Human beings love music. It’s universally appreciated across all cultures and economic stations, all political and philosophical groups, and all ages. In fact, it threads itself, an incredibly strong communication tool, through generations. The impact of music is something that has never changed – it is as constant and timeless as humanity itself. It is as broad as the bridge from the Beatles to Irving Berlin and from Timberlake to Tchaikovsky.
But that’s about the ONLY thing in the music industry that is constant, everything else has been thrown up in chaos, redefining itself almost daily – often faster than even the most tech-savvy consumer can access – and certainly faster than artists and labels can learn. It’s not just the distribution and technology either; it’s the ever-shifting rights and monetization. Throw in the shape-shifting virtual and social spaces, and we’re looking at a virtual whirlwind of talent, tech and timing.
This is a time when mentors and leaders become uber vital to an artist’s process, and events like Digital Music Forum East (and West) become a beacon that attracts both the futurists and the icons of the industry. This year’s Digital Music East happens in only a few weeks in New York and focuses on the five most vital parts of the industry today: Music-Tech, Rights, Distribution, Monetization and The Future.
Each series includes a number of 15-minute presentations by the top leaders and innovators in the music industry and panel discussions on hot topics, including:
Music and the Social Web
Music, Money & Innovation
New Technologies & the Artist
Rights & Licensing: If I Wanted to Reform Music Copyright Law, I Would…
What’s Next In Digital Distribution Models?
Monetizing the Music Experience: It’s Not Just About Selling Music Anymore
Predictions & Provocations about the Future of Technology & the Music
I will personally be speaking on “Taking the Crowd to the Cloud,” and basic info and tips on social media for indies and legends, the subject of my recent Amazon #1 bestseller on 2/23 at 11am. I was amazed to see how many artists did not know the variety of social spaces available to them, like podcast creators and streaming radio opps, such as BlogTalkRadio, and writing my eBook was a chance to provide a starting point for those new to the social space and Direct-to-Fan distribution.
Because in all fairness, even for the seasoned veteran in social media, this is a space that can raise even the portals to the highest of highs and then dump them when the next great triple E ride comes along, like the death of MySpace and the rise of Facebook. And don’t think it can’t happen again. Or UNhappen. MySpace’s new benefactor, Justin Timberlake himself, is poised and ready to become the darling of real-time web TV – according to him at least. “The future of MySpace is about what you’re going to do. About who you’re going to become,” he said in a brief presentation. “MySpace TV is the first foray into that future.”
MySpace TV will still encompass the site’s library of 42 million songs and 100,000 music videos, and it will enable instant communication and huge search-ability around them between friends.
Who knows where MySpace TV will go from there? “As the plot of your favorite drama unfolds the joke of your favorite SNL character plays or even the last-second shot of your favorite team swishes the net, we’re giving you the opportunity to connect your friends to your moments as they’re actually occurring. This is the evolution of one of our greatest inventions, the television,” said Timberlake. For the millions of artists who had invested their time and music and audiences on MySpace, I hope he’s right.
Kelli Richards
CEO
The All Access Group, LLC
