Five Points – 50


Curtain Close –

Today marks the 50th edition of Five Point Fridays.  I intend on writing only two more stanzas, rounding out a year of publishing in this format.

I’ve given this weekly exercise a lot of thought as of late:

  • What is my intention
  • What is the benefit
  • What is the the cost
  • What do I learn

I’ll expound of these ideas in the final two editions.

Part of the impetus in this direction can be learned from this podcast episode from Seth Godin and Tim Ferriss.

Important take aways include discussion and perspective on

  • How Seth deals with overwhelm
  • How Seth chooses projects
  • How to say “no” to the unimportant and set boundaries
  • Long work vs. hard work
  • The world’s worst boss (spoiler – it’s you)


Space X Satellite Constellation –

Space X filed for another satellite permit with the FCC this week – https://fcc.report/IBFS/SAT-MOD-20181108-00083

This video shows a cool animation and explanation as to how they may encircle the earth and provide very low latency, broadband internet service.  I welcome alternatives to the current providers of telephone and internet service.


Deaf Moths Use “Acoustic Camouflage” to Evade Echolocation –

According to new research, the fuzz you see on the chest of moths is specifically designed to muffle sound and protect them from bats.

The abstract from the The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America is pretty interesting.  Vice Motherboard has a bit more information that some may find a bit more consumable.


What I’m Listening To – 

I found myself visiting the old skool this past week with some classic hip hop.

Juicy – The Notorious B.I.G. – https://youtu.be/_JZom_gVfuw
Regulate – Warren G ft. Nate Dogg – https://youtu.be/1plPyJdXKIY
C.R.E.A.M. – Wu-Tang Clan – https://youtu.be/PBwAxmrE194
It Was A Good Day – Ice Cube – https://youtu.be/h4UqMyldS7Q
Ready or Not – The Fugees – https://youtu.be/fa0IAvcDne0


Exploration – Control Your Data.  Collect Your Money.

​My primary job is as the CEO of Exploration.  We help media companies compile the data needed to get paid.

Our weekly newsletter is one of the most widely read in the music business.

This week focuses on two separate launches made by Spotify and Apple Music. The former came out with an analytics tool, specifically for music publishers, so that they could grab information around how a certain song or songwriter is doing on the platform. The latter also launched a Preferred Distributors List, a three-tier program sorted by Preferred Plus, Preferred, and Approved. Lastly, YouTube Content ID has paid out a whopping $3 billion in ad revenue to content creators in a recent report by Google. That’s up from $2 billion in 2016.  Now, the details…

Exploration Weekly – Spotify Launches Music Publishing Analytics Tool / Apple Music Reveals Preferred Distributors / YT Content ID Pays Out $3 Billion