the album, the network, and the magazine are fading as concepts (the former faster than the latter), to be replaced by multimedia playlists cherry-picked and designed by individuals with the assistance of tastemakers and aggregators
Jeez, do you know how Orwellian you're making it sound? :wink:
I see the wink, but just in case you were at all serious -- this sceario is anything BUT Orwellian; it's liberating consumers from being tethered to any corporation's decision on how its content should be packaged. Steps toward an Internet of all killer, no filler.
and tethering them to "tastemakers and aggregators" who "cherry pick and design" playlists-- and just who might *they* be? Meet the new boss...
almost, but with one MAJOR difference.
The Tastemakers will not own the channels of distribution. The audience will become completely and absolutely UN-tethered. Anyone with a connection to the Net becomes a de facto stakeholder in the channel, and the Boss-ness of any New Boss becomes entirely dependent on his/her ability to sustain a listener/viewer-ship. No tether. The only way to keep your audience is to convince them to stay of their own free will.
Thirty years ago you had ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS & maybe an independent station of two. Twenty years ago Bruce Springsteen could sing about 57 channels. Today there are a couple hundred channels, depending on your subscription. But in the next 20 months (after which analog broadcasts cease & everyone will be getting their content digitally, like it or not) there will be at a minimum 10's of thousands of channels for video content (which exist NOW) and more likely 100's of thousands.
In that world there will be plenty of folks creating 'filler' from some-if-not-most people's viewpoint, but as long as they find at least one tiny corner of the audience that feels it is 'killer' they'll have a market. And if there's a market, then someone's gonna make some money. But again, if the distribution channel is completely open and public, then the people who make the money are largely going to be the creators, not the middlemen. And THAT'S the beauty of it.
