Comments on: Future of music, continued

By: Neophile: MPress Records New Arrivals 3 « zed equals zee

Neophile: MPress Records New Arrivals 3 « zed equals zee — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:04:34 +0000

[...] worth checking out. The CD includes Toronto indie band Ember Swift, Jay Clifford (as heard on Grey’s Anatomy), a bonus track by Toad the Wet Sprocket lead singer Glen Philips, and more, with proceeds going to [...]

By: Electric Laser People in Nike campaign « zed equals zee

Electric Laser People in Nike campaign « zed equals zee — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:00:43 +0000

[...] we’ve previously discussed the role of advertising in getting new music heard here at zed equals zee, it’s [...]

By: 2008: Best and worst songs in ads « zed equals zee

2008: Best and worst songs in ads « zed equals zee — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:03:42 +0000

[...] up on some previous posts about music and advertising, and doing one last wrap-up for the year that’s just [...]

By: Music and advertising « zed equals zee

Music and advertising « zed equals zee — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:04:19 +0000

[...] on z=z, we’ve written previously about the alliance of independent music and advertising. Bethany Klein, now a lecturer at the [...]

By: Trampling on the shoulders of giants « zed equals zee

Trampling on the shoulders of giants « zed equals zee — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:05:07 +0000

[...] And while they unquestionably changed the industry, they didn’t kill it. As debcha has noted, for better or for worse, the industry will continue to find ways to [...]

By: debcha

debcha — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:59:34 +0000

Excellent points, both!

David, if you haven’t yet, I encourage you to go read the whole Village Voice article – the idea of ‘bypassing the consumer’ is that the music builds its fanbase by being licensed first, rather than the other way around. And that its fanbase will consist of the people who then put attention into finding the band amidst all the competing noise. And Scott, it’s entirely plausible that the bands that get a non-local audience are those that write songs that work well in TV shows.

Cory Doctorow writes about the impact of technology on music in an essay in Content:

When radio and records were invented, they were pretty bad news for the performers of the day….Radio was clearly good news for musicians — lots more musicians were able to make lots more music, reaching lots more people and making lots more money….But it was terrible news for charismatic [performers]. It put them out on the street, stuck them with flipping burgers and driving taxis.

We are clearly looking at the transition to the next iteration of technology with music, and it’s interesting to try to figure out what will happen.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:58:55 +0000

I’d suggest it means more covers. In-program music needs to connect and convey meaning without offering listeners the opportunity to hear the whole song. Which, in turn means that new songs need to be pre-familiarized, and one of the simplest ways to do that is to cover a familiar song.

And I know I’m your “covers guy,” but that doesn’t mean I think this is a good thing. You need great new songs (e.g. “Such Great Heights” or “Crazy”) to replenish the supply of great covers. Otherwise it’s just another goddamned version of “Yesterday”.

Alternatively, it means the sound-bitification of music. In this model, a song doesn’t need to be compelling, it just needs to have one riff or one lyric that is instantly understandable. Advertisements often use this approach, sometimes to the amusement of people who recognize that the excerpted lyric doesn’t mean anything like the surface meaning it’s being given in the ad.

By: dave

dave — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:55:56 +0000

I think the Built to Spill anecdote has held true for most pop-rock musicians, except those who break out of indie status and become major phenomena.

“In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 people.”

It sounds silly, but I think it’s really true. the fragmentation of all media over the last 20 years has made it harder and harder for bands to break through, KISS/aerosmith/radiohead style. People don’t listen to as much radio, they don’t read the papers, and there are zillions of internet sites competing for our attention. And bands are able to promote themselves in the fragmented media more effectively than they could pre-internet, and can more easily become famous for those 15 people

I don’t think licensing is about bypassing the consumer — it’s about finding ways to reach a mass audience. Those channels have always been beholden to tastemakers, and Advertising is one of the few remaining common media denominators. It’s a marketing thing.