I Bleed Music

Music Lovers. This might be promising for us. Google buys Simplify Media- http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/20/google-buys-simplify-media-to-power-music-syncing-for-new-itunes-competitor/ At least the product is in good hands but I agree with one of the comments "shouldn't Google of all companies be able to develop cloud sync without BUYing it?"

And the only reason I have an issue with the Google buying power is it scares the shit out of most users. Big companies generally tend to stifle competition and creativity. Luckily with Google's business philosophies, this is the exception....for now. I haven’t been a fan of Google multimedia apps or the directions in which they take them…Picasa was one of the biggest disappointments for me. However, after seeing the direction in which they’ve taken products like Google Docs and Calendar, I think they get how we like to interact with each other, collab, and share.

http://www.zazzle.com/bleeding_heart_i_bleed_music_tshirt-235840220443522738 (I Bleed Music) I bought this t-shirt after talking to @Azyxa about what's in our blood. :) I'm pretty sure a lot of us who love music and the ability to share music on a personal level are going to be watching the direction Google takes this technology.

Music appreciating and distribution has come a long way in the last decade but not enough. I’m hoping it continues to shift back more in our direction. I wrote this silly “call to arms piece” ten years ago after the collapse of napster, Lars the Douchehead, and the whole RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) suing 35k individual music listeners. I remember being so livid at how backwards it seemed that an industry was going after its own customers in fight that wasn’t really about piracy but about adapting to new technology.

It’s embarrassing but remember I wrote it ten years ago during the time when MTV had the largest grasp over popular music and Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera vs Hanson was as diverse as it got. And while we have come a long ways, I still feel like it applies because we haven’t utilized technology enough to exercise our consumer power (just read how much artists have to pay itunes to put songs up on their site…gag me):

Call to arms. The music revolution is here. We can no longer sit back and let the corporation dictate what we desire. How long will we be the dress-up dolls of "American Pop Culture"?? How long will you be a mindless child? You let them tell you what you want to hear, you let them tell you what you should look like. How long will you let them tell you how much you should have to pay for music you've never heard of?

Why hasn't the music industry caught on to technology? Why? Because they are still the greedy, money basking corporate hogs they've always been. We all know that cds don't cost a lot to make and that the technology exists today to combine many types of artists. In fact, we can make our own compilations.

How much longer will it be until they realize that we don't want to pay sixteen dollars for twelve songs of the same artist? Very few cds have come along where the entire compilation is worth every cent. Far too often, we've been forced to buy eleven so-so-maybe-listen-to-once songs for that one hit song we bought the damned thing for in the first place. I would have to agree that five dollars would be worth buying a cd full of artists I want to hear. NOW, here they are taking away my free forum of music.

Am I supposed to weep for the all mighty corporation who refuses to mold to the changing technology? Am I supposed to weep for the artists who makes more money than god for just dressing up like a barbie doll? We are the masses. We are the collective society who you feed off of.. I do not weep for you.

I feel we should protest the music industry. Do you they think that we actually believe that the only good music produced today is by broadcasted on MTV? How many countless number of artists are there out there that haven't been given a chance. What of those who don't believe in compromising their music? What of those who will perform simply because they love music? Don't fall for it at all. Don't give in thinking that the only music in the world comes in the form of a plastic wrapped cd case! BRING THE MUSIC BACK to the PEOPLE.

We have just advanced too much in my opinion to not be able to distribute and share music more easily between artists and music lovers. As I said in the Flattr post, micro transactions and flexibility with how we distribute appreciation is becoming more and more available. It is well within our hands to begin to shape the arts and distribution of the arts.

The top-down approach to distribution offers little sympathy to most artists these days because of the mistrust we have of the music industry. After the iTunes revolution and single song service, we have seen a bit more diversity but little improvements in how we share music (simplify media being a huge exception). Dropbox is a giant step towards music appreciation but then ignores the rights of the artists to be paid for their work. Currently, there is no balance because neither side has really devised a mainstream technology to address our desire to share the fuck out of the music we love.

I see a future where all music is tagged with a shit ton of meta data that links back directly to the artist, creator or its distributor. So say if you found this awesome remix of a song, there would be software integration with your player to send them a piece of cake :)

We’re all going to have to shift how we think of pay/per as I’ve said before. The old model of the shopping cart/checkout isn’t going to hold. Just look at the post @Jemimus made about NOT being able to pay for something he appreciated due to outdated international copyright laws. Seriously, we’re too wired to be this globally stunted.

Maybe we can be a generation of digital tips instead. Can the world turn on tips? Would you play for tips? I think a lot of people would and it’s why I’m closely watching the micro transaction market and will do whatever I can to promote a fundamental shift in our online economy. I truly believe it’s the key to promoting more growth of doing in the meta…well hell, in the world.