Today's Audience Just Got Google Glass!

The ex-Taking Heads musician, David Byrne now opens his shows encouraging folk to take pictures, film and record and share on YouTube, but to only post the good recordings. In his book ‘How Music Works’ he describe that cathartic moment when he stopped trying to fight concert recording and embraced them as a way of marketing the show and his music.

The guardian reports this week on concert pianists, Krystian Zimerman’s reaction to being filmed during a performance. He was so annoyed over seeing a member of the audience filming him perform he asked the audience member, "Would you please stop that?"  He shortly afterwards left the stage and on returning told his audience that he had lost many recording projects because of YouTube and that it was ‘destroying music.’

It’s ironic that this is reported in the same week we have written about the increasing issues of privacy in our increasingly Internet intrusive world. Is David Bryne’s world different to that of the concert pianist, or the opera singer, or should we treat them all the same? We would expect a certain decorum within the various concert halls, but if that is being observed, then we have the core issue of recording and its impact on artists.

The days of banning filming of rock and pop concerts is fast disappearing and common sense has prevailed. YouTube, is becoming for many, the most popular way of listening to music today. We first created the MTV generation, which now have spawned the YouTube generation. Many artists have realised that it can be a great way to promote their music and concerts and have in the main embraced it. Go to any rock concert today and before you have reached home we can guarantee there will be a posting on YouTube.

Yes, we expect certain decorum within a classical music concert and don’t expect people using flash cameras, standing to record, or dancing in the aisles, but that is not the issue here. Today, and certainly in a few months, we could see Google Glass being worn by the audience. No more having to hold the smartphone in one hand whilst dancing in the aisles. You can’t ban Google Glass and not smartphones. The person wearing Google glass could be sitting quietly next to you in that classical concert and be disturbing no one, as tomorrow they live stream the concert to YouTube. In fact they will be less obtrusive than those with opera glasses.

We have to find new codes of practice, separate the bootleg recordings which are made for profit from those made by fans to share. Opera, classical, pop, folk, rock concerts are inherently no different. They are based on people enjoying the music and sharing the experience with friends and the sharing should be encouraged as it grows awareness and introduces new people to the experience. Concerts and live shows are more popular than ever and they are now filmed and posted more than ever and some would suggest that there is a correlation there. 

Digital Evolution: Part 1 Music

When we look at today’s digital revolution we often see disruptive change. Many shout, ‘out with the old and in with the new,’ but we have to often ask if the new is really ‘new’, or merely a reiteration of the past? What once worked, but became uneconomic, or inefficient, or was often constrained by the technology of the day, can often come back, without the baggage that once burdened it in its previous days. Suddenly we have a renaissance, a new opportunity, a new dawn.

Music is a classic example where the constraints of the technology inhibited or defined the form. What was once accepted as efficient soon was overtaken by technology that tackled that which limited its performance or capacity. The length of a single or an album was determined not by the content but originally by the constraints of Vinyl. When we were released from those constraints we often found other inhibitors with eight-track, cassettes and even CDs. When we went digital these constraints were no longer with the media, but the network and its capacity to transfer files. Now we have the cloud and super-fast connectivity and these has spawned streamed services such as Spotify and Pandora. 

We now have to question the definition of recorded music itself.

During the vinyl evolution the LP, or album, came into its own and moved its content from a collection of tracks to the concept album. Then digital allowed users to pick and mix their own playlists of tracks. No longer did they have to buy the whole album, or the unwanted ‘B’ side, they could just buy what they wanted and create their own mix playlists. The only time constraint was with the consumer. We often refer to this as the ‘iTunes moment’.

However many producers wanted to restrict sharing, copying and imposed unsociable DRM locks on the material. Thankfully, the threat of Napster, Kazaa and bit torrent made them see sense and music freed itself from proprietary formats and went MP3. MP3 wasn't the best format but it was the common one all could adopt.

The neutralization of the format has enabled us all to copy and share our music. We now question whether we have to even own all our musi, or build big repositories of music we hardly even listen to. Faster communications allows us now pull down the music on demand from the cloud and even enjoy it on or offline. This has changed not only how we collect our music, play it, but also the payment model itself. We are now moving from pay to own to pay to play and subscribe to as much as you want.

Unless you went to a live concert, music pre-digital could be described as ‘one dimensional’ and that dimension was pre-recorded audio. MTV was one of the pioneers that introduced us to the music video, but again it was initially constrained and supplied on a broadcast or CD/DVD format. You could buy music video and later CDs but the opportunity to recreate the concert and live music was heavily reliant on a film and sound crew, and limited it to the bigger and wealthier artists.

Digital cameras and video not only spawned YouTube, they smashed the ‘packaged’ music video and concert. YouTube  Myspace, Facebook etc have democratized the music video and made it possible for everyone to record and share live music. It is now claimed that more kids today watch their music than listen to it. No longer is the music video restricted to the ‘haves’ it is now available to anyone with a smartphone to create, record and share.

Musician and ex Talking Heads lead, David Byrne was one of the first artists to recognise this and open his concert performances by encouraging the audience to film it and post it on the net. In his book ‘How Music Works’ he says, ‘In the past, performers would at least try to limit amateur photographers and especially video cameras, but now that idea seemed simply ridiculous- hopeless. We realised there was a silver lining: they liked our show and their postings were functioning as free advertising. The thing we were supposed to be fighting against was actually something we should be encouraging. They were getting the word out, and it wasn’t costing me anything. I began to announce at the beginning of the shows that photography was welcome, but I suggested to please only post shots and videos where we look good.’

