Social Rocks.

The stage is lit—music has always been social, and the web continues to make it even more so. Communication is on the rise. People want to share and “everyone who shares is an influencer.” Music discovery is powered by your friends and by recommendation engines—the technology is only getting smarter, and, in their case, everyone who listens is an influencer. Web apps like Blip.fm and Twisten.fm rely nearly entirely on friend-powered playlists and realtime recommendations. Music streamers crave sharing, simplicity, and depths of controls for customizing their listening experiences.

Bloodred Erik Unedited by Luminis Kanto on Flickr

Shareability and community spin music in the social web. Pandora and Last.fm’s widely popular iPhone apps encourage users to share songs they like with their friends as they’re listening to them. Grooveshark’s web interface heavily encourages sharing, and its integration with Twitter via Twisten.fm and Tinysong have helped fuel its rapid growth in 2009. Nearly all of today’s free (ad-supported) streaming sites include links to purchase mp3′s via iTunes or Amazon. Vevo has them, but, YouTube—arguably the largest and most engaging music streaming site—does not.

The Delicious user base has a relatively high concentration of developers, designers, techies, nerds, etc.—individuals likely to have above-average internet savvy. As a group they are an acute filter for quality content. The chart below shows the popularity of the same music websites based on data from Delicious. You can see there is some divergence from the traffic heat map. The most notable difference is MySpace Music, which showed the highest website traffic, but shows the lowest Delicious rank. Pandora is the top-bookmarked music site on Delicious by far, with last.fm second, and Grooveshark climbing quickly. Pandora is also the top-ranked music site on Xmarks.

Musicians—many are at the center of the social mix lifecasting on Twitter, Ustream, YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace. They’re communicating like never before, and evolving the industry. Revenue comes in new forms. The urge to be “indie” is contagious. The amplifiers are on.

Mobility Rolls.

Seven of the top twelve are radio/streaming apps. But smartphones are not just for listening to music. Gigzee is an events app—a location-aware tool for finding shows/concerts in your area. With more people on smartphones, more people can take advantage of location-based services like this. Music creation apps like Virtuoso Piano, Drum Kit, freestyle, NLog Synth, Digidrummer, Looptastic, and Jamble Music Mashups are wildly popular. Every human is an artist in some way—as technology improves more people will find themselves creating, and collaborating remotely. Who’s at center stage now? Creative Commons-released music encourages open remixing via sites like JamGlue, ccMixter, Indaba Music, Jamendo, SoundCloud, and more. Maybe influenced by NIN, many musicians are releasing audio source files for open remixing, fan remix contests, remix apps, or fan music videos.

Dhani Harrison is a musician in his own right—his indie-rock band thenewno2 is featured in Rock Band with songs from their debut album, You Are Here. Note—any musician will soon be able to publish their tracks in Rock Band too via the Rock Band Network. In a Billboard.com interview Dhani said, “I did everything I could to not be a musician…I went to university (Brown), I worked as a designer, I competed in Olympic sport (rowing)…and I ended up being a musician. It’s in the DNA, I guess.”

But as Dhani explains to Conan, his paying job is designing videogames, and I suspect the music-gaming community is pretty happy with his efforts so far in making The Beatles Rock Band as genuine and fun as possible. His enthusiasm towards creating the game and his dedication to historical accuracy no doubt played an important role. Outside of the videogame, Dhani is striving to build a unique community for thenewno2 fans with their new website designed to deliver personal interactive video content via subscription and without depending on networks like Facebook or MySpace. In an article on Wired.com Scott Thill summarized, “The plan is comparatively simple: Compress and feed thenewno2’s output on video directly to its fan base, and they will come to support the artists and build a community.” In the same article Dhani told Wired, “Rather than have fans just leave comments on MySpace, they can have a personal connection to the band. When they see my profile live on the site, they can literally click me and ask me a question or two. It’s interactive blogging, but we also wanted to bring that actual visual context.” Now here’s some Rock Band action—Yomp by thenewno2:

This post is a follow-up from yesterday when we posted video footage of The Beatles Rock Band. You can see more articles about Rock Band at here. VirtualMusic.tv is seeking writers interested in music videogames and other topics. Please see our about page.

It looks like a new generation of Beatlemaniacs could be on the rise—wouldn’t you say? Thanks to YouTubers kevineseri0 and ponkiejp for the videos and to voteprime on Flickr for the peace sign photo displayed on the homepage. Thanks for watching—please share this post if you like it. :)

From early childhood we teach our children what is “right” and what is “wrong.” But we do not typically teach children that these are fluid terms. The lines are blurred, or as The Monkees would say, “Today, there is no black or white, [there are] only shades of gray.” As Wikipedia puts it, “Everything has both yin and yang aspects, which constantly interact, never existing in absolute stasis.” I think that to progress we need to teach ourselves to be more accepting of other people, more in balance, and less judging of right versus wrong.

