Today's Ypulse Youth Advisory Board feature is from Caroline Marques who will clue us in on how many teens are finding a new way to download their favorite music [for free]. Remember you can contact our board directly via email at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com.

Teens downloading music online is still alive and well thanks to this technique: tube converting. This time it’s not through Limewire, but through something closer to home: YouTube or any online video site. Since YouTube is where most teens watch music videos, it makes sense. Sites like http://file2hd.com, www.vconversion.com and www.vixy.net are programs where you just type a URL and save the song. With a small chance of getting viruses, and the enormous choice of songs, many teens feel this method is easier and safer.

Here's how it works. To listen to a song on YouTube, there needs to be a video. You take the URL of that video to one of the sites I mentioned above, and convert it into an mp4 (ipod file), for example. Of course, downloading illegal music isn’t good, but it’s also something I don't think teenagers (and many adults) will ever stop doing. Teens may hesitate on the issue of it being illegal, but then they rationalize what they're doing by thinking that they’re just taking it from YouTube, so it’s okay.

I have heard of lots of people switching from Limewire to tube converting because it doesn’t crash your computer. The only flaw [besides it being illegal and the sound quality not being that great] people have discovered right now is the speed; you need to find a good, fast site. But you can download anything to anywhere: your computer, ipod, cell phone or even PSP. Teenagers love this, you just need to copy, paste and save…

About Caroline Marques (aka "Caro")

Caroline is a high school student in Geneva, Switzerland. While Caroline lists sports, music and travelling as her hobbies, she also very much enjoys writing and reading. After being a teen adviser for NickMag, she thought Ypulse would be the perfect opportunity for a new start. While trying to keep up with the trends (or setting some of her own), dance classes, working on long papers and trying to master three new languages, she rarely has time to write the novel she wishes she could finish, though she is certain one day she will. Writing is never far from her thoughts.

This weekend Disney's HSM3 had the biggest opening for a movie musical in history grossing $42 million domestically. The Gen Xer in me may long for grittier teen movie musicals like "Footloose," but not the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board. I had multiple requests from members to weigh in on the movie version of Disney's franchise. Here are two reactions from Alyx, a 15-year-old die hard fan, and Meg, a college student now studying abroad in the UK. To contact our Youth Advisory Board directly, just email them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com.

Alyx: HSM Goes Out With A Bang

This is it. The final “High School Musical.” *tear tear* What started off in 2006 as just another Disney Channel movie has turned into a multi-million dollar marketing force. It’s impossible to avoid the popularity of this show. If you ask a childless adult, I’m sure they’ve even heard of this phenomenon.

I really think the “High School Musical” team stepped up to this big screen challenge and made this the best HSM ever. There, I said it. I think this is my favorite “High School Musical” in the entire series, and that means a lot coming from a dedicated HSM fan like me. The musical numbers are bigger, the song selection is better (meaning that there wasn’t one song I disliked like in #1 or #2), and the acting was perfect in that it was fun for adults and mesmerizing for kids.

The whole idea of making HSM into a big screen attraction was brilliant. Our small town movie theater was packed to the brim with screaming girls, their mothers, and my friend and me, which just shows even more that the magic of HSM has reached more than just young girls, but also a 15-year-old guy. We were beyond excited to see this movie, even though we are teenagers. High School Musical has been a part of our lives for a long time and to see it end was very…emotional (at least for me—my friend just thinks I’m too emotional in general).

So this legacy has ended, and without a doubt, it went out with a bang.

Meg: We Still Swoon Over The Teenybopper Romance

"High School Musical 3" premiered in the UK on Wednesday, two days before it hit American cinemas. Luckily, it's as big a phenomenon here as it is in the US, so I didn't have to see it alone — I brought along two equally excited flatmates from England and France, as well as an American friend. We're all over the movie's target age group, so we were a little surprised to see that the other big group in the mostly-empty theatre (it was a Wednesday afternoon matinee, after all) was another group of university-age girls.

Granted, part of our love of the movies is their over-the-top drama and possibly self-conscious campiness, but we still swoon over the teenybopper romance. My friend Lily warned us that if Troy and Gabriella broke up, she'd cry.

