I figure my last column is a good place to talk about the future of music. We continue to stand at something of a precipice, overlooking the cavernous possibilities of technology and the implications they might hold in how future generations interpret art.
It’s bewildering to ponder what the music industry might look like in, say, 20 years, when the digital marketplace will likely have obliterated traditional means of buying music. I can’t really imagine the actual music of 2028 being all that different from now—like Aphex Twin’s “Omgyjya Switch7,” which masquerades as future music in the film “Children of Men,” it seems that anything conceivably “futuristic” could just as well be created right now.
Somewhat sadly, the most striking changes in the following decades will probably revolve around how people listen to music rather than what they’re actually listening to—even today, the subject of music procurement grabs far more headlines than the music being procured. The iTunes store, which was originally started for the sole purpose of selling iPods, just celebrated its fifth anniversary. In its tenure, iTunes has become one of the largest music retail venues in the world, and in another few years it’s expected to single-handedly account for more than 25 percent of the total music sold in the world. That’s rather staggering for a marketing tie-in.
Meanwhile, the first annual Record Store Day took place a couple weekends ago, an event in which everyone from Joan Jett to Tom Waits threw their support behind endangered, independent record stores across the nation. Through storewide discounts, live music and giveaways, the event attempted to draw people into music shops and reaffirm the immeasurable value of buying music locally and in person. Admirable as they are, it’s hard to say how effective proactive strategies like these can possibly be, since the seismic shifts taking place in music seem inevitably bound to eliminate all but the most niche-oriented record stores.
How music in the future will be marketed remains a mystery. For one thing, Thom Yorke told The Hollywood Reporter Radiohead won’t be releasing any more music through the groundbreaking pay-what-you-want model they used to release In Rainbows earlier this year. That certainly deflates the fervor that rose up around Radiohead blazing a path towards music’s salvation—they’ve even got Trent Reznor calling them “insincere.” The fact is, it’s hard for innovative release techniques to get a foothold in an already tumultuous industry where everyone is scrambling for new ideas.
Of course there’s no one right way to release music, or to buy or listen to it for that matter, since there are various benefits and pitfalls throughout the various methods. More important is the fact that the spectrum of these different methods is ever-expanding, providing more and more ways to listen to the same thing. This translates problematically into less and less ways the record labels can focus their approach to potential audiences.
Perhaps the best strategy will be one that embraces all options. The new Spiritualized album, Songs in A&E, will be released on May 27 on CD, on deluxe CD, on deluxe vinyl, on super deluxe vinyl and on iTunes. By hitting all the bases like this, a band can simultaneously fine-tune itself to retro-minded record buyers and mp3 shoppers alike, which seems to be a progressive, forward-thinking tactic.
Rest assured that music will persevere as a live medium, even if the grand digital age somehow comes crashing down around us. What will happen in the meantime is anyone’s guess, but everyone’s role to participate in.
Want to start a futuristic band with Ben? E-mail him at bpeterson1@wisc.edu.