flickr.com/photos/viciedo/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

There are many interaction-based influencers of moral values. Family, friends, school, religion, television, movies, videogames, music, and the internet all play a part today. Movies and television often emphasize right and wrong as viewers attempt to identify who is the “good guy” and who is the “bad guy.” But a distinction cannot always be made—blurred lines are more realistic, and more human. Think about reality television and its focus on people—does it break this convention? Unconventional twists and moral dilemmas are the reasons that the acclaimed drama series Lost is so popular isn’t it? Lost breaks boundaries by creatively blending black and white into gray. Many videogames also rely strongly on social behavior and moral values. Web-based videogames are even increasingly being used as a virtual platform for education—social education—seen through avatars and virtual worlds. Time no doubt plays a factor in shaping our morals as well. Laws have changed. Murder. Marriage. Slavery. Society continues to evolve, right? Or does little change in the grand scheme? How might social media, social gaming, reality TV, and virtual technology shape our moral values and our social evolution?

Note: This post is part of our new Education series where we look to explore the cyberculture surrounding modern education, videogame-based education, and virtual education technology.

SpaceJunky performed a magical, energetic show and even launched a couple of new songs which hadn’t been heard before. Shakti wore one of B@R newest designs which is exclusively available here at the Island. Purple Tennyo it is a real danski free flowing design. SpaceJunky’s lineup includes Zaphod Rahja on guitar, Zavier Corleone on drummer, and Shakti Cianci on vocals.

Simply put, it rocks.

The past few years have proven that music and videogames were destined for each other. But until now, the music in games was restricted to mainstream artists and tunes specifically licensed for the games. Rock Band Network is the first opportunity that allows anyone to get their music in the game.

Screenshot: Rock Band Network is located at creators.rockband.com.

This summer’s press about Rock Band Network hinted that it would become available by November. Currently the site introduces the steps involved in submitting tracks to the game—it provides detailed mix specifications and links to the free audio software necessary for producing tracks. Creators must sign up for the XNA Creators Club–Gold Membership to Xbox Live [currently $8/month or $50/year].

The influx of new music into Rock Band will help to further popularize the game, and I think Harmonix will see increasing domination in the music-gaming market. The artists whose songs are featured in the game will gain exposure and revenue from sales through the Network—according to Wikipedia artists will receive a 30% revenue share. In the interview below, Matthew Nordhaus, a senior producer at Harmonix, mentions that song pricing will vary from $1–$3. I would love to hear more pricing details if anyone can provide them. What is your take on the pricing and revenue share? Even without the revenue share I think Rock Band Network is a massive opportunity for independent musicians.

Once Rock Band Network is through its current, private beta phase, I’m going to attempt to produce a track for the game, and I’ll keep you informed as I learn more about the process. In the meantime, what do you think about Rock Band Network? How do you think it will affect our music culture? Do you think that gaming platforms will be the major outlet for digital music sales in the near future?

• When: October 3, 2009 at 3:00 PM PT
• Where: Second Life » Metverse Island

Above: SpaceJunky and Metaverse Island
Below: A video taste of SpaceJunky. [url]

Click to play

Above: A closer look at the architecture on Metaverse Island. VirtualMusic.tv/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

• When: September 18, 2009 at 7:00 PM PT
• Where: Second Life » SpaceJunky Island » Planet 7

Above: The Newly Renovated SpaceJunky Island

Description: On September 18th the Australian band SpaceJunky will have a big celebration at Planet 7 on SpaceJunky Island. The whole sim has been redesigned as a beautiful floating crystal city and SpaceJunky will perfom a concert at the main stage at 7pm. There will be other events that night too, and special freebies from the stores—including fashion designs exclusive to the island from Bare Rose and Solanges.

Source: spacejunkyinsl.blogspot.com

Cosmic Vision Music Video

Cosmic Vision is a music video featuring Shakti Cianci—from the band SpaceJunky—at the piano. It is from her solo, piano meditation album, “7 Tears of Tara”, by Crystal Gypsy. The video features a cameo by Avenue CEO Rusch Raymaker, as well as other AlphaCrew members.

SpaceJunky: RL Band in SL

SpaceJunky is a real-life band who have been performing live shows in the virtual world of Second Life. SL is about creating your dream, and the ability to creatively visualize a music concert is wonderful, as you can do things here you cannot do in RL.

All three members have major touring and recording credits to their names. Tania played keyboards on tour with Kylie Minogue, and cowrote the title track for Grammy-winning album Lesson of Love. Dan and Luke have toured and recorded with major artists as well. SJ‘s first album—Resident Alien—was recorded while they were all together in the USA and Australia with Grammy-nominated songwriter/producer Rafe Van Hoy. With the band living on different continents in different time zones, SL provided a way to perform simulated concerts and promote the album—available on CDBaby or iTunes.

Shakti discovered Second Life in 2006 when she came back from Tibet, where an oracle there told her SpaceJunky would be heard by many people and the album would be successful. When she came back she was researching an ancient Tibetan symbol and came across a blog called the Flying Monks here in SL who were rebuilding monasteries destroyed in Tibet during the cultural revolution.

