With summer musical festivals there’s still a lot to look forward to on the music scene in 2010. But this isn’t a collection of up-and-coming artists or a rant about Ticketmaster. Instead, it’s a collection of upcoming developments that will how we obtain and consume music- coming soon to a digital device near you.
Sharing all of your music across the internet to any device
Earlier this year, Google acquired Simplify Media in a move that will open digital syncing services to the masses. Simplify Media provided a service that let you seamlessly share music and photo libraries through the web.
By running the service on two computers, each other’s music collections would appear as a local iTunes shared library, even if each machine was thousands of miles apart. The service also allowed you to connect to libraries of up to thirty friends to stream all of their collections too. The real game changer came when the company released its iPhone application, allowing you to pull down your entire library wherever there was an internet connection.
This signaled a fundamental shift in media consumption: No longer was it the case that a device’s media capacity was limited by internal storage. As long as the device was online, it could pull down entire libraries of content. Storage space became irrevelant.
The service ceased in June and the software has been pulled from the website and Apple’s App store. It will certainly be interesting to see how Google, known for creating web-based solutions and shunning desktop programs, will implement this service. There’s speculation the company may incorporate the syncing technology into its own Android OS software but I’m hoping they maintain a presence across all platforms.
The next killer music application will be in the cloud
Google has been incorporating HTML5 to provide mobile and desktop experiences that mirror full desktop applications. Earlier this year, Google released a mobile-optimized version of their Google Voice service when the application was famously rejected from the App Store. New HTML5 features like Gmail drag-and-drop support demonstrate how close web experiences can mimic desktop apps.
In the music realm, it would be incredible if we saw a Google Music service sometime this year, allowing users to play and access entire music libraries, as well as libraries from all of their Gmail contacts, from within their browser window with no local media player required.
Similarly, Apple has been rumored to be working on a cloud-based iTunes service, signaled by the purchase of streaming service Lala earlier this year. Mixed with native iPhone support for streaming music through Dropbox and MobileMe, as well as a new billion dollar datacenter in North Carolina, Apple appears to be setting the stage for a new era of media streaming through the cloud.
Spotifiy looks to stream millions of tracks to your desktop and mobile- for free
Spotify will also be a big player once it debuts in the U.S. later this year. Tremendously popular in Europe, the service streams millions of songs to your desktop or mobile for free (although an ad-free premium service exists) was due to hit the U.S. at the beginning of 2010 but got held up due to licensing disputes with the big recording agencies.
Spotify’s site boasts millions of users, and its catalog of 8 million songs rivals that of iTunes. As with Simplify Media, Spotify’s service makes the need for local storage irrelevant. In the same fashion this generation sacrificed physical media, will the next wave of listeners forgo even digital copies in favor of free ad-supported streaming services? While it’s difficult to predict how the service will affect existing distribution channels, the service has been well-received in Europe since debuting in 2009. Demand is already increasing for the US version. Spotify-related forums and blog posts are inundated with workarounds to get the service operational by using a proxy service or UK-based credit card. While Spotify has taken measures to lock down these attempts, there may be 30,000 users in the US (although this is highly refuted by Spotify), including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerburg.
Revenue from Pirates in a Transformed Industry
As early adopters eagerly anticipate Spotify’s release, the biggest impact may be felt on those record companies responsible for delaying the service’s debut. A slick application and access to millions of songs already freely available could not only deter online piracy, but generate revenue based on the number of plays each song receives. By providing the end user with a simpler way to access music than even piracy offers, Spotify has the potential to transform the music industry.
The record labels are forced to walk a tight rope. On one hand, they can sell Spotify as a means of generating revenue from casual listeners who may otherwise obtain an album illegally. But they’ll have to be careful that the service won’t cannibalize existing digital channels such as iTunes or Amazon. While negotiations have stalled or outright failed, the service is long overdue for a U.S., it’s clear that incredible demand exists for legally streamed music.
A Facebook Music App Could Bring Streaming Mainstream
Not to be outdone, Facebook has also recently been rumored to be working on a similar music service. The company announced Spotify’s chief designer Rasmus Andersson will join Facebook this October, leading to speculation a music-based initiative may be the next thing the social media giant focuses on. With hundreds of millions of users, Facebook has potential to make a major play in the music industry, given the widespread adaption and user base that’s already comfortable sharing photos, interests and secret weddings. A Facebook music service could propel streaming music into the mainstream, much how iTunes transformed digital music in the early 2000’s.
Details from the big players in digital media are still developing but over the next year the way we interact with media will change in a big way. Streaming services will give access to millions of tracks without taking any space on your mobile phone or laptop. That cavernous hard drive sitting inside your computer might start to gather dust if you find it easier to stream albums and playlists (and soon videos and movies) instead of saving local copies. You could decide it’s easier to stream your entire iTunes library to your iPhone instead of picking and choosing what fits- although the need for a reliable data connection may make more than a few users hesitant to hope for this so soon. Whether you’re going through Bieber fever or loved Gaga at Lolla it’s clear that we’re about to see a lot of interesting innovations in digital music- with or without the Beatles.
Alan is the Business Development and Marketing Coordinator in our Chicago office.
