The iPod was a marvel: a sleek device that let you pocket your favourite tunes and roam around town. Today it’s more or less obsolete — but its impact has been evident.
The political economy of music distribution goes unchecked. Despite increased digital revenues, also across Africa, music markets remain characterised by bottlenecks between musicians and audiences.
Our favourite way of listening to music might have a bigger environmental impact than we think.
patat/ Shutterstock
In early September 1994, Whigfield released her single Saturday Night. It appeared from nowhere and echoed everywhere. As songs go it seemed quite innocuous. But its catchy wafer-thin sound actually represented…
Everyone’s listening, but few are buying.
karljonsson
Taylor Swift’s announcement that she was removing her music from the Spotify music service started a debate about the future of music. Swift argued that artists were not receiving appropriate compensation…
Electronica musician Chet Faker, on Future Classic distributed by Warner, is nominated for the ARIA’s album of the year.
EPA/ Anthony Anex
Since the Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) award nominations were released last week much of the talk has been about how 80% of the nominations for album of the year were released “independently…
Looks like the future – sounds like status quo.
EPA/Daniel Hambury
Late last week, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke released his new solo album – Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes – via BitTorrent, Inc’s “bundle” platform. Visitors to the service pay a US$6 fee, receiving the usual torrent…
The urge to make new music is alive and well among young people in the UK, but not always using conventional instruments in the classroom or school orchestra. A new survey of music education has found…
The advent of digital music caused a few headaches, but digital copyright issues go back further than that.
~lauren/Flickr
There’s been a bit of talk recently about getting internet service providers (ISPs) involved in the enforcement of copyright law. The federal Attorney-General and Minister for Communications recently released…
Pirates aren’t all that hard to please.
Philippe Put
Music piracy is a huge problem, if the music industry is to believed. But so far, very little has been done to stop it. We are, however, starting to get an idea of what motivates people to do it. If record…
Coldplay are in the middle of a spat between the biggest names in digital music.
EPA/Marcelo Sayao
Coldplay has barred music streaming service Spotify from adding their latest album Ghost Stories to its database, sparking a debate about the sustainability of the streaming model. Coldplay signed an exclusivity…
Mute Synth, a collaboration between Dr John Richards and Mute Records.
MuteSynth creditphoto GeorgeBenson Stereographic
Following the explosion of do-it-yourself music in the 1990s, aspiring DJs and producers have been spoiled rotten. Home studios are increasingly commonplace now that there is such a wealth of affordable…
Sing it loud in Brussels, listen to it all over Europe.
Lievan SOETE
Digital technology has transformed the music industry in Europe, making both distribution and piracy easier than ever. But regulators are yet to catch up with the pace of change, leaving them unable to…
Teenagers get a bad rap for zoning out on their iPods at every given opportunity, but they may not be the unsociable narcissists they are often portrayed as. In fact, they are often skilled users who manage…
Thom Yorke: not a fan of streaming services.
angela n
Peter Tschmuck, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
Spotify is currently the world’s largest music streaming service with 24 million active users. Founder and CEO Daniel Ek has stated that the company will pay out roughly $500 million to rights owners in…