Though I was eager to see the movie, I'd assumed that HSM 1 and 2 had basically eaten up the franchise's quota of drama and catchy songs. How do you eclipse the hilarity/cringe-worthiness of HSM 2's "Bet On It," which includes Troy's infamous golf course epiphany? HSM3 made it look easy: The movie started with a close up of the sweaty, panting face of basketball star/super-heartthrob Troy, going straight into a giant musical number that, in itself, already eclipsed the drama of HSM1 and 2's numbers. There were explosions, neon, tons of special effects, giant ensemble dance numbers (drama queens Ryan and Sharpay's Broadway-influenced show-stopper was the best, natch), bright colors, and songs that were as catchy as ever. This movie's budget ran up to $13 million, and it showed.

The acting was also much better than the previous movies: The cast has clearly bonded and grown into their characters. Though the ending seemed a bit drawn out, I was pleasantly surprised, overall…and can't wait to buy the soundtrack on iTunes.

About Alyx
Alyx Steadman is a freshman in high school in Montana, and loves every minute of it. He loves reading, writing, acting, singing, and being a social butterfly. In the past people have accused him of being a YouTube addict and a pop culture junkie (and sadly Alyx cannot deny these accusations). His love for teen culture has led him to many hours slaving on the computer soaking up every piece of drama Hollywood has to offer. In the future he hopes to pursue a writing career as some type of journalist. Excited doesn’t even begin to cover how he’s feeling to be in the Ypulse Advisory Board. “Today the world changes so quickly that in growing up we take leave not just of youth but of the world we were young in.”

About Meg
Megan is a college student, freelancer and hardcore bookworm. She began writing fashion articles for her hometown newspaper at age 15, and her work has since appeared in publications like Boston magazine, Mountain Living and CosmoGirl. Meg also loves theatre and the arts, and when she's not sending postcards, devouring YA novels, or reading up on 19th-century cultural studies, she's probably dragging someone along on a late-night ice cream/Starbucks run. Meg has lived in three (soon to be four) countries and five states, though she currently resides in Arizona.

Today's Ypulse Youth Advisory Board feature is from Caroline Marques writing from Switzerland. Remember you can contact our board directly via email at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com.

Best In Teen Media: Deezer

With its new design and promising "hit lists," the music site Deezer has definitely been catching teenagers’ eyes these past few months. It has already attracted more than 3 million members, and I also know teens who check the site weekly. It’s tempting to see more than 3.7 million songs available, and not just the current U.S. hit list but also music from several European countries.

Teens are attracted to Deezer’s funky design as well as several original features: news where you can receive updates on your favorite artists, blog pages and online mail, music tests and internet radio that plays songs Deezer thinks you might enjoy. Adults may also use this site but their intended audience is clear: tweens and teens. Deezer plays the music that teenagers want to hear, the music that they think is cool.

What also attracts many of us is the idea of a free, legal music streaming service. We can listen to what we want all day and not worry about our getting caught downloading illegal music. The idea of having that advantage, complete with all the hit music from the U.S and Europe, music quizzes and chatting with your friends pretty much makes Deezer quite irresistible to Gen Y.

About Caroline Marques (aka "Caro")

Caroline is a high school student in Geneva, Switzerland. While Caroline lists sports, music and travelling as her hobbies, she also very much enjoys writing and reading. After being a teen adviser for NickMag, she thought Ypulse would be the perfect opportunity for a new start. While trying to keep up with the trends (or setting some of her own), dance classes, working on long papers and trying to master three new languages, she rarely has time to write the novel she wishes she could finish, though she is certain one day she will. Writing is never far from her thoughts.

After this week's episode of "Gossip Girl," I immediately logged on to download two or three songs that I had just heard (and had never heard before then), and it suddenly struck me how much music has found its place on television over the past few years.

When I was in high school, much of my indie music "education" came from Seth Cohen of "The OC." After Death Cab for Cutie did a quick cameo performance on the show, my iTunes has never been the same since. "The OC" was one of the first shows to see themselves as an authority on music, but certainly not the last. A good friend of mine told me that she was always impressed with her friends' iPod playlists until she watched a season of "Grey's Anatomy" over the summer and quickly realized that a majority of the songs she thought were underground and undiscovered were actually straight from the show.

