal Institute of British Architects is a supporter of Spacehive, said: “We support the government’s intention to create a planning system that supports economic growth but the reality is nearly £300m of funding for capital public space developments has been lost.

“Enabling the public to take direct action through Spacehive.com could help ensure vital improvements go ahead by channelling funding from companies and individuals.”

The Glyncoch pilot was supported by Nexters, an initiative to boost online giving in the UK, which helped the local community reach corporate backers.

Efforts to regenerate Glyncoch were kicked-off by social action network Your Square Mile a year ago. Paul Twivy, the network’s Chief Executive, said: “To see everyone from local family firms to the country’s biggest retailer coming together to help this entrepreneurial community is heartwarming.”

WORKINGMUMS LIVE EXHIBITION

Mark Your Calendar – Tuesday 8th March 2011

Workingmums Live Exhibition, a brand new exhibition event, gives working parents the opportunity to:

* Meet with family friendly employers face to face including: Deloitte, Coca Cola, Santander and H&M
* Find flexible job opportunities
* Get advice on being self employed, starting a business or setting up a franchise
* Improve their CV and brush up on interview techniques
* Get advice on retraining from the experts
* Attend informative seminars on everything from party planning to tax credits
* Find out about childcare options and business funding

Venue: Business Design Centre, Islington, London.
Time: 10am – 5pm

Nearest Tube Station: Angel
The event is free for all attendees, and you can even bring your little ones as there will be buggy parks, changing stations and crèche facilities to make life that little bit easier.

To register, please visit www.workingmumslive.co.uk.