The Future of Music: Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution

by Dave Kusel and Gerd Leonhard

My rating: 8/10

I purchased this book at Seatac airport on my last trip to London. I didn’t get a chance to read it on that trip, so it got added to the pile of stuff to read. I finished reading it today, and really enjoyed it. I’ve never been a great fan of purchasing digital music — ripping a physical CD is far less restrictive in usage and far better in terms of quality. Spending enough time doing this over the last few years has raised largely unanswered questions in my mind about the music industry and practices and future. I was hoping this book would provide insight and perspective, and it has. The authors have a clear idea on the direction that the industry is heading, and provide many interesting insights on the industry’s reluctance to change and why their long standing business models are slowly falling apart.

This book makes powerful arguments for consumer-focused change in the music and recording industries. Change is coming, and soon — the growing popularity of digital music and the closure of major music stores such as Tower Records is just the beginning. Though I finished the book skeptical on their plan for music “running like water” as a public utility, I found the discussion intriguing, and I doubt that I’ll look at the industry the same way again.