✖️ Electronic music 100 years ago ⚡ Scientists store light as sound 〰️ Moving beyond the record industry 💿
Hi everyone,
Sometimes I compose this newsletter over the weekend, sometimes I get up at 5.30 on Monday and do it then. As I was writing the lead piece for today’s newsletter, I realised something too important to leave buried at the bottom of the article:
Augmented reality is remix as a medium.
We are well beyond theoretical discussions about remix culture. It is rapidly weaving itself into the fabric of our every day lives…
And on that note: have a great week!
Love,
Bas
From me, for you
What is the next record? Moving beyond the recording industry
A reflection on 20th century consumerist culture, the recording and the rise of the recording industry.
www.musicxtechxfuture.com • Share
From Sónar+D, for you
Sónar+D published a video of the blockchain panel I moderated last June. The panel features: Peter Harris of Resonate (streaming platform), Cliff Fluet (lawyer specialised in music & new media), and Blanca Rego (visual artist and musician).
How to blockchain for artists, labels and fans - YouTube
Streaming music
Tencent tried to buy Spotify earlier this year
Unlikely to actually have succeeded, but it communicates Tencent’s commitment to music, as well as expanding its global footprint.
How streaming music platforms can last and grow
Nikhil Shah, co-founder of Mixcloud, makes the case for slow and steady growth, rather than the Silicon Valley “scale first, revenue second” dogma.
www.musicbusinessworldwide.com • Share
Beyond streaming
Three labels control 80% of the U.S. music industry. What responsibility comes with that power?
Not sure how they arrived at the 80% figure, but good article that challenges Warner, Universal, and Sony to take a stand against Trump’s racism, sexism, Islamophobia, homophobia, and transphobia.
The EU suppressed a 300-page study that found piracy doesn't harm sales
This piece has been floating around with titles such as the above, but some nuance is required:
“The results do not show robust statistical evidence of displacement of sales by online copyright infringements. That does not necessarily mean that piracy has no effect but only that the statistical analysis does not prove with sufficient reliability that there is an effect.” (PDF)
Can music heal trauma? Exploring the therapeutic powers of sound
An increasing number of music therapists are now treating people touched by traumas both big and small, highlighting humanity’s deepest connections with music in the process.
Wide view
Light has been stored as sound for the first time
“This conversion is critical if we ever want to shift from our current, inefficient electronic computers, to light-based computers that move data at the speed of light.”
Could make our PCs 20 times faster.
How Seth Godin would launch a business with a $1,000 budget
Great advice for anyone doing startups or marketing, including for all of you working in music.
Building a growth framework towards a $100 million product
A must-read in my opinion. This type of data-centric growth models are sorely missing from music businesses. It may be hard to see how it applies to music, but think beyond the music itself for monetization options. You could reapply this framework, at a smaller scale, to things like digital fan clubs, virtual merchandising, and other types of paid fan experiences.
Fun
Failed histories of electronic music
Cool read about very early electronic music pioneers in the late 19th and early 20th century. (via @samim)
With three interesting stories:
!. he career of electromusical innovator Johann Baptist Schalkenbach (1824–1910).
2. Britain’s earliest electronic sound performance in 1895, signalling a rupture between electromusical bombast and the detailed, quiet work of the experimental laboratory.
3. The wireless oscillation outrages of the 1920s and 1930s, where electronic tone prematurely trespassed upon musical culture.
❤️ twitter - mxtxf backstage - facebook - musicxtechxfuture.com
📰 Last week: My Instagram & Twitter hack 🤳 Spotify is finally cracking video 🎞️ Radio no good for today’s hits? 📻
Regular insights about the future of music, media & tech. Written & composed by @basgras.
If you don't want these updates anymore, please unsubscribe here.
If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can subscribe here.
Powered by Revue