The Future of Music : Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution

From Publishers Weekly
In what could be one of the most provocative music books published this year, two innovators in music technology take a fascinating look at the impact of the digital revolution on the music business and predict "a future in which music will be like water: ubiquitous and free-flowing." Kusek and Leonhard foresee the disappearance of CDs and record stores as we know them in the next decade; consumers will have access to more products than ever, though, through a vast range of digital radio channels, person-to-person Internet file sharing and a host of subscription services. The authors are especially good at describing how the way current record companies operate - as both owners and distributors of music, with artists making less than executives - will also drastically change: individual CD sales, for example, will be replaced by "a very potent 'liquid' pricing system that incorporates subscriptions, bundles of various media types, multi-access deals, and added-value services." While the authors often shift from analysts into cheerleaders for the über-wired future they predict - "Let's replace inefficient content-protection schemes with effective means of sharing-control and superdistribution!" - their clearly written and groundbreaking book is the first major statement of what may be "the new digital reality" of the music business in the future. (Feb.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Book Description
For the next generation of players and downloaders, a provacative scenario from a music industry think tank From the Music Research Institute at Berklee College of Music, comes a manifesto for the ongoing music revolution. Today, the record companies may be hurting but the music making business is booming, using non-traditional digital methods and distribution models. This book explains why we got where we are and where we are heading. For the iPod, downloading market, this book will explain new ways of discovering music, new ways of acquiring it and how technology trends will make music "flow like water", benefiting the people who love music and make music. Publication date: March 2005


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In what could be one of the most provocative music books published this year, two innovators in music technology take a fascinating look at the impact of the digital revolution on the music business and predict "a future in which music will be like water: ubiquitous and free-flowing." Kusek and Leonhard foresee the disappearance of CDs and record stores as we know them in the next decade; consumers will have access to more products than ever, though, through a vast range of digital radio channels, person-to-person Internet file sharing and a host of subscription services. The authors are especially good at describing how the way current record companies operate-as both owners and distributors of music, with artists making less than executives-will also drastically change: individual CD sales, for example, will be replaced by "a very potent `liquid' pricing system that incorporates subscriptions, bundles of various media types, multi-access deals, and added-value services." While the authors often shift from analysts into cheerleaders for the uber-wired future they predict-"Let's replace inefficient content-protection schemes with effective means of sharing-control and superdistribution!"-their clearly written and groundbreaking book is the first major statement of what may be "the new digital reality" of the music business in the future. (Feb.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.


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