Is Burnlounge a scam?
I was out one night a year or so ago watching a show a local band I see often puts on. In their set, one of the guys mentions a few resources for acquiring their music. One of these being something called Burnlounge. I had not heard of it before so I asked him about it. He explained that it was this brand new digital download service like iTunes only better. And that they also had their own store on this Burnlounge thing. I immediately thought "What a great idea for local bands!" Of course that was before I had done some research on the subject. I had thought it was a place for bands to sell their music with out needing the "big 5" to sign them and such. Well it is, ... and it isn't. My friend encouraged me to attend a "webnar" to to hear all about the product. After a few moments of it was knew exactly what it was. YAMLMS. (yet another multi-level marketing scheme) I was bored of it and decided to do some research on my own. The information i found was not overly pleasing on the subject. Most everywhere I went I either found marketing fluff that was often outrageous or folks arguing over the validity of the service.
My friend asked me what I thought. I simply explained that it was not "my kind of thing" and I stated that I would watch the trends and see how well the service was doing and possibly revisit it later. Well I watched and researched and heres what I learned.
On the social side of it, I quickly noticed the huge amount of misinformation tossed about from both sides of the user/consumer community. Both pro and con points of view state facts that are blatant lies or have no supporting data for their claims whatsoever. Including those that claim they make $90K in just a few short months. Some posting information about the services lack of compatibility, others claiming they are making money hand over fist. Others claiming that all theses celebrities are partners/members. I always find it amazing the names people will throw around to give credence their point of view. Notably Rick Dee's. This is a man who is responsible for Disco Duck mind you. Last time I saw him he was in a commercial shaking his ass with 2 balloons stuffed in his pants. That doesn't exactly give me a warm Burnlounge fuzzy. They also sling about Justin Timberlake's name, who for some odd reason has lack of content on the Burnlounge store. I also ran across a post where someone had said that they have their kids buying from their Burnlounge store. This puzzled me. I sure hope they are living on their own and generating their own income because it seems a tad ridiculous to give your kids allowance money made in part from your Burnlounge store just so they can cycle it back into your store. I don't really thinks thats income. Others post the typical "fluff" that most often seems like it was cut and pasted from a brochure. There also seemed to be an overwhelming number of users who complained about the customer service, problems downloading, missing passwords/ accounts during the upgrade, and bad quality of the music. Yet another not so warm fuzzy. This type of business model also carries way to many negative "vibes" for most people and Burnloungers will run into the same responses and treatment as those Amway folks get. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I wanna be known amongst my friends and family as the "Burn Guy."
So on May 1st, Burnlounge 2.0 launched. With out much fanfare mind you. The creators had announced that they would be making some changes in the business model including free stores and DRM free content. I'd imagine I'd be upset having spent close to $400 on an investment thats now free however stripped down it may be. I visited their site today. www.burnlounge.com redirects you to corp.burnlounge.com in which you are treated to a bunch of videos giving you all kinds of info however it seems to lack all the important stuff including a link into any burnpages or the ability to register or download the 2.0 client like the video shows. Interesting I think. If you click on their contact info, all you get is an address. No phone numbers, no email addresses. The press room section is somewhat of a joke. Most of the newer clips are to blogs that mention Burnlounge somewhere in their text or warnings of an impending iTunes take over. The frontburners section where they mention celebrities simply links you nowhere or in a circle. I actually had to make a guess at someones Burnpage in order to even find a download for the client software or be able to register. After looking at the tech pages and FAQs this only gives more credence to the idea that Burnlounge is not in the business to sell music, but relies completely on its consumers to bring users to the fold by trying to enlist them as store owners.
As for the non social side of Burnlounge, I think it will run its course just like all those MLMs selling power after deregulation did. Once unsuspecting folks been parted with their money and they have closed their stores and moved on to something else you wont hear much about it. Yes folks, it does work for some people, but the ethics behind it are an entirely different matter. Its a business model that will run out of steam leaving some people with a good amount of earnings and most others with nothing to show for it. Anyone who took a basics economics course can easily see why this business model is a horrid idea for folks who don't get in at the top level. Burnlounge will need to continue to twist this model to gain new users until it squeezes the life out of it. Oddly most of the pro supporters routinely post "wait a few months" and you'll see. Well I've waited over a year and haven't seen Burnlounge penetrate the digital market at all. Even the crappy Zune Market Place gets more exposure than Burnlounge. I don't see Apple or Microsoft quaking in their boots. Nor do I ever see Burnlounge mentioned at all in any articles that refer to the digital media services. I have seen no published data of earnings and market share what so ever. (this is your hint to post a link for me as I am seriously interested in seeing it)
All I know is that any business that says "get in now before its too late" realizes its own longevity as a business model and also understands that there will be a point when it no longer becomes profitable. Interestingly enough, my friend's band no longer mentions Burnlounge as a resource for their music. Hmm, wonder why that is?
