The Microsoft iPOD
The Direction of New Recorded Music
"Prior to Friday's announcement, some were calling the
new device the "mPod" (Microsoft + iPod) killer.
But given Microsoft's typically tone deaf
approach to usability and Apple's market lead
it will be a miracle if its next nickname
isn't the "iClod" (iPod + clone + awful).
... Wired News
Just a bit of mental meandering follows where I wonder about the direction recorded music is heading.
A few years ago the professional recording community had it all figured out. Music was going to be 24/96 [bit/kHz] on a DVD with up to 6 channels of very high quality sound. I found this daunting in that:
1) Six channels are a lot more expensive to record than the traditional
stereo two channels of amplified music
2) Listeners would have to buy expensive new audio systems
3) Listeners would have to dedicate a larger space to 6 speakers
4) Dedicating real estate to this purpose is expensive
5) This format is neither portable nor mobile as required by mobile teens
Well time marched on and their generally perceived profit opportunity was wasted as the record companies squabbled over whose format was best. The ascendancy of the media-free data file is now upon us. Physical media outside of a computer is mostly becoming obsolete. Music is kept as data. Music is mobile on or off the Internet.
Most new music is now heard through computer speakers or headphones & earbuds. [The traditional stereo is being mostly replaced with home theater where people primarily watch rather than simply listen.] New music is now in the realm of the computer – the MP3. Distribution is instantaneous and playlists have replaced albums. The accepted sound quality has deteriorated, however, to less than CD quality 16/44.1 [bit/kHz]. The norm is now closer to 12 bit. The opposite of what was forecast a few years ago.
Kazaa changed the landscape where listeners understood that music could be removed from corporate control and its inherent profit model either legally or illegally. The web is now alive with various experiments in attempting sustainable online distribution with the most well known being iTunes.
I spent a few hours researching how to put our indie [independent] harpist music on iTunes and came away very disappointed. Access was effectively blocked unless you had a commercially produced CD. CD submission fees were expensive. The barriers were artificially high for an indie artist to stop the dross of inept home computer recordings. Once in the iTunes database, an indie release effectively disappears as the onsite search was primitive and very limited. You need to approach iTunes with prior marketing based knowledge including the name of the artist/release that you want. iTunes is simply a new digital arm to the old physical mass distribution model using the same old promotional techniques – just the digital packaging is different.
I do believe we are in the early days of a new distribution model where viral marketing [internet word of mouth] will create distribution opportunities. MySpace is creating a vast social network where music is integral. New values will arise in the listener/creator relationship. The corporate control models no longer work with the efficacy of the past. How about mutual respect and integrity as model concepts instead? Interesting times.
Most new indie music as listened to now is of lower audio quality [MP3s] and probably of poorer production values [home recorded] but this is balanced with an outburst of creativity and innovation as new music comes out of the corporate shadow.
I am very optimistic that as new ways of filtering the dross appear, exciting new indie music with some more sustainable ways of distributing music will also appear. As harpists and independent musicians, new financially beneficial opportunities will arise to sustain the muse.
It is fascinating also to watch the old corporates try to co-opt the newer innovators in an attempt to wrestle back their traditional corporate control.
If you have read this far, here is your reward >>> The Microsoft iPOD
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