EMI hope you'll be a focus group for them

The ongoing struggle of EMI to get to grips with the digital world sees the launch of something it's calling Your Soundcheck:

Email invites began going out Friday to some registered users of EMI.com offering free access to pre-release content and an opportunity to share what they "think about new music, new bands and advise us on our music-making decisions". Opinions will, the invite promises, "go straight to the heart of one of the world's leading music companies, helping to shape tomorrow's music."

Well, it's better than nothing, but it still misses the point by a country mile: in 2009, the company thinks that building a private space and keeping control is going to work. If they want to know what people think of their acts, why not spend a tenth of the money they're wasting on this paying some staff to look on the internet in places where music fans gather voluntarily to discuss music?

The other big flag that EMI is still bumbling about in the dark is the language:

Listen to new music before it's on the radio and watch pre-release clips of music videos

The company still seems to believe that putting things on the internet is, somehow, pre-release. If they're going to put up full tracks, no matter how cunning the password protection on the YourSoundCheck site is, those tracks will be swimming round the net before the executives get their first response pie chart. If they put up bits of tracks, nobody's going to be interested.

This isn't even that new an idea - back in the 80s, the majors did this sort of thing, albeit with adverts in the pop press and tapes rather than email invites and digital files.

I can't think why they didn't try this sort of thing in 1999. I can't think why they're bothering in 2009.

One last thought: presumably, this scheme had been gestated under Douglas Merrill. The low-key launch suggests that the new team at EMI might be less keen on the plan.