The Future of Music – by Dave Kusek and Gerd Leonhard

The Future of Music book is available in various forms.

future of music

 

You can buy the book on Amazon.

 

You can purchase the audiobook from Audible.

 

You can listen to the book on iTunes as a podcast for free. Go to the iTunes store and search “Future of Music” podcasts and subscribe.

Here are a few of the reviews.

Publishers Weekly
Two innovators in music technology take a fascinating look at the impact of the digital revolution on the music business and predict “a future in which music will be like water: ubiquitous and free-flowing.” Kusek and Leonhard foresee the disappearance of CDs and record stores as we know them in the next decade; consumers will have access to more products than ever, though, through a vast range of digital radio channels, person-to-person Internet file sharing and a host of subscription services. The authors are especially good at describing how the way current record companies operate – as both owners and distributors of music, with artists making less than executives – will also drastically change: individual CD sales, for example, will be replaced by “a very potent ‘liquid’ pricing system that incorporates subscriptions, bundles of various media types, multi-access deals, and added-value services.” While the authors often shift from analysts into cheerleaders for the über-wired future they predict – “Let’s replace inefficient content-protection schemes with effective means of sharing-control and superdistribution!” – their clearly written and groundbreaking book is the first major statement of what may be “the new digital reality” of the music business in the future.

5.0 out of 5 stars THE FUTURE OF MUSIC IS NOW
Gian Fiero (Hollywood, California)

This book is so brilliant that it makes the vast majority of music industry books that are being published seem irrelevant. It discusses in detail, the reasons why the future of the music industry is headed into the digital/mobile entertainment era. It also provides statistical information that professionals, marketers, entrepreneurs, and educators can use constructively. Both Dave and Gerd (the books co-author), have their fingers firmly planted on current music industry activities and trends. They also possess and display a clairvoyant eye toward the future that offers beneficial insight and foresight to those who may not be aware of what this whole digital (i.e. independent) revolution is about, and most importantly, what it will entail to prosper in it. The book is easy to read, easy to understand and simply brilliant. If you buy just one industry book this year, this should be THE one. Buy it now!

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensible
Stephen Hill “Producer, Hearts of Space” (San Rafael, CA USA)

A stunningly candid source of concentrated, up to date insight about the music business and its turbulent transition into the digital era. This book tells it straight and will make the dinosaurs of the music industry very unhappy.

Like Martin Luther’s ’95 Theses’ nailed to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral, Kusek and Leonard drive nail after nail into the sclerotic heart of the old-fashioned music business. Their rational vision of the future of music rests on the idea of unshackling music from the hardcopy product business in a yet-to-be-realized era of open content licensing, facilitating sharing and communication among users, and growing the business to its full potential.

It provides as clear a vision of the future of the music industry as you will find, from two writers with a rare combination: a solid grounding in the traditional practices of the music business, an up-to-the-minute knowledge of the new technologies that are changing it, and the ability to think through the consequences.

I’ve dreamed about a book like this, but thought it would be impossible in today’s hyperdynamic environment where every week seems to bring a breakthrough technology, device, or service. But by digging out the underlying trends and principles Kusek and Leonard get under the news and illuminate it. Along the way they provide a brilliantly concise history of the evolution of digital media.

I can’t think of any book more important for artists to get the full re-orientation they need to survive and prosper in the digital era. It’s no less critical for members of the music and broadcasting industries who need to consolidate their thinking into a coherent roadmap for the future. In a word: indispensible.

Other things to do from here:

We have a wide variety of blog posts and articles on the music business and the future of music. Please click on any of these links to read more.

How to Promote Your Music

How to License Your Music

How to get your Music on Spotify Playlists

How to book bigger and better Gigs.

Instagram for Musicians

We have begun to Podcast chapters from the Future of Music.

Periodically we will post a new audio chapter from the Future of Music book along with audio commentary from the authors on the latest happenings in the digital music space.

The Podcast is available as an iTunes subscription and as an RSS feed.  To access simply click on one of the Get the Podcast links on the right column of this blog.

We hope you enjoy listening and encourage you to join our mailing list to stay in touch.

From The Future of Music book

There is no direct proof that file sharing itself is hurting the music
industry. Record companies are touting this single-bullet theory to
explain away all the ingrained problems of an antiquated business
reaching the end of its life cycle. Indeed, one can argue that file
sharing is the cheapest form of music marketing there ever was.

Danny Goldberg, Chairman and CEO of Artemis Records, said, "I
don’t think there was any more downloaded song than 50 Cent’s [in
2003], and yet it sold nine million albums. So there were nine million
households that felt, despite the fact that they had seen the video,
despite the fact that they could get it online, that they wanted to
hear the full statement that 50 Cent was making."

File sharing should not be equated with the type of piracy that
is affecting the music industry on a global scale. Traditionally, in
the music business, piracy refers to the activities of organized
criminals who manufacture illegal copies of CDs, DVDs, tapes, and
records, then photocopy the covers and sell the illicit product on the
street for a steep profit. Pirates in many countries run pressing
plants that churn out CDs by the millions without paying the mechanical
reproduction licenses and mechanical license fees to the owner of the
master recordings. The International Federation of the Phonographic
Industry estimates that the number of illegally copied and/or
manufactured CDs increased 14 percent in 2002 and an additional 4.3
percent in 2003, to 1.1 billion units; and worldwide, 35 percent of all
CDs sold are illegal copies. It is estimated that the value of the
pirated music sold amounts to $4.6 billion, and these figures don’t
even include online file sharing or recording of audio streams. In 2002
the global recorded music market declined 7 percent to $32 billion, and
another 7.6 percent in 2003. Leaving file sharing out of the equation,
CD piracy as defined above, could account for the majority of the
decline in CD sales all by itself.

Read more from chapter 3 of the Future of Music here

"It is the year 2015 and you wake to a familiar tune playing softly.
It gets you out of bed and makes you feel good. As you walk into the
bathroom, your Personal Media Minder activates the video display in the
mirror, and you watch a bit of personalized news while you get ready
for the day. You step into the shower and your personalized music
program is ready for you, cued up with a new live version of a track
that you downloaded the other day. It is even better than the original
recording, so while you dress, you tell your “TasteMate” program to
include the new track in your playlist rotation.
       

You put on your new eyeglasses, which contain a networked audio
headset, letting tiny earbuds slip into your ears. You switch on the
power, and the mix that your friend made for you starts to play. Music
pours into your consciousness. It becomes yours."
      

Read the first chapter here
 

"It is the year 2015 and you wake to a familiar tune playing softly.
It gets you out of bed and makes you feel good. As you walk into the
bathroom, your Personal Media Minder activates the video display in the
mirror, and you watch a bit of personalized news while you get ready
for the day. You step into the shower and your personalized music
program is ready for you, cued up with a new live version of a track
that you downloaded the other day. It is even better than the original
recording, so while you dress, you tell your “TasteMate” program to
include the new track in your playlist rotation.
       

You put on your new eyeglasses, which contain a networked audio
headset, letting tiny earbuds slip into your ears. You switch on the
power, and the mix that your friend made for you starts to play. Music
pours into your consciousness. It becomes yours."
      

Read the first chapter here