The CW's Music tab lets users choose from their teen-friendly shows like "Smallville," "Supernatural," and "One Tree Hill." "90210" leads to an episode playlist sponsored by T-Mobile, while "Gossip Girl" is dotted with Verizon logos. Direct "buy it!" buttons take users straight to iTunes, where they can buy the full albums of little-known featured artists (Marching Band, Tilly and the Wall, Cloud Cult, the Republic Tigers… not ringing any bells?). Sure, there's the odd Rihanna track, but the fact that these in-demand, big-budget shows are playing songs that have never even had radio time is both impressive and quite savvy of the network. I know people who watch "Gossip Girl" not for the desirable drama and Blair Waldorfism but just to hear the subtle background tunes hand-selected by superstar music supervisor Alex Patsavas (also from "Grey's Anatomy," "Chuck", and, you guessed it, "The OC").

The partnerships don't stop with music. The CW's Style tab allows fans to shop by character, episode, even brand. If my memory serves me correctly (and it should, considering the amount of time I spent on The CW's website last season catching up on missed shows), the Style section used to send me to a select few sponsored sites that carried similar–but certainly not identical–clothing. This time around, the CW has a partnership with StarBrand.TV, which does the dirty work of searching the internet for an e-boutique that sells the exact same ritzy upper-east side staples like Sperry Topsiders and Kate Spade totes.

From a recent article, "Gossip on demand," from the Guardian:

The voiceover kicks in over shots of Manhattan and the credits roll. Then comes the kicker: "Tonight's Gossip Girl featured music by the Pierces, the Fratellis, Seabear, Santogold and LCD Soundsystem. To download the music head to CWTV.com." Should you choose to follow those instructions you'd find further riches in store. Literally in store. For America's The CW channel, home of Gossip Girl, America's Next Top Model and the new 90210 remake among others, isn't just a television channel - here, the show you watch is linked to the fashion you buy or the music you download.

Earlier this school year, I sat in a class listening to the professor talk about how she no longer emails students because "young adults don't read emails anymore." Uh, we don't? As obnoxious as it is to be told what "we" collectively do and do not do by a 60-something professor, it was also a completely false statement. I live and breath email, and without it, I would be at a loss for communicating with my far-away family members, distant friends, classmates, and even roommates (so, so convenient for rent reminders) — not to mention the endless amount of email newsletters and business updates that keep me in the loop.

Text messaging still reigns supreme when it comes to convenient communication, but when so many teens have email-synced cell phones, it only makes sense to choose the email avenue because, unlike texting, there are no added costs, no tricky plans, no limits. I subscribe to email lists of all my favorite stores (catalog shopping 2.0) and genuinely enjoy receiving messages about new designers, products and sales. I don't think of them as "junk mail," just friendly encouragements to spend a little bit of time shopping.

Media Post, reg. required, collaborated with Ball State to research different niche groups of young adults to see the differences between their media consumption and marketing preferences. Teens are still in high school, college students are between 18 and 24, wired are young professionals, and young homemakers are those between 18 and 34 who consider "homemaking" as their primary profession (Whoa. I wonder how many girls they found that fit this criteria?). Here's what they found:

Teens are 25% less likely than other groups we identified to have made a purchase online. It makes sense since they are less likely to have disposable income available. They are, as we hear often, less likely (than average) to be influenced by email and more likely (than average) to be influenced by text messaging to make a purchase. In terms of driving conversions, email outperforms the influence of text messaging, social networks, and IM combined.

College students are buying online, but they don’t credit direct marketing with having any influence on that activity. In fact, 27% claim direct marketing has never influenced a purchase decision. As such, no channel looks great for marketing to college students when compared to the average. In contrast with teens, however, they have very low opinions of any marketing via text messaging or through social networks.

Wired consumers have good-paying jobs and no kids, which means they have disposable income. They are the largest media consumers identified in our study, spending an average of more than eight hours a day on their computers accessing the Internet, email, and using computer software — including games. They use every channel available to communicate with friends and family — they call, they text, they Twitter, they IM, they use Facebook (Sound familiar yet? Most of us fall in this group).

Young homemakers are also well-versed in new communication channels. They text, they use social networks, and they IM. But more than any other group, they don’t want marketers bugging them through these channels. They have two channels open for marketers: direct mail and email.

