Spring Break
A wonderful new era of paying for music awaits
Erik Myers
Issue date: 11/2/09 Section: Entertainment
Woe is me, first-world white man.
My laptop died three weeks ago, taking with it 7,500 songs. Months prior, my iPod, 10 gigabytes strong, was felled by a few measly raindrops. I remember that day too well, clicking and scrolling and praying under a cloudy sky. It never woke up.
In this glorious Age of Information, I've come to realize this music lover's happiness depends on the upkeeping of the "tools" around him. Simply put, I am slave to the machine.
But I am content. I know the future will relieve me of my suffering, as it will for all who embrace the coming era. Lucky for us, it's unfolding right now.
The personal library (MP3s, song titles, album covers and all) is moving from single devices to dedicated computer servers. "Cloud computing", as it's called, will allow the user to access his entire music collection from any computer or mobile device with an internet connection.
This is almost assuredly the future, but the profit formulas are still in testing. Music piracy may never be squelched, but the success of the iTunes Store indicates that people will still pay for music -- 8 billion MP3s have been sold as of Sept. 2009. This "ownership" model has been the standard ever since record players came about. But remember: We've left the 20th century behind.
I contend that there is a future in subscription-based music distribution or a type of free service based on advertisements. On the other side of the Atlantic is Spotify, a European Web site capable of streaming more than six million tracks without bothersome buffering problems. It's free, provided that a user is willing to listen to advertising every 20 minutes between songs. Users have the option of better audio and no commercials for a monthly premium.
It's not available to North Americans yet (drop date is predicted for early 2010), but when it does, it could be a whole new ballgame.
Apple has approved Spotify as an iPhone application, which will make the service portable -- any song from anywhere, anytime.
My laptop died three weeks ago, taking with it 7,500 songs. Months prior, my iPod, 10 gigabytes strong, was felled by a few measly raindrops. I remember that day too well, clicking and scrolling and praying under a cloudy sky. It never woke up.
In this glorious Age of Information, I've come to realize this music lover's happiness depends on the upkeeping of the "tools" around him. Simply put, I am slave to the machine.
But I am content. I know the future will relieve me of my suffering, as it will for all who embrace the coming era. Lucky for us, it's unfolding right now.
The personal library (MP3s, song titles, album covers and all) is moving from single devices to dedicated computer servers. "Cloud computing", as it's called, will allow the user to access his entire music collection from any computer or mobile device with an internet connection.
This is almost assuredly the future, but the profit formulas are still in testing. Music piracy may never be squelched, but the success of the iTunes Store indicates that people will still pay for music -- 8 billion MP3s have been sold as of Sept. 2009. This "ownership" model has been the standard ever since record players came about. But remember: We've left the 20th century behind.
I contend that there is a future in subscription-based music distribution or a type of free service based on advertisements. On the other side of the Atlantic is Spotify, a European Web site capable of streaming more than six million tracks without bothersome buffering problems. It's free, provided that a user is willing to listen to advertising every 20 minutes between songs. Users have the option of better audio and no commercials for a monthly premium.
It's not available to North Americans yet (drop date is predicted for early 2010), but when it does, it could be a whole new ballgame.
Apple has approved Spotify as an iPhone application, which will make the service portable -- any song from anywhere, anytime.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
karl weber
posted 11/02/09 @ 8:50 PM MST
my iphone already has pandora radio, almost the same thing, but getting to choose what comes on next would be nice
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