publicpatron.org

What do you want to see? How do we make it a better world for listeners and creators alike?

There is a non-profit organization focused on this topic, the Future of Music Coalition. Good name, but I’m most impressed by their manifesto, articles, and resources.

And the guys at Sound Opinions (”The World’s Only Rock’n'Roll Talk Show”) are hosting a discussion about “The Future of Music” next week, at Columbia College on Wednesday, December 3rd. You might not agree with their reviews, but they bring context to the music and their rating system is nice and forward thinking as well, rating albums on a “buy it, burn it, trash it” scale. I really appreciate the weekly podcast of Sound Opinions, and how they almost always discuss a news story that addresses the changes in the industry, from downloading music to how its becoming even corporate-focused on business over the music. I expect this event to be like that part of the show, only extended with audience participation. I will be there, and I hope to tell a few people about my ideas for publicpatron.

But I do want to get my ideas on the Future of Music out on here as well.

First off, Im biased towards “independent artists”. And what I mean by independent artists are those whose prime motivation is creating music to express themselves and create great art. Of course finding an audience and making money enters into that, but it seems that the best work of an artist comes earlier in their career, when they sound most original, and are not expected to have huge sales. My guess is that at that point, nobody else is trying to pressure them to do anything musically, and they have the freedom to make the music they want. They are independent. This might also come later in their career if they can maintain or rekindle the passion that usually comes with youth and now have the money to ignore outside influences, if greed doesn’t get the best of them.

So then, just like all media, with so many options of what to listen to available on the net, the biggest problem for independent artists is how to get noticed. You might expect FM radio to fulfill this purpose, but there is ample pressure on these stations to fill the airtime with less-independent artists, from both advertisers and the labels whose major draw to sign these artists is their ability to provide this pressure. Satellite radio might be better, but I doubt it since its now all owned by one company. Besides, the potential audience is so much smaller since they have to pay to listen. And there are the music recommendation services like Pandora or iTunes Genius, but Im not sure how independent they are. Also, I think people want more context for their music and a sense of community. You want a great DJ who can tell you a little about the artist, some history and genre perspective, and make it more human.

The response from independent artists seems to be to put out their music for free download on the net, or on MySpace. I think this is moving in the right direction, but instead of MySpace, they should make their own web site. Fans want a connection to their artist, but they also want to be able to listen to the music wherever, whenever, and on any device they choose. Let them download the files for free without DRM from your site, as this will give you a connection to your fans that MySpace and iTunes simply cant provide, a place on the web where the fan can hear directly and honestly from the artist. Of course artists would rather get paid for the downloads, but on the net, its really hard to ask potential listeners to pay for something they may have never heard, or heard only once and may tire of quickly. There are just so many other free options out there. Publicpatron helps to solve this dilemma, so that the listener pays per listen at a rate they feel comfortable with and the artist is allowed maximum exposure, a fair deal for both artist and listener. This would also allow the artist to use RSS to automatically deliver new tracks to the fans and make available the audio of every concert, getting paid by every fan who listens to any of it and uses publicpatron.

Another way to help independent artists get heard with huge potential is internet radio, also supportable under publicpatron. This makes it really easy for anyone to start their own station, and be heard anywhere they can get a decent internet connection. We need to make internet radio accessible everywhere, an issue of extending and improving wireless internet access and getting a good hardware/software combination everywhere you currently listen to radio, at home and on your portable device, but most importantly in the car. More choices with larger audiences will increase the opportunities of independent artists, whether advertising funds it or not. But publicpatron will also allow listeners to reimburse the internet radio stations they listen to, giving advertisers less control of the content of the stations.

The industry is going through a lot of changes, and there is a ton to complain but also rave about. Thats what the FMC & radio show & discussion next week should be about. Lots of details, but ultimately its about the music we love, supporting the creators, and a better listener experience. How do we get there?

From NewTeeVee:

The blogs are abuzz this morning with a new prediction from Screen Digest analyst Arash Amel, who says that Hulu will generate as much revenue as YouTube next year. What’s surprising about this statement is that it isn’t surprising at all.

There is a simple reason for this, as I explained in an earlier post. But of course I had to say a bit more in my comment on the NewTeeVee article:

Hulu is just a gateway to get the same networks and producers of oldteevee on to the internet. The biggest problem for truly new media is just to get noticed, because they dont have all the advantages that come with network or cable or satellite tv. So its not the least bit impressive that the big media companies have found a way to leverage their dominance of television to dominate video on the net as well. Big media is learning that even if they make less money when folks watch their content online, at least they aren’t developing a taste for independent content and helping to grow a new competitor.

The promise of newteevee (net video) is a completely open space for culture, at least that huge part of it which comes to us in video format. Anybody can make a video, a “tv show” via podcast, or stream live. This is an opportunity for independent media with unlimited distribution and no network rules to adhere to or corporate masters to keep happy. You no longer have to get on TV or get a movie deal, but you also shouldn’t have to go through iTunes or YouTube either. Its really as easy as registering a domain, installing Wordpress, and uploading your video. Yes, the need for advertisers still sucks, but there are some alternative business models being developed to work around this level of outside control as well.

Who is out there interested in building an open ecosystem for independent video? The folks working on Miro at the PCF are the best example, but who will build the settop boxes? Who will organize this community of independent creators to get all the pieces necessary working together?

Here is one of the keynotes from NewTeeVee Live, by the CEO of Netflix.

Its a great way to catch up on the business of web video today, and what the current thinking about it is.

Im still obsessed with this Public Patron idea.  I guess a large part of my reason for this is that I hate advertising.  But in this new media world, creators seem obsessed with using advertising to fund their projects.  Independent creators, those without access to TV or radio, are beginning to realize that they need to put out their stuff for free.  And that is because in the hyper-competitive world of internet media, nobody is gonna pay upfront for something they arent sure to enjoy.  Theyll just try something else online for free, or pay for something they know they like from seeing a clip on TV or hearing it on the radio.

But if you have to put it out for free, youve gotta get paid somehow.  If its possible, new media will usually throw an ad into the content.  When its not possible, aka music, they sell a song to be used in a commercial.  Same game. Following this logic, new media could become more annoying and commercialized than what we’ve currently got.  And that’s depressing as hell.  I’m sure you’ve got your own complaints about advertising, but I think it all boils down to these two:

- annoying advertising works, so the commercials are getting louder and harder to ignore

- whoever is paying for the show, advertisers, ultimately decide what you see and hear

There are a million different points to make that extend from these, but basically, this commercial middleman keeps making the experience worse and takes away any real independent spirit from the creation.

So now that I think Ive found a way to make new media much less commercialized than what we’ve currently got, I cant stop thinking about it.

If we truly want independent creativity in our culture to surpass the crap that currently dominates, and it is possible with the internet and digital media, we have to address the advantages that come with TV & Radio.  Control of the spectrum and cable monopoly is how the commercial interests win.  We need mass adoption of net-connected media players in the same places most media gets consumed, on your TV and in the car and that walkman/ipod/phone device for you public transport folks.  We need streaming media as well as episodic downloads (podcasts), and its gotta be free to download and mostly free of advertising, if not completely.  Otherwise, its just too hard to compete with the generally higher quality that comes from the budgets paid for with spectrum-and-cable-dominant-advertising.

More on this later