Music 2.0 To My Ears

Today's gadget is a book. And it is not the packaging (paperback or PDF file) that matters... It is the content of course... My copy of Music 2.0 by Gerd Leonhard has just arrived... I have had no time to properly read even a part of it, but just browsing the pages I can see this is the book of the year. Or even of a decade. The decade when the world changed from 1.0 to 2.0 turning most of the economy and business models upside down. There are a few unusual aspects of this book. First, it is available as a download in PDF form. And you decide the price, pay as much you like by clicking the "Donate" button on the Web page. Or you can order a printed copy. The order system is one click, empowered by PayPal - no need to enter your whereabouts, no extra shipping and handling options... the way every commerce 2.0 site should work. The book is a must read to anybody who has anything in common with the Internet and content. Things are changing...

Just a few random thoughts from Music 2.0 to get you started:

• multi-point access to music will be the default environment,
  allowing consumers to fill up their music devices at airports, train stations, and in coffee shops and bars, using all kinds of wireless connections as well as other on-demand and ad-hoc networking technologies.
• mobile mania: Cell phones and other wireless devices will eventually utilize and suck up more “content” than any Internet service or P2P client ever has. Real-music ringtone offerings, Multi-Media SMS (MMS), Java-based games, wireless streaming audio and video, i-Mode type applications, and other cell-phone based offerings will proliferate very quickly, at first in Europe and Asia, followed by the U.S.
• forget the Internet – think digital content networks
• access will replace ownership - In three to five years, consumers will have access to “their” music anytime, anywhere, and the physical possession of it will in fact be more of a handicap, or a pastime for collectors. Music will feel (and act) more like water, and music providers will become utilities.
• radio must be personal
• forget about hits. build successes. exploit the niches.
• the business of just selling copies is over
• even in music, the power is moving to the edges of the network
• endless choice is creating limitless demand
• let’s face it: 75,000 different devices that play mp3 files, approximately 75 devices that play drm’ed files
• Media of the future is not just from “me the producer” to “you the consumer.” It’s also an interactive process, an ongoing, two-way conversation, not a stale and linear product.

Now back to the book... till next week :)