It’s going to be one of those post-and-run sort of days. We have yet to comprehend why people hold meetings first thing in the morning, but, as we contemplate the alternatives, there seems to be little choice. You certainly can’t do it at the end of the day, what with people thinking they have personal lives. You can’t do it in the middle of the day, what with lunch being one of the three most important meals. You can’t do it at eleven in the morning, what with everyone figuring that to be the optimal meeting time.
That leaves poor, underappreciated morning. So let us contemplate music for a moment. We’ve spoken about the Litblog Co-Op and the power of the little guy to do big things. Other entertainment industries have much in common with publishing, so we like to look at what works there and what doesn’t (happily, there’s as much wrong in music and movies as there is in publishing).
Music for Robots is trying an interesting experiment — producing a CD filled with music the writers like. Featuring unsigned bands and an eclectic mix of songs, the CD will bring exposure to a slightly different audience than the regular readers of the blog. Will charging for music work? That remains to be seen. It’ a crowded marketplace, and innovation matters.
It also helps to remember that free isn’t always a bad thing. You have to grab consumer attention somehow. Tossing thoughts into the collective unconscious helps.
One difference between peer-to-peer networks and blogs is that while the former depends on anonymity, the latter fosters a sense of community. Most bloggers exhort readers to buy the CD’s of bands they like, and their enthusiastic posts can bring prominence to bands that otherwise might not get much attention.
