But I Want It Now!
There's been a lot of talk lately about the evolution of our "on demand" media world. It is nowhere near a new concept, as people have been talking about it for as long as stuff first started getting recorded. What's different now is the growth of broadband technology to that beautiful tipping point. My Tivo has a wireless card. Podcasts are now happening. We're actually moving beyond the nerd phase of this stuff and into the realms of the realistic celestial jukebox. The future is here, sorta.
Unfortunately, Television is still trapped in the time-contrained bubble as the networks refuse to release their control of Prime Time ad dollars. Even with Tivo and Netflix talking shop, the market for selling movies still depends on the big releases and the huge DVD market. As a result, I don't think we'll be seeing the full scale on-demand menu being used on a widespread level in the next year.
I hope I'm wrong, because I want it, especially after discovering that my Tivo deleted the West Sing Season premiere before I got home. Why couldn't I just dial up a list of all episodes for my favorite shows and choose to watch it at that moment, streaming, right into my living room? I just bought the Bob Dylan movie I missed because I didn't know about it beforehand. Why should time matter? I'd pay for a time machine. Oh well, at least there's bit torrent, sometimes.
Back to the tunes - I find myself having several music listening habits. I'll download an entire show from Archive or BitTorrent and listen when I want later on iTunes of Windows Media Player (WMP is required since iTunes likes to freak out my computer most of the time). I'll stream something on Rhapsody, or I'll tune into Internet Radio Stations through my SoundBridge from home (also connects to Rhapsody & iTunes!). I haven't fully adopted the podcasting revolution yet, but it will likely take hold within the next few months as I clean up my iPod.
It all really depends on my mood. If I have a song in my head or I want to hear something right away, I'll do something different than if I want to re-live a specific show or see what all of the hype is about from one I wasn't at but everyone is talking about. Even more different is if I just want to casually listen to songs that someone I know and trust have programmed for me, or just don't know what I want to listen to at all.
The beauty is not only the choice of selection, but choice of medium and how it is delivered. Do I always want to be in control? Sometimes I don't know what I want. Different options for different times, and delivered to me the way I trust that they'll work for me. The choices in both content and delivery are, it seems, unlimited.
It is all evolving extremely fast and new technologies are enabling new delivery systems to pop up everyday. Napster blew it all open, Apple brought the MP3 player into the mainstream and iTunes legitimized online sales. Rhapsody showed you a window into the all-you-can eat universe and Podcasts gives you the on demand radio show option you were probably going to want sooner than later.
As it all continues to evolve, I believe that the delivery systems, which we'll likely see continue to expand and consolidate even more in the near term, will continue to grow to suit the various desires of the listening community. As a result, the art of new discovery will change as new technologies enable us to share music (and information) in new and exciting ways.
In the past, radio dominated this "break a band" relationship and controlled our airwaves until a friend bought a new album and invited you over for a listen. 10 years ago I was sending blanks and postage across the country to a taper who rocked out at last week's show. Today, it is mp3 and bittorrent downloads.
You hear about a new band on a website, message board or from a friend, download a song, enjoy it and tell a friend, all within minutes. The distribution systems are already built, and now it's just up to the content owners to give us all the content we can eat the way we want it.
I want to know:
- Where do you discover new music?
- What Internet Radio stations do you listen to?
- Where do you think this is all headed?
Unfortunately, Television is still trapped in the time-contrained bubble as the networks refuse to release their control of Prime Time ad dollars. Even with Tivo and Netflix talking shop, the market for selling movies still depends on the big releases and the huge DVD market. As a result, I don't think we'll be seeing the full scale on-demand menu being used on a widespread level in the next year.
I hope I'm wrong, because I want it, especially after discovering that my Tivo deleted the West Sing Season premiere before I got home. Why couldn't I just dial up a list of all episodes for my favorite shows and choose to watch it at that moment, streaming, right into my living room? I just bought the Bob Dylan movie I missed because I didn't know about it beforehand. Why should time matter? I'd pay for a time machine. Oh well, at least there's bit torrent, sometimes.
Back to the tunes - I find myself having several music listening habits. I'll download an entire show from Archive or BitTorrent and listen when I want later on iTunes of Windows Media Player (WMP is required since iTunes likes to freak out my computer most of the time). I'll stream something on Rhapsody, or I'll tune into Internet Radio Stations through my SoundBridge from home (also connects to Rhapsody & iTunes!). I haven't fully adopted the podcasting revolution yet, but it will likely take hold within the next few months as I clean up my iPod.
It all really depends on my mood. If I have a song in my head or I want to hear something right away, I'll do something different than if I want to re-live a specific show or see what all of the hype is about from one I wasn't at but everyone is talking about. Even more different is if I just want to casually listen to songs that someone I know and trust have programmed for me, or just don't know what I want to listen to at all.
The beauty is not only the choice of selection, but choice of medium and how it is delivered. Do I always want to be in control? Sometimes I don't know what I want. Different options for different times, and delivered to me the way I trust that they'll work for me. The choices in both content and delivery are, it seems, unlimited.
It is all evolving extremely fast and new technologies are enabling new delivery systems to pop up everyday. Napster blew it all open, Apple brought the MP3 player into the mainstream and iTunes legitimized online sales. Rhapsody showed you a window into the all-you-can eat universe and Podcasts gives you the on demand radio show option you were probably going to want sooner than later.
As it all continues to evolve, I believe that the delivery systems, which we'll likely see continue to expand and consolidate even more in the near term, will continue to grow to suit the various desires of the listening community. As a result, the art of new discovery will change as new technologies enable us to share music (and information) in new and exciting ways.
In the past, radio dominated this "break a band" relationship and controlled our airwaves until a friend bought a new album and invited you over for a listen. 10 years ago I was sending blanks and postage across the country to a taper who rocked out at last week's show. Today, it is mp3 and bittorrent downloads.
You hear about a new band on a website, message board or from a friend, download a song, enjoy it and tell a friend, all within minutes. The distribution systems are already built, and now it's just up to the content owners to give us all the content we can eat the way we want it.
I want to know:
- Where do you discover new music?
- What Internet Radio stations do you listen to?
- Where do you think this is all headed?
posted by Andy at
11:26 PM
<< Home