People’s music taste is probably more eclectic than ever and no longer restricted to what they hear on the radio or the top ten. The big artists still dominate the market but the music tail grows ever longer.

It’s often hard to accept that up until 1878, music was restricted to the live performance, be it in the home, on the streets, in bars and clubs or in concert halls. The original recorded format was restricted in both length and quality. Sousa feared, that we would see the recording as the master and the live performance as secondary and this has largely prevailed over the last century. However, today digital and communications have brought us full circle and the only constraint is often the ability to discover that something you had never heard before. Live, uncensored music can be created by anyone and delivered to potentially millions in real time.

Perhaps we will next address the 'dumming down' ,or restriction of the quality master tape by the format and await Neil Young’s Pono venture. What is interesting, is that in an emerging on demand world we will no longer have to replace our collection. It may be that MP3 becomes the free sub standard rendition whilst you pay for the quality one. Many will continue to search for the money but whatever happens this may be the case. 

So where is music going next? 

Music Industry Insights from David Byrne

Some interesting insights from ‘How Music Works’ by David Byrne. We may agree or disagree but should acknowledge an insider's perspective from a winner of Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe awards and member of  the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

We recommend the book as one all who read this blog should read.

‘This changing landscape is not necessarily bad news for music, and it’s not necessarily bad news for musicians, either. There have never been more opportunities for a musician to reach an audience, and that is what we have always wanted to do…Though the current situation is rife with new possibilities, the industry itself is less flush with money, so you have to learn to navigate some treacherous waters.’

You Tube and cellphones at concerts

‘Barely minutes after our shows were over, someone would announce that some of the numbers were appearing online. In the past, performers would at least try to limit amateur photographers and especially video cameras, but now that idea seemed simply ridiculous- hopeless. We realised there was a silver lining: they liked our show and their postings were functioning as free advertising. The thing we were supposed to be fighting against was actually something we should be encouraging. They were getting the word out, and it wasn’t costing me anything. I began to announce at the beginning of the shows that photography was welcome, but I suggested to please only post shots and videos where we look good.’

Owning Music

‘After years of hoarding LPs and CDs, I have to admit I’m now getting rid of them. I occasionally pop a CD into a player, but I’ve pretty much completely converted to listening to MP3s either on my computer or ,  glup, my phone! For me music is becoming dematerialised, a state that is more truthful to its nature, I suspect. Technology has brought us full circle.’

The impact of technology

‘Technology has altered the way music sounds, how it’s composed, and how we experience it. It has also flooded the world with music. The world is awash with (mostly) recorded sounds. We used to have to pay for music or make it ourselves; playing, hearing and experiencing it was exceptional, a rare and special experience. Now hearing it is ubiquitous, and silences the rarity that we pay for and savor.’

Music and Technology

‘After a hundred years we are heading back to where it all started. A century of technological innovation and the digitisation of music has inadvertently had the effect of emphasizing its social function. Not only do we still give friends copies of music that excites us, but increasingly we have come to value the social aspect of a live performance more than we used to. ..The technology is useful and convenient, but it has in the end reduced its own value and increased the value of the things it has never been able to capture or reproduce.’

Recording

‘Recording, which used to be basically the most important thing one did as a professional musician, is increasingly just part of the larger package.’

‘The cost of making records can now be so low …that the average musicians can pay for it out of their own pockets. This means that when the time comes to think about distribution arrangement, you aren't belonging to anyone. You don’t come to the table already in debt.’

The music business

‘In fact, the music business is hardly even in the business of producing music any more  At some point, it became primarily the business of selling objects – LPs, cassettes, CDs in plastic cases – and that business will soon be over.’

www.davidbyrne.com

'How Music Works'

'How Music Works' is not an autobiography on the life of musician and writer David Byrne, but is what it says on the tin, an insight into how music works. It is told by an artist who has lived they highs and lows, through one of the most turbulent periods of music, where music itself has gone through many changes. During these last decades how the industry invests and rewards its artists, how music is recorded and now captured, how we as consumers pay for it, listen to it , share it and value it and above all the way artists earn from it have all have changed.

Many have written about the changes in the music industry and wider media market but few have the breadth and depth of Byrne’s experience, or importantly the ability to communicate it. Byrne has walked the walk from the post punk New York club scene, the highly acclaimed Talking Heads, his collaborations with Brain Eno, his collaborations with new world music, the tours the hype and the rock and roll. But Byrne doesn't talk about the sensational but about music, the economics, drivers, changes and it recent recording history. He does so from often insightful experience and by disclosing the facts behind some of the commercial models as applied to his own music and comparing these to alternative models.

Frank, insightful and thought provoking ‘How Music Works’ should be a ‘must read’ for all artists, writers, producers and those associated with music and media.

Over the next week we shall be sharing some of Byrne’s thoughts from the book and if you are interesting in this blog you should be reading the book. 

A review and interview in Wired Nov 2012

David Byrne: Talking Ahead

We often look at individual promotions and see an innovative approach or some joined up thinking and Bicycle Diaries from David Byrne is just that.

After the hardback, Byrne has now released an audio in a podcast-style which exclusively available from his site. He can mix in both music and narration by himself and further extend the experience by adding in background noise to create a radio atmosphere and collector’s piece. He also sells it by the chapter unabridged and realised that each chapters could stand by themselves. Not to be undone he also has the tee-shirt!

Never one not to push back boundaries Byrne calls it a complete DIY project.