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Podcast (audio-only): Play in new window | Download
Jason’s guest this week was Michael Robertson, CEO and Founder of MP3Tunes. This was an incredible show, highlights include a guest that has an incredible amount of experience, battling big corporations, lawsuits and how to deal with them, interesting predictions for the music industry and how MP3.com got started.
00:07 During “Ask Jason” we get to hear Josh Nielsen ask “How do I value equity when being offered a job at a startup?” the question doesn’t end there without spoiling things, be sure to see where this one ends up.
00:25 We get to hear from Erick Arndt of Timeshare Juice pitch how he plans to change the timeshare exchange experience. He gets some incredible feedback from Jason and Michael regarding his business model and distribution.
00:44 Highlights of the interview include:
- Michaels story of rags to riches
- What motivated him to succeed
- How he started MP3.com and fought the music industry, winning and losing in some cases.
- How independent label artists helped him succeed.
- 6 months to IPO
- Why he gave $15 million to his employees
- Michael’s opinion on why Spotify will go out of business.
01:49 News with Lon Harris include:
- Microsoft and Yahoo
- Tesla Plane Crash
- Lower Merion, PA Privacy Invasion
- Sex.com
- YouTube Embedding Survey
- Please Rob Me
- Scribd
- Hulu on the iPad
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Tags: Michael Robertson
This is actually episode #42. 41 was James Segill.
Love this week in startups, absolutely nothing like this in the U.K. Have to say this was one of the best episodes in a while, felt like I had watched 3 episodes in one. Mainly because in this one it was more focussed on the guest so got to see different view points, with Jason taking more of a backseat (don’t mean that in a negative way). This obviously only works if you have an energetic guest like Michael Robertson who was relentless (I learnt so much this episode). I would happily pay a subscription for such valuable content. Jason and Michael bounced of each other really well. Keep up the good work. Thanks
The audio podcast feed is referencing the video of the episode rather than the MP3, makes for a bit of an unexpectedly large download.
KS – Thanks, I’ll bring it to Emily’s attention
I’m a listener from Barcelona (Spain), and lately (it’s been now a month or two) the podcasts are quite slow to download. I tried from different locations, and it seems to be a problem with the blip.tv servers.
The mp3 file starts downloading very fast (2MB/s) but after 10 seconds drops dramatically, nearly stopping. If I pause and resume, the same happens; so I’ve been downloading the episodes by pausing and resuming an average of 5 times.
I don’t know if the problem is only in Barcelona, or if it’s happening elsewhere. Anyone has experienced similar issues?
Yeah, downloading this episode now. It’s 821MB. Doh!
Also bummed about the download – VERY hard to stop iTunes from downloading once it’s made up its mind. Please keep the feed clean!
But love the show, that’s why I put up with it.
I would like to let everyone know Jason is very aware of the download speed problem and is working on it daily. He has been in contact with Blip.tv who handles the downloads and is trying to workout a solution.
Very interesting interview ! Such a pity that these kind of experiences are not taught in Universities/MBA programs….
Thank you Michael Robertson for saying that MP3tunes.com is unique thanks to its open API !!!
And thank you to Jason and Michael to say that API are going to be the big thing !
Cheers,
Guillaume
Guillaume Balas | VP Sales & Marketing Europe
3SCALE NETWORKS | Manage the ubiquity of your online content
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best twist yet in my opinion.
Agreed! Best episode yet! I’m not moving Matt Mullenweg to second.
FFS I meant “NOW” not not… This ep is best, THEN matt mullenweg
Yeah, I was very upset with the large download, but, this episode was simply amazing.
I hope people already get over Gary V. and accept this as the best episode ever.
Michael Robertson is now one of my heroes (and I don’t ave many heroes)
Gary V episode wasn’t special at all. It was almost annoying because Gary and Jason sound the same and they’re always interuppting eachother like a female gossip show lol. They’re both legends, but I don’t see what was special about that ep! This one definitely owns them all. Michael Robertson is a legend! Who else has taken on that many industries! I can’t believe I haven’t heard of him before.
Best show yet! Well done.
BTW, SIP = Session Initiation Protocol
It is a testament to this show that people still listen to it despite the long downloads. I have experienced slow downloads with this podcast for weeks, and guess what? I leave iTunes open for however long it takes.
This episode with Michael is a perfect example of why I am willing to wait: Brilliant material. I haven’t even finished listening to all of it yet, and I had to come here and comment that I am fascinated by one portion of it especially. Listen to 1:04:55 – 1:06:25. It will be a short bit on business plans. A 1 page business plan to guide you is the interesting part. It makes a lot of sense to do the research but not rely on a business plan, and I will certainly keep that need for flexibility in mind. I plan to bring this into my entrepreneurship class (where we discuss the 30 page business plan among other things) and see what people think.
Thanks for the great show, Jason!
3rd try for this comment. I think it was the best show so far as well, with the little caveat of the global warming part. I’m not saying it’s black or white, but i find it irresponsible of a thought leader, a guy people look up to, to say it’s not worthwhile to pursue the research and find an economically sensible solution.
[...] an interesting domain name story, check out TWiST #42 with Michael Robertson, founder of what became [...]
[...] an interesting domain name story, check out TWiST #42 with Michael Robertson, founder of what became [...]
[...] an interesting domain name story, check out TWiST #42 with Michael Robertson, founder of what became [...]
[...] minutes 54:00 to 58:00 of the above thisweekinstartups.com’s show, Robertson discusses how he bought the domain name MP3.com for $1,000 back in 1997. [...]
Good posting, I favorited your blog so I can visit again in the future, Thanks
Kendrick – Glad you like it
Jason/Tyler and the rest of the crew, I have a new favorite episode…this one #42. Michael has a fascinating career and you tapped everything…great interview.
Props to all,
Jim
Best episode yet, with one major error. Nuclear is never clean, either to acquire, use, or eliminate 500 times normal cancer rate for anyone living near a uranium mine. ALL reactors leak. Tritium is unremoveable from ground water, and unsafe at any level. And politics won’t even look at, much less fund, the technology of nuclear remediation because billions are being made with the Yucca mountain pork barrel. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-ward5-2010mar05,0,2178921.story Also reference my own website http://www.commutefaster.com/Energy2.html Mahalo, Google, Yahoo #1 or 2 for “Best Energy Sources”
I couldn’t agree more! I was searching on bing when I found your post, and I found just what I was looking for. I’ve added your rss feed to my Google reader, I look forward to more posts from you. Thanks!
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