The Missing Elements from Digital Downloads

CDs used to be a way of life. Actually, much of life’s greatest events for our 90′s youth centered around Music CDs; The release date of a new album, the pre-launch release party, and the fan camraderie at school all added to the excitement and social bonding experience around acquiring new music.

Today, a digital download, even at its 1/20th of the cost of a normal CD, still doesn’t impart the same look, feel and experience a CD or vinyl used to. In particular, a band’s self expression was made evidenced by their unique CD insert which often included coveted artwork, lyrics, credits to producers and band mates/family/friends, and more. Is that a lost medium of today? Do fans really read the iTunes Bio pages?

Unwrapping a new CD, the feel of the plastic and untouched content was a magical experience. A personal CD collection was a treasured asset, not spmething that could be backed up with a 20GB HD.

I admit, the convenience and cost effectiveness of an mp3 will always beat a CD, but its fun to think about how much the CD impacted our worlds, both personally and within the Music Business. It was inevitable that digital technologies would transform our industries…but how does it alter our life’s experiences?

The Power of the “Play” Button

Word-of-mouth, Viral, and Customer Referral are usually sought after quests for promotional programs. The challenge has always been, good news travels slow, bad news travels fast…So how about if your customers actions spoke louder than their words?  

Facebook’s new partnership with UK fav music site Spotify has created a new kind of Listener BUZZ. At the recent f8 Facebook conference (Sept), the merger was highlighted. From that, Billboard noted:

“Facebook will list every song listened to, radio stations streamed and albums heard once giving it permission to do so. Something Zuckerberg called “real-time serendipity.” It saves users from having to actively “like” any particular artist, song or album. It happens automatically. “You’re going to discover all the things your friends are doing around you, right now,” he said.

Users can control what they share, and who will see it. What’s more, friends can then stream the same music from their friends’ profiles in real time. During the demo, only Spotify was showcased. And while it wasn’t made clear, it appeared that other users would need to have Spotify installed as well to stream music from their friends’ feeds. There was no mention made of being able to stream the same songs from other music services, the notion of “content resolution” that has been rumored to be a key feature of what Facebook is offering”.

What does this mean for the dissemination of music throughout micro social groups around the world? It could mean that more new music will spread like wildfire, and that a wider range and depth of musical talent will become exposed to nearly 800 million facebook users’ peer groups.