Guvera: greatest ad thingy since sliced eggs
p2pnet news view Music | Advertising:- There’s Big 4 ‘product’. Then there’s music.
The latter has been around since at least since the ice-age (but almost certainly before that) and is free to enjoy.
How much of Big 4 ‘product’ can actually be called music is questionable, but one thing is solid gold, cast iron, carved-in-rock certain.
It certainly ain’t free. Not only that, if you dare to share online and Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music find out, you could find yourself on the wrong end of a subpoena.
Given that literally hundreds of millions of people share music with each other online every minute of every day everywhere, the chances of that happening to any one person are so tiny as to be zero. But such is the power of the Mighty Corporate Music PR Bullshit Machine and the unquestioning obedience of the lamescream media, who repeat Big Music puff pieces as though they’re genuine news, many people around the world believe it could easily happen.
Now an Australian ad guy has “is expected to announce a licensing deal this morning with Universal Music Group” with “at least one thing going for it that SpiralFrog didn’t and Qtrax has yet to demonstrate:,” says the Los Angeles Times — “a model that’s friendly not just to consumers, but also to advertisers”.
Called Guvera, it won’t launch in the US “until early next year,” says the story.
But the owner, Claes Loberg, figures he’s found a way to scoop up mega-loads of personal user data well before then.
According to the web site, it’ll be the greatest thing since sliced eggs. Or is that bread?
Anyhow, digital entertainment is about to be changed forever, it promises, informing us “an exclusive limited audience and get invited to the Guvera beta 2009 (100% free music).”
Wowee!
And all interested parties have to do when they register is provide the usual details such as location, age, gender.
Oh, and …
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AND —- Favorite Charities:
Then, says the LA Times, they “enter the name of a band, song or genre to search for, and Guvera returns a list of advertiser-sponsored channels that provide the matching tracks. Once they pick a channel, they can stream or download other music paid for by that brand.”
Oh.
Pass.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
since the ice-age – Toot on a flute an ice-age one, June 25, 2009
Los Angeles Times – Guvera, a place for advertisers to give away music, November 18, 2009
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November 18th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
What a comprehensive review…you must have spent a good 30 seconds researching this one. I hope you don’t get paid for posting dribble like this.
Go back and do yourself a favour of understanding what exactly Guvera offers and its impact on the music and advertising industry. In saying that, you sound like the type of rabbit that gets your music illegally off the web where nobody gets paid. Me stummbling across this website in the future and reading your insightful opinions….PASS!!!
November 18th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
let me guess. u wrk fr guvera.
or your ma does. 
November 18th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
@ 1st RW:
Not a bad idea — for anyone who doesn’t mind handing over all that personal data to an ad company.
Cheers!
November 18th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
I’m in the industry and know some artists. How can this be bad for the people who are creating this music? The LA Times article says that artists and music companies get paid for every download.
November 18th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
I know that I DON’T want advertisers to put personal information on the internet. If I were to use the service, I would do what most people do and lie.
There is no reason to give any internet service your real name and address imho.
November 19th, 2009 at 12:31 am
The personal information is only used to match you with an advertiser who is looking for your demographic, likes and dislikes. You do not disclose your name and address, just a postcode and age and tick any likes in the categories above. The advertiser doesn’t have access to your details, all they know that is that a consumer matching the profile the advertiser is targeting has downloaded a song (for free).
November 19th, 2009 at 1:26 am
Holy SHIT!!
TARGETED ADVERTISING!
What a revolutionary NEW CONCEPT!!!
…pass.
November 19th, 2009 at 3:57 am
Meh…. I don’t think it’s so bad then. As long as they couldn’t connect the information to me irl, then I don’t mind.
I’d probably need to clear all the browser cookies and flash cookies after using the service though…..
November 19th, 2009 at 11:18 am
the great white hope of free music via ad support is still hazy. mainly because people think DRM=evil, as far as buying yes drm is a bad idea. on a free service so revenue can be counted i don’t see the problem. if your not paying $$ for something free and they turn off the service your still out nothing.
November 20th, 2009 at 5:54 am
DRM will kill the project. In order for people to use those downloads, they must be playable on their devices. If the songs cannot be played, the people will go elsewhere.
November 27th, 2009 at 6:28 am
I have seen the Guvera presentation and the music is DRM free, just good old MP3 format without DRM.
November 28th, 2009 at 2:11 am
Ive seen the project. it is cool as shit. free music, artists get paid. so i have to pony up some info – who cares.
the algorithms shape themselves around what i choose – which means it just helps me discover new music that i didnt know existed.
i usually download illegally – but thats just because theres no option, if this is free, helps me discover, im all for it.
unless it spams me – then to hell with it.