Music 1.0 Dead From Obvious Causes

Well, as usual, the big players in the music industry lag behind the reality on the ground. Sort of like politicians. a recent article on Ars Technica by Nate Anderson takes a look at the recent roundhouse kick to the head that killed the music industry in its first incarnation.

Music exec: “Music 1.0 is dead” is a great article. Indie musicians have been changing the industry in ways that even the corporate giants cannot ignore, and—as the article points out—they have finally grasped that the old model is an untenable position.

Of course the talk is about Music 2.0 (is anyone else getting tired of the old model of versioning, by the way?) and new models. All good stuff, and focusing largely on technology and digital delivery.

They’re still missing the point. Knock the stupid versioning technology away, it is about music and that means it is about interaction. Call it Music 3.0 if you are stuck in that particular paradigm and you like to feel comfortable, but the model that needs to be embraced is still to come, and I have a pretty good idea what it will be.

In the meantime, enjoy how the realization that sometimes you can’t fight the tide and instead get swept along with it is impacting even the major record labels.

Props to The Kings of A & R, a great site that ought to be in your bookmarks, for leading me to both those great stories.