So is Burnlounge a scam? Well thats that depends on your point of view. From a consumer who just wants music, yeah it is. It offers you nothing you can't get elsewhere for less hassle. But when you look at it as a whole, its doing exactly what it was designed to do. Make Stephen Murray rich, not you.
My friend asked me what I thought. I simply explained that it was not "my kind of thing" and I stated that I would watch the trends and see how well the service was doing and possibly revisit it later. Well I watched and researched and heres what I learned.
On the social side of it, I quickly noticed the huge amount of misinformation tossed about from both sides of the user/consumer community. Both pro and con points of view state facts that are blatant lies or have no supporting data for their claims whatsoever. Including those that claim they make $90K in just a few short months. Some posting information about the services lack of compatibility, others claiming they are making money hand over fist. Others claiming that all theses celebrities are partners/members. I always find it amazing the names people will throw around to give credence their point of view. Notably Rick Dee's. This is a man who is responsible for Disco Duck mind you. Last time I saw him he was in a commercial shaking his ass with 2 balloons stuffed in his pants. That doesn't exactly give me a warm Burnlounge fuzzy. They also sling about Justin Timberlake's name, who for some odd reason has lack of content on the Burnlounge store. I also ran across a post where someone had said that they have their kids buying from their Burnlounge store. This puzzled me. I sure hope they are living on their own and generating their own income because it seems a tad ridiculous to give your kids allowance money made in part from your Burnlounge store just so they can cycle it back into your store. I don't really thinks thats income. Others post the typical "fluff" that most often seems like it was cut and pasted from a brochure. There also seemed to be an overwhelming number of users who complained about the customer service, problems downloading, missing passwords/ accounts during the upgrade, and bad quality of the music. Yet another not so warm fuzzy. This type of business model also carries way to many negative "vibes" for most people and Burnloungers will run into the same responses and treatment as those Amway folks get. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I wanna be known amongst my friends and family as the "Burn Guy."
So on May 1st, Burnlounge 2.0 launched. With out much fanfare mind you. The creators had announced that they would be making some changes in the business model including free stores and DRM free content. I'd imagine I'd be upset having spent close to $400 on an investment thats now free however stripped down it may be. I visited their site today. www.burnlounge.com redirects you to corp.burnlounge.com in which you are treated to a bunch of videos giving you all kinds of info however it seems to lack all the important stuff including a link into any burnpages or the ability to register or download the 2.0 client like the video shows. Interesting I think. If you click on their contact info, all you get is an address. No phone numbers, no email addresses. The press room section is somewhat of a joke. Most of the newer clips are to blogs that mention Burnlounge somewhere in their text or warnings of an impending iTunes take over. The frontburners section where they mention celebrities simply links you nowhere or in a circle. I actually had to make a guess at someones Burnpage in order to even find a download for the client software or be able to register. After looking at the tech pages and FAQs this only gives more credence to the idea that Burnlounge is not in the business to sell music, but relies completely on its consumers to bring users to the fold by trying to enlist them as store owners.
As for the non social side of Burnlounge, I think it will run its course just like all those MLMs selling power after deregulation did. Once unsuspecting folks been parted with their money and they have closed their stores and moved on to something else you wont hear much about it. Yes folks, it does work for some people, but the ethics behind it are an entirely different matter. Its a business model that will run out of steam leaving some people with a good amount of earnings and most others with nothing to show for it. Anyone who took a basics economics course can easily see why this business model is a horrid idea for folks who don't get in at the top level. Burnlounge will need to continue to twist this model to gain new users until it squeezes the life out of it. Oddly most of the pro supporters routinely post "wait a few months" and you'll see. Well I've waited over a year and haven't seen Burnlounge penetrate the digital market at all. Even the crappy Zune Market Place gets more exposure than Burnlounge. I don't see Apple or Microsoft quaking in their boots. Nor do I ever see Burnlounge mentioned at all in any articles that refer to the digital media services. I have seen no published data of earnings and market share what so ever. (this is your hint to post a link for me as I am seriously interested in seeing it)
All I know is that any business that says "get in now before its too late" realizes its own longevity as a business model and also understands that there will be a point when it no longer becomes profitable. Interestingly enough, my friend's band no longer mentions Burnlounge as a resource for their music. Hmm, wonder why that is?
So is Burnlounge a scam? Well thats that depends on your point of view. From a consumer who just wants music, yeah it is. It offers you nothing you can't get elsewhere for less hassle. But when you look at it as a whole, its doing exactly what it was designed to do. Make Stephen Murray rich, not you.
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