Next week's Democratic National Convention has had no trouble staying in the headlines, but it seems the Dems are going to great lengths to ensure that they're also staying on the minds of American youth. The convention is shaping up to be the musical festival and celebrity-studded event of the summer. Hip bands including - but not limited to - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Cold War Kids, Nada Surf, Death Cab for Cutie, Fall Out Boy, Black Eyed Peas, and Kanye West will all be on hand to perform in Denver; superstars like Scarlett Johansson, Zooey Deschanel, Ben Affleck, Anne Hathaway, Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino, and other bold-faced names are all expected to make appearances.

With such an impressive guest list, this convention is bound to draw fans from both sides of the political spectrum. Young voters are also the most impressionable voters, so it will be interesting to see if they sway when they see their favorite bands and celebrities supporting Obama. If I wasn't already a lefty, I probably would second-guess my stance after seeing Death Cab for Cutie - my favorite band since junior high - rock out for liberal causes.

From the Los Angeles Times Campaign '08 coverage:

For every Democratic delegate who is bound for the convention in Denver, desperate to influence the platform committee, there are plenty more looking for the best entertainment acts and the hottest parties — and they'll have plenty of choices. As the politics have drained from our national conventions, high-level socializing, entertainment (with a purpose) and a chance to brush elbows with celebrities have become the real action at the quadrennial get-togethers. From studio heads to character actors, Hollywood's most devoted politicos have revised their vacation plans to make a place for the convention, with its myriad sideshows and soirées. There may be more SAG cards in Denver next week than in Hollywood.

There's something — actually two or three somethings — for everybody. For the industry elite, the toughest challenge will be to maintain an orderly social calendar at the convention, which begins Monday and ends Thursday with the acceptance speech by nominee Barack Obama at Denver's football stadium.

A little more glitz than conventions from elections past, but let's be honest - isn't Obama a glitzier candidate?

Today's Ypulse Guest Post is from Larry Weintraub, the CEO of Fanscape. Larry's 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry encompasses nearly every area, including marketing, sales, advertising, merchandising and event management. Fanscape is a leading emerging media marketing agency focused on reaching and activating the newest generation of web and mobile savvy consumers through online and wireless media.

Larry's recap of a panel he moderated on young people's music consumption is interesting given the survey summary we linked to on this topic in yesterday's Essentials. Perhaps this generation doesn't love music more than we did, they just have more ways to consume and interact with it. If you work in youth media and marketing, and would like to write a Ypulse Guest post, just email me!

How Youth Are Consuming Music

Last Thursday I flew to San Francisco to speak at the Bandwidth Conference. I was asked to moderate a panel titled, "Bellwethers." The sub-title of the panel stated "Fanscape's Larry Weintraub sits down with representatives of the leaders of the industry - music loving youth. A look at the way they discover, purchase (?), interact with, and are exposed to music."

Each semester we host a fantastic group of interns at Fanscape and I always seize the opportunity to ask them about their various consumption habits. With the Bandwidth panel, I tried something a little different. Rather than just relying on my own arsenal of questions, I tried a little social-networking and I sent a note to 500 of my LinkedIn contacts asking them if they could pose a question to a young person about how they consume music and entertainment, what would it be?

The response was overwhelming. Within a week almost 100 people had sent nearly 200 questions, affirming that old "careful what you wish for" adage. Just sorting through them all took several hours, but yielded some consistent thematic musings such as how did they discover music, was sound quality an issue, and was there any price that might inspire them to buy music instead of steal it. There were also requests to find out if radio mattered and whether subscription was even a consideration. All in all I had a plethora of great queries. On the morning of the conference, I grouped and sorted my notes and when I entered the green room, I was prepared and excited to meet my panelists.

There were four wonderful young adults each with very different backgrounds. These were not students from Stanford University or a Silicon Valley high school. Rather, these were very modest and "real" people from relatively small towns who had absolutely no ties to the music, entertainment, or technology industries.

The group consisted of Aubrey (19) from Reno, Nevada; Ratesh (20), also from Reno; Edward (23) from Stockton, California, and Camilla, (18) from Berkeley, California.

Before we hit the stage, I calmed their nerves by telling them they needn't worry about being judged or considered criminals. "Pretend we're just having a conversation in a coffee shop," I told them. "I just want to talk about what you like to do with your free time and how you like to listen to music." I let them know that I personally understood how and why music is considered free and that it was the direct result of an industry not listening to its consumer. I needed them to be open and aware that nothing they said would be used against them.

