The UsefulTechnology Blog: Music

The Album = R.I.P. The Future = R.E.M.

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:02:18 GMT

As a long time fan of R.E.M. I'm excited to learn that they will become the first major act to allow fans to freely stream and share their new "Accelerate" album via social networking sites when it is released on 24th March. To take advantage of this great opportunity to hear the album before it is released in the shops you simply need to use any iLike application (available from iLike.com, Bebo, iTunes, Facebook and other social networking sites).

This is the latest initiative in the growing 'direct-to-listener' trend that is transforming the music and wider entertainment industry. Radiohead caused a stir late last year when they offered their most recent album, In Rainbows, for download at a 'pay what you think it's worth' price. And Prince gave his 3121 album away for free with the UK newspaper Daily Mail. R.E.M. will still release their CD-based album as usual, but they'll gain notoriety and increased relevance amongst younger music fans by publicly embracing social networking.

There's still plenty of money to be made from good music. All the pioneer digitally pioneering bands enjoy lucrative revenue from their successful live acts and merchandising deals. And therein lies the secret for future success in the music industry. The closer you can get to your fans, the more successful you will be. Hiding behind record label executives and relying on old fashioned album sales is a surefire recipe for failure.

So, what next for the music industry? What's the next major wall that a music artist will knock down as they grow ever closer to their listener base? These are exciting times.

Listening to music while driving in the UK legally

Fri, 24 Nov 2006 16:17:45 GMT

On 8th December our antiquated broadcasting laws will be brought up to date and the use of many of the wireless FM transmitters favoured by owners of MP3 players will no longer be illegal. Yes, you read that write. It will no longer be illegal. If you currently use an FM transmitter, like an iTrip, to play your iPod sounds through your car radio in the UK you are a flagrant criminal. From the 8th December your chances of being 'banged up to rights' will drop significantly, but you'll still need to ensure that your FM transmitter is of the legal variety.

The BBC covered this story yesterday and OFCOM (the Office of Communications) has the full gory details here.

So here's an idea borrowed from the USA. After the 8th December, tune your FM transmitter to your preferred settings and have a car window sticker made to advertise the frequency you're transmitting on*. Who knows, you might even get some appreciative honks from passing motorists.

* not recommended if your MP3 player mostly plays music by Steps.

Leaky headphones

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 21:51:42 GMT

Portable music devices seem to be everywhere these days and I wouldn't be without mine. As a regular commuter to London I'm amazed at how many people now have tubes coming out of their ears. I'm also astonished at how inconsiderate some of these music lovers are. People don't have any problem spending hundreds of pounds buying a fancy music player, but will quite happily tolerate the cheap leaky headphones that came with it.

So here's the test. Let's call it the "Am I a Noise Polluting Moron? Test". While enjoying your tunes in a public place, take both earpieces out of your ears, hold one in each hand then hold your arms out straight in front of you. If you can hear any sound coming from your hands your headphones are too loud. Turn the volume down until the sound can no longer be heard, then return the headphones to your ears. Now look around and enjoy the serene calm around you. If you can't now hear your music you may already have done irreparable damage to your eardrums. In this case you may need to seek medical advice. If your doctor agrees to release you back into the community, congratulations! You may now buy some decent in-ear headphones. These will allow you to listen to your music a little louder, but not require those around you to suffer the drone of that tinny tat radiating from your head on our way to work.

Leaky headphones - a public menace.