SpaceJunky’s music is about cosmic unforeseen forces that connect people through energy and intention. They are a rock/pop band with a positive message of searching for cosmic truth and seeking to lengthen the space between thoughts. The band provides social entertainment by interacting and emulating what a concert by SpaceJunky might be like in RL. SL is about creating your dream, and the ability to creatively visualize a music concert is wonderful, as you can do things here you cannot do in RL. As Shakti says, “SL is a physical manifestation of a non-physical realm”, very Buddhist as the Dali Lama would say.

SpaceJunky Live in SL at JCNY in 2008. Photo by Izzy Cole. All rights reserved by Izzy Cole and SJ.

SpaceJunky have a production crew who help bring the concerts alive: Tommy Parrott (Lighting, Stage, and Pyrotechnics), Izzy Cole (Tour Photographer), and Bella Dutton (Virtual Music Publicist).

The concert performances in Second Life have complex, programmed equipment, such as pyrotechnics, and a custom-made, one-of-a-kind, lighting system by JB LiteSource. The realtime lighting effects for their shows include particle effects and a custom stage which looks like a spaceship. June Dion from Bare Rose also creates custom designs for Shakti to wear on stage—the most recent one being inspired by a Tibetan goddess for their SLB6 performance where they were invited to close the show.

Through the band’s growing popularity SpaceJunky have been featured on CNN International for new technology, and were approached by Sony Creative Software to do an Acid Planet remix contest for their song Gravitational Pull, which was brought into SL and Sony gave away a lot of RL prizes at the concert at SpaceJunky Island. They were also featured on the SL home page for being the first band to ever be featured on SL with audio. They have had RL radio play from the largest radio stations in Italy—including Radio Imago—as well as magazine covers, YouTube fans, and product endorsements.

The band have their own SpaceJunky Island which is featured in Showcase under Music, and designed by Shakti along with Dannon Robbiani, one of SL’s top builders. It is also home to their state-of-the-art Amphitheater built by Tommy Parrot. SpaceJunky’s popularity continues to grow. The strength of the band continues to change with new technology and new ventures that they are currently working on—including possible upcoming RL concerts. Stay tuned at alphacrew.ning.com.

As a club-goer in the game’s easy mode, you would be 21+ or 18+ depending on the country or venue rules. With your politeness and your ID, you would pass through the bouncer and get inside to have more interactions inside the venue or on the dance floor. In the advanced mode, you would be underage, and you would have to try to pass a fake ID, or invent a way in without one—a lie, another entrance, etc. Once inside you would be able to see, hear, move around, and interact just as you would in a real, live venue. You would get to witness an actual, or virtualized, video stream from the venue. The setting choices for the game might be bars, clubs, concerts, festivals, or any other type of music venue. They could be real or fictitious, and who’s to say what’s real? Level 1 could start on the city street outside a dive bar, and in the subsequent levels the player would work up to larger and larger venues.

As a bouncer in the game’s easy mode, you would have to be polite as you worked the door, checked ID’s, spotted fake ones, and greeted incoming club-goers. Bouncers would lose points for being rude, or for mishandling the crowds. In more advanced bouncer modes, you would have to responsibly prevent violent behavior, by pacifying out-of-control partiers without causing them any physical harm. As for the game levels, the bouncers could start out working for a dive bar, and work up to nicer and nicer jobs at different venues. Even job interview interactions could be simulated in the game.

Maybe you could not attend a real-life Radiohead show in London, but in VirtualVenue you could. Music would be featured throughout the game, and licensing would be paid to those real-life musicians whose songs and live appearances were used in the game. The company that produced this game could generate huge revenues by selling advertising to actual venues, and having them featured as game-setting locations with live, 3D, video feeds of the actual performances. With the game connected to the internet, and the touring artists in the game being real, ticketing companies could pay to have their gig listings in the game, which would increase actual ticket sales and further promote the artists and the venues. A third revenue stream for the game company could be selling subscriptions, of the behavioral data findings, to robotics developers, or to security industry professionals who would want to know all the latest security flaws and use that knowledge to tighten real-life security.

There are myriad ways to expand on all of these ideas. The game could work best in a mashup with social networks, and enable you to play with real people from around the globe.

I think that crowdsourcing videogame technology could lead to the training of real, digital bouncers—an idea that I don’t think is too bizarre. The VirtualVenue network could aggregate data about how players reacted in different situations, and help teach computers human-like behavior. The data crowdsourcing model is already widely used. For example the familiar reCaptcha essentially uses humans to teach computers to read our handwriting for the purpose of digitizing books. Crowdsourcing leads to open innovation, and we may not be far from crowdsourced, robot-teaching technology becoming a mainstream reality. This game, and others like it, could include physical and vocal input from the player, making the game feel more realistic, and opening doors to teaching robots our body language, and our spoken languages. It will be key that we maintain ethics and use this technology in smart ways, because we’ve all seen Terminator and can imagine how this sort of technology might explode. How can we ensure that the relationship between humans and computers remains symbiotic? Computers educated by humans…where might this lead?

Upcoming: We aim to look at this issue in reverse—how videogame technology might enrich our learning through virtual education—see virtualmusic.tv/education/