Who is Jeremy Rifkin?



He is the author of "The Age of Access"--the latest recommended reading from Prince's NPG Online LTD.



Here's a brief snippet on Mr. Rifkin:



"Mr. Rifkin's newest book, The Age of Access, which will be published in April 2000, is the third in his series on future trends in science, technology and the global economy in the 21st century. The book explores the vast changes occurring in the capitalist system as it makes the transition from geographic markets to e-commerce networks and from industrial to cultural production."



You can read a complete bio at his official site at:



http://www.biotechcentury...ifkin.html



A good, but deep and heady, excerpt from "The Age of Access" can be found at:



http://www.islamamerica.o...icle_id=35



Based on what I've read so far of Rifkin's ideas... I can already see how his paradigm can be used to interpret what has been occuring in the recording industry, and what/how Prince is counter-acting. Prince is into some deep stuff with Rifkin's work (Rifkin's other book--"The End of Work" was a bestseller, and similarly stunning in its arguments).



It will be interesting to see how Rifkin's ideas play out in Prince's own plans for the future. One of Rifkin's main points is that we are moving toward an economy where corporations are calculating value (Lifetime value -- LTV) of their customers. That is how much money can they get from one customer over that person's lifetime... For example, he says that a car dealer looks at a first time buyer and can determine that buyer's LTV to be worth over $300,000 = the number of car purchases the person will make, car-related services needed, etc. over the course of a life time. The car company then has the goal of "capturing" as much of the LTV as possible. This happens in almost every industry. For example clothes:



They do this in four stages:


(1) Make the initial sale of the product (let's say, you buy your first pair of "Tommy Hilfiger" jeans)

(2) Identity bonding - get the customer to bond with the brand, identify with the brand, the company and it's services. The brand helps the customer in his or her identity. (So, now you begin to identify with the image of "Tommy" and you become loyal to the "Tommy" brand)

(3) Relationship bonding - facilitated by new technologies that help the company determine what your spending habits are like etc. Once they know how you think as a buyer, then they step into to mediate your choices. (So now, Tommy can introduce magazines, shows, websites, etc. that help you determine what your "best look" is... of course, Tommy is able to provide your every article of clothing and accessory, from underwear to shoes.)

(4) Community bonding - The company builds a sense of community among its consumers. A place for them to gather and create a world among themselves. Fansites act as this. Special events act in this regard.



Certainly, record companies are playing this out. And even Prince. I think we can look at his recent "listener-friendly" moves (even in limited form--the voting for CBII, the voting at concerts, etc.)... We see him really viewing this thing...



(1) Sell the initial song

(2) So we're all hooked on Prince now. And we begin to identify with him in some way. We look forward to Prince's songs, etc.

(3) Relationship bonding--we are checking out the other stuff he's into. Whether its online technology, or book suggestions (like Rifkin). We (well at least some of us) are willing to give more than just our ear... we are opening ourselves to what he is saying spiritually, about diet, about treatment of animals, etc.

(4) Community bonding--anyone who went to the Prince celebration knows this happened. Concerts do the same.



Sorry for this long post... but I think this is fascinating on so many levels.