Music Data Confessions of a Tagaholic
Bandcamp added artist/song tagging to its slew of features yesterday, and hopes are high that more social music features are in store. As a self-professed tag-a-holic I’m pretty stoked about the news, and especially so because I had emailed them suggesting a tagging feature. Bandcamp artists can now list themselves in up to five genres, they can add their location, and they can add specific traits to individual tracks in the form of tags.
Social Rocks. Mobility Rolls. Music Trends 2009–2010.
Pandora is blowing music consumption off the grid. Myriad digital choices are sending audio junkies into sensory overload—music wants to be everywhere. The stage is lit—music has always been social, and the web continues to make it even more so. Communication is on the rise.
2009 Music Website Heat Map
Based on estimated traffic data from compete.com, this visualization compares November 2009 website visits for 27 popular, legal, music stream-or-download destinations. The heat map is scaled—larger map areas represent higher website traffic. Green indicates positive growth in 2009. Red indicates negative growth in 2009. Hold your mouse over each section for stats on each site.
Lala, Apple, Mobile Music, and Cloud-Based Streaming
Tweets about Apple acquiring Lala have been flooding Twitter for 3+ days now. A number of sources have provided news and analysis on the acquisition. Personally I think Apple aims to move iTunes to the web in an effort to control mobile cloud-based music streaming via iPhones and iPods. Mobility is paramount, and I think that buying Lala was a sound move for Apple.
Who Pays For Music Downloads, Seriously?
It’s 2009. Why are people are still paying for mp3 downloads when there is an abundance of awesome music available for free? Digital music is becoming more free by the minute. There is music that you can download for free—legally or illegally—and there is music that you can stream for free. I support bands that are giving their tracks away for free.
How Do You Discover New Music?
While all of us on planet Earth are different, many of us here share the desire to discover cool, new music. But how exactly do we do it? I brainstormed with some friends to think of all the ways in which we discover music. I’ll share the ideas we came up with, and hopefully you can share your favorite ways in the comments.
