Dave, just the mention of Napster or its many clones sends me ranting about the unethical attributes. So no real reference to anything that Kevin was saying. I wonder how the video rental industry will take to Napster style clones when broadband enables DVDs to be uploaded and downloaded at will. . . not to mention the movie industry and the Screenactors Guild. I can envision lectures from actors during every awards show, talk show, interview, etc. on the virtues of "paying" before downloading movies.
In regards to custom music. . . from an industry perspective, there will always be certain TV stations and video companies that will use music and stock footage without paying licensing fees. Play-by-number music will appeal to this minority. But by and large it won't change anything in the industry.
Then from a consumer perspective, I just don't think it will catch on, regardless of what the technology allows. I don't know anyone that is anxious to make changes to their favorite songs. . . let alone try to fix the songs that aren't their favorites.
So while all this new technology is interesting. . . [and it could mean some differences in how music is mixed and the various media in which it is sold], I don't believe that it will cause any significant changes in the way we enjoy our music. A few more options, certainly more convenience. . . but 5.1 mixes or extended frequency 24bit/192kHz recordings have been around a few years now and haven't caught on. The technology is certainly cool. But generally speaking, people are mostly overwhelmed by technology.
If anything, it might result in a recording whereby the listener [or their parent] could select the rating. . . Kids Version, Teen Version or Explicit version. Or perhaps even a selection on your CD/DVD player or streaming audio source, whereby in real time you could switch back and forth between the Producer's Mix, Artist's Mix, Rap Mix, Street Mix, Pop Mix or House Mix. . . .similar to the DSP/EQ selections on your receiver (which I never use).
Anything beyond that might appeal to teens, but I doubt will hit the mainstream. I don't envision people driving down the street reaching over to change the bass part from one performance to another. . . .or desperately needing to remove the background vocals . . let alone trying to piece together loops and bits to create their own tracks. It simply isn't practical.
As for virtual jukebox, when we recorded cassettes from our vinyl or CDs we edited out what we didn't like. . . making our own jukeboxes. So that isn't anything new either.
Bottom line: I don't envision the technology changing the way that the vast majority of people listen to or enjoy their music or how they watch their videos at any time soon. . . even though the technology already allows for dramatic changes.
We have a video that allows the user to branch off into different "extended" scenes. Even with a household of teenagers . . after 3 weeks with that video, nobody has even bothered to explore the extended branching offerings. Everyone just watches the movie as it was intended to be seen.
Rande Is |
