Music Technology for Listeners and Musicians

Over the past few decades the relationship between music and technology has been fundamentally transformed the relationship between listeners and their music. It has also radically changed the nature of the music industry.

Perhaps the first book to look at early impact of the internet and digital technology on music was Sonic Boom: Napster, MP3, and the New Pioneers of Music by John Alderman, written nearly ten years ago.

Music downloading (legal or illegal) has become the norm for many music lovers and is seen by some as an alternative to homogenized radio industry. Quoted in Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music, songwriter and disc jockey Moby laments that these popular artists "have to fit a mold... if you're not a teen pop star, an R&B artist, a hip-hop artist, generic alternative rock band, or a female singer-songwriter, you might as well not even think about making records" (p. 9).

Ripped’s author, Greg Kot, traces these changes discussing pivotal moments like the December 1999 suit brought by the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) against Napster, the strong arm tactics they used against individual downloaders, and the opening of the online ITunes store on April 28, 2003. He also examines musical forms like mashups that are at the cutting edge both from a musical and legal point of view.

Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age by Steve Knopper traces this transformation of the music industry over three decades, often documenting the industry's miscalculations. He starts with the changes brought about by music video and compact discs, and continues to more recent developments like peer-to-peer sharing and portable digital music players.

William Duckworth’s Virtual Music: How the Web Got Wired for Sound takes a look at the rise of interactive musical technologies. He discusses innovative musicians of the digital age like John Oswald and Moby, as well as live interactive computer performance pioneered in the Bay Area by The Hub, and the creation of virtual instruments.

The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution by David Kusek and Gerd Leonhard notes that technology has made music more pervasive than ever. Examining the state of music technology and the music industry at the beginning of the 21st century the authors make forecasts for future business models of music.


iPod, Therefore I Am: Thinking Inside the White Box by Dylan Jones looks at all of these developments from the music lover’s point of view. Jones admires the inventors and marketers of the iPod’s realization that the experience they have made is "all about individuality and personal space" (p. 67). He writes that with this device he is able to go beyond simply passively consuming music to actively “curating” it (p. 21).

The Library also offers a number of books oriented toward musicians trying to make their way professionally in this new era. The Future of the Music Business: How to Succeed with the New Digital Technologies: A Guide for Artists and Entrepreneurs by Steve Gordon looks at issues like digital music law, licensing for new media, webcasting, plus online distribution and promotion. Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook: 201 Self-promotion Ideas for Songwriters, Musicians and Bands on a Budget by Bob Baker is a primer on marketing music online using resources like MySpace, Youtube, blogs, web design. Other guides for musicians who want to promote their music using social networking tools includes MySpace For Musicians: The Comprehensive Guide to Marketing Your Music Online by Fran Vincent and MySpace Music Profit Monster!: Proven Online Music Marketing Strategies! by Nicky Kalliongis.

Reading list:

Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age by Steve Knopper (Free Press, 2009).

The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution by David Kusek and Gerd Leonhard (Berklee Press, 2005).

The Future of the Music Business: How to Succeed with the New Digital Technologies: A Guide for Artists and Entrepreneurs by Steve Gordon (Hal Leonard Books, 2008).

Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook: 201 Self-promotion Ideas for Songwriters, Musicians and Bands on a Budget by Bob Baker (Spotlight Pub., 2007).

iPod, Therefore I Am: Thinking Inside the White Box by Dylan Jones (Bloomsbury, 2005).

MySpace For Musicians: The Comprehensive Guide to Marketing Your Music Online by Fran Vincent (Course Technology/CENGAGE Learning, 2007).

MySpace Music Profit Monster!: Proven Online Music Marketing Strategies! by Nicky Kalliongis (MTV Press, 2008).

Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music by Greg Kot (Scribner, 2009).

Sonic Boom: Napster, MP3, and the New Pioneers of Music by John Alderman (Perseus Pub., 2001).

Virtual Music: How the Web Got Wired for Sound by William Duckworth (Routledge, 2005).