Week 10: Future of Music and Awareness

After 10 weeks of being immersed in literature and discussion about the future of music, digital music, copyrights, collections, music cognition, music sociology, economics, technology, improvisation, and music libraries … I still feel like this is a field of information that will be one of the most progressive and most difficult for librarians to keep up with. Personally, I am thrilled with the potential that the future holds for music. It slowly seems to be taking control of its own reigns and releasing the death grip of the crooks in the record industry. However, I feel like I have been teased with all this knowledge about the future of music because I worry that libraries will never catch on to these trends. I am referring especially to libraries that are not designated music libraries, such as public libraries. It is a challenging, and probably expensive, field of information for libraries to provide up-to-date materials and sources. Yet, with everything music going digital – what will libraries offer to the public so that there music information needs are being met?

It’s one thing for your library to have Overdrive and offer digital downloads. But the software is not perfect, and always changing. So how do we, as library and information science professionals stay progressive? This week I realized how vital it is for information specialists concerned with music to be avid readers of music-related blogs. As mentioned in Chapter 10, music is an ever-changing field, more now than ever. While the information in Kusek and Leonhard’s book may become redundant as the digital revolution pumps on, we are reminded to look to other sources for the most updated developments in the music world. Therefore, I checked out some of the blogs listed on the side of their website and realized that they are amazing sources of information. Blogs are becoming the new sources for word-of-mouth marketing and news. More importantly, the future of music information is going to progress through these virtual modes of communication. The more we are connected with this information, the more we can connect others with it also.

After perusing several blogs listed on the Future of Music website, I decided to do a little blog review for this week’s journal entry. I choose some interesting blogs and will relate how librarians could find some relevance in the information on the site.

NEW ROCK STAR PHILOSOPHY
http://newrockstarphilosophy.com/
From the blog: “The New Rockstar Philosophy was started to help artists learn more about what’s going on in the ever-changing music industry, to inspire them to embrace entrepreneurship, and give them them the tools for DIY 2.0 .”

Highlights:

• Article on bands marketing through YouTube, and current news on other social networks.
• Tips on becoming a self-sustaining band (for its hilarity).
• Articles on subjects, such as iTunes, illegal downloading, subscription music services, new choices in digital distribution, and the power of word of mouth.
• The section on “Your Music Online” is an awesome primer to websites and online services used to promote music. Let’s say your library doesn’t have Overdrive … at least offer the patrons a list of online sources they access through the library website. Not to mention, this site does an excellent job of keeping current with trends.
  

MUSIC THINK TANK
http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/
… where the music industry thinks out loud … “really?” I ask.

This site offers spot-on commentary of the music industry – combining knowledge of pop culture and the digital phenomenon with the sage experience and commentary of writers who have significant backgrounds in the music industry. And, yes, they are speaking out!

Highlights:

• Bashing iTunes for raising their prices while tying in the realities of free choice in the digital music world.
• An intriguing article about musicians, social media, and online marketing. (I kept thinking, “if only libraries could market themselves and their collections like this!”)
  

MUSIC IT Stats
For those with a penchant for statistics: http://blogs.zdnet.com/ITFacts/?cat=10

I don’t even care much for statistics, but this site provides substantial numbers to back any kind of digital music project your library wants to pursue. Also great for collection development – includes constantly updated lists of top selling, most downloaded albums.


Most importantly, for a librarian to have any stake in keeping up with the “future of music,” they are going to have to develop a progressive awareness of this field of research – reading blogs, reading articles, interacting online, networking with musicians, attending conferences. This takes time, but music has become much more than just a form of media for the library to collect. It’s expanding in so many directions digitally and socially, and libraries have the chance to be a vital part in sharing this.


And I end with this quote from the MediaFuturist blog that touches on topics we covered in class and reminds us how important it is to be aware of what’s going on in the digital music environment: from http://www.mediafuturist.com/

“Realizing that the real value of the users is in their participation and engagement, and then in paying-with-attention, Google has clearly pursued a strategy akin to the 'Music Like Water' model that I (and Dave Kusek, my partner-in-crime for "The Future of Music") have also described countless times: Google will simply provide the platform where music can be turned into money, by connecting the user with the content they want right where they already are (i.e. the search page), while gradually but aggressively monetizing their presence and their clicks via 3rd party payments - and this does not mean just ads. Sounds simple but maybe this has not yet been financially feasible in the past - today, any new money for the music companies is welcome, I guess, so here we are, finally: Search with us and we'll give you Free Music.”