Newsletter readers: Visit Ypulse.com for the rest of Larry's post.

Let's kick this one off with Forbes list of top tween earners — although it should be more like top earners popular with tweens since Miley Cyrus is tied with "Harry Potter's" Daniel Radcliffe for number one (each earning $25 million last year). Next up, according to the Baltimore Sun, the Jonas Bros. aren't just popular with tweens [and teens and evidently college students], but with moms. The Wall Street Journal weighs in on Traveling Pants 2 echoing that it's all about the girls vs. the pants this time around.

New research covered in today's Media Post (reg. required) says tweens like to shop online before they have mom and dad buy for them. For example, "61% of respondents said that they had involved search in the purchase or recommendation process for electronics like video game systems, mp3 players and digital cameras."

And The N launches a mobile site while the L.A. Times reluctantly disses on the new Sesame website comparing it to corporate competitors like Disney and Nickelodeon. Finally, one theme I've noticed in reviewing all the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board apps is how many tweens and teens love to cook. Seems like Jr. Chefs of America knows this, too.

At the Ypulse Mashup last week, one of our attendees from Boston University asked me who I thought would be a smash hit if they played on campus — I was expecting a band like Radiohead and was really surprised when he mentioned Miley Cyrus. Evidently, just as college students will put Sesame Street sheets on their dorm room beds as a way to embrace the nostalgia of their youth, Disney's tween superstars are becoming cool to like. But do they really like the music or is it liking them in a sort of kitschy way? I'm wondering about this as the Jonas Bros. get set to perform at the VMAs. It was one thing when Miley appeared at Nick's Kids' Choice Awards, but MTV is geared towards teens not tweens. Does this mean they've crossed over or are older teens enjoying the tween idol factor as a way of reminiscing?

I was driving home yesterday listening to NPR's All Things Considered when they ran a short piece from Youth Radio on the number one hit single "I Kissed A Girl." The piece features different teens reacting to the pop song and its message:

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chap stick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

Of course with Lindsay and Samantha, lesbian teen characters on "The O.C.," "South of Nowhere," "girl kissers" (even better Youth Radio commentary) have been anointed a trend (New York Times, reg. required).

Sexual experimentation with someone of the same sex is certainly not new — though my sense is that it was always more of a college phenomenon (I remember lots of talk about being "bi-curious" in college) vs. high school until more recently. While there is definitely more tolerance of girls kissing girls (especially if they are both gorgeous and stay with their boyfriends) than boys kissing boys (though the ratings spike after the teen male characters locked lips on "As The World Turns" challenges this notion), I do think the openness to this sort of experimentation at a younger age speaks to bigger cultural shifts such as:

- The average marriage age continuing to inch up — 26 for women and 27 for men. The notion of having a high school sweetheart feels dated to many teens — why be tied down? Instead, boyfriends and girlfriends come and go, there's more "hanging out" in groups and hooking up with friends as a way to experiment/indulge adolescent sexual desire.

- The level of LGBT visibility has increased (along with tolerance) — Ellen kicked open the door, followed by Will & Grace and more recently Tila Tequila and some of the teen shows I mentioned earlier. This generation is more tolerant overall, and we see this in research on their attitudes towards issues like gay marriage. [from Pew's Gen Next Report: "They also lead the way in their support for gay marriage and acceptance of interracial dating."]

- "Porn normal" or the mainstreaming of porn. Girls kissing girls for the benefit of boys has long been a staple of porn — I believe that we see this reflected in the images some teen girls have posted on MySpace or other sites imitating porn-like poses in an attempt to look "sexy." Porn's creep into pop culture and is defining what "sexy" is for lots of young girls.

I think Sophia Chakos-Leiby from Youth Radio really hit on a key issue when she said:

In dealing with sexuality, no one's choices are "wrong," but where do you draw the line between homosexuality, sexual experimentation and just jumping on the trendy girl kissing bandwagon? And in the process, whose lifestyle and identity is at stake?

Bottom line, while the women of our generation may be more experimental with sex - or simply more open about experimentation - we still have a long way to go until we look past gender, see a person, and fall in love.

What's your take on girl kissers?

P.S. This song kind of reminds me (content wise) of the Divinyls one hit wonder — "I touch myself" in terms of pushing out a taboo into the mainstream. She Bop, too, but I'm not sure how many people really knew what that song was about.