Everything You Need to Know About the Future Of Music

In the past week, I've had the chance to take in both the National Summit on Arts Journalism at USC Annenberg (via webcast) and the Future of Music Coalition's three-day Policy Summit (in person, and this one included a two-hour round table on the "Critical Condition" as well--and they let me play too!--so I feel like I doubled down in that department).

Anyway, it was an eye-opening, career-examining, industry-evaluating set of events, and though being a "music" "journalist" sort of feels like standing on the decks of two sinking ships in this economic environment, I ended up really jazzed about the field because of how passionately people create, consume, and connect over music these days. Sure, making a living wage and having health care are not small concerns, but if those first pieces aren't in place, we are surely lost on the rest of it, so I was encouraged.

Now, on to the things I learned about, or learned more about, that you might find useful in your own life and work:

1. Need money? Try Kickstarter

What does that do, you ask? Kickstarter is "is a funding platform for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors, explorers..." I personally know at least one composer who successfully used this platform to raise the funding he needed to make a record.

Think this can't possibly work? Seriously, none of these videos make you at least consider opening your wallet? Not even Allison's?:

2. Need dynamic multimedia? Meet Sophie

Love all the crazy multimedia content out there but feeling technically under-skilled to put it all to use in the digital realm? There's an app for that! Well, actually not an app, it's a whole set of software tools and it's really for educational institutions to use, but I see a wider application of this kind of product coming down the pike, don't you? Go ahead and dance about architecture!

3. Need new music? Get ready for Spotify

Not yet available in the US (licensing deals still to be done), it's the streaming music service Europe is abuzz over that's completely legal and completely free (ad supported). Subscribe for extra bells and whistles and to avoid the ads. I tried not to get sucked in as Spotify's founder and CEO Daniel Ek spoke to the crowd, but he was just so,...so rational in all his answers about why Spotify was successful, what it would offer users directly and what it would partner with others to do. I couldn't help myself, I was completely mesmerized.

Also:

1. Al Franken is still bringing the smart and funny, even though he is now a serious Senator dealing with lots of heavy issues.

2. Music journalists: You are only worth the audience you bring.

3. Facts and figures courtesy Ariel Hyatt via Greg Kot: "U.S. album sales in 2008: More than 115,000 albums were released, but only 110 sold more than 250,000 copies, a mere 1,500 topped 10,000 sales, and fewer than 6,000 cracked the 1,000 barrier."