See the video.

How did they make this list? Could it have been Lolapoloza?

Imagine the ultimate execution of the long tail in music.

First:
Every track published would be available to purchase via download–at customized levels of compression. Infinite supply.

Second:
You would be able to expose your music collection, playlists, blog entries, etc, as navigable items for purchase — where you take a variable cut of profits. Incentive to sell.

Third:
Discount tools would exist between publishers and sellers that allow for variable incentive arrangements based on conversion. The more demand you create for publishers the more you get paid.

Fourth:
The music is free from DRM and licensed for use in North America, flowing out to all populated countries. Item 2 and 3 help create checks and balances from widespread illegal file sharing.

Fifth:
You could find new music in multiple ways, suited to you. This would be accomplished via collaborative filtering, friend recommendations, related artists and tracks, tagging, folksonomies, genres, moods, etc.

Just rambling these off–but for a purpose. Burn Lounge seems to be at the front of something like this… however, without a change in the user experience, they are doomed to fail.

Read more on navigating to nothing.

(more…)

I’ve been watching Rockstar Supernova over the last five or six weeks. I was surprised by both the quality of the performances, but also how much I like the band members, notably Gilby and Jason. Then, as the votes started coming in, and I started to see who was in the bottom three in votes, I started to question the premise. Then, last night, Tommy Lee made a comment about the fans voting and buying tickets, so they had to listen to the votes.

I know there are issues with the voting system already–and there has been controversy around the system during American Idol seasons. I think there is another more simple question to be answered. Are Rockstar viewers, and more so, the voters, Rockstar Supernova fans? If the show’s live audience is representative of the viewer base, I’d say definitely not. If Supernova is looking for an Audioslave version of Motley Metal Roses, I don’t think they’re watching the show, and I surely wouldn’t trust them to be voting multiple times for their favorites.

I’ll keep probing on this one for hard numbers–but my take: Rockstar Supernova is good evidence of the disconnect between TV audiences, participatory audiences (go with your web2.0 badness!), mobile, and web users. Then lay a taste/preference overlay, ROCK, over all that. It’s a recipe for mediocre… but I guess it is good entertainment. Just not the way to do a rock audition.

A note from the author: I thought the content of this post would clearly indicate this was a work of fiction… but the web has never been good at capturing irony. It has been dugg… and rumors have begun. I must be watching too much Colbert. Regardless, I can dream of a better iTunes–one that takes advantage of many of the features something like last.fm could enable. Read on. And as you read, imagine the voice of Colbert reading this to you… Further updates will be added to the end of the post.

In a completely unexpected move, Apple insiders say they have quietly acquired the social music site last.fm. What can we expect from the acquisition? A user friendly iTunes. Here are some of the new features iTunes will roll out:

SmartTransitions
Track sequencing algorithms will tap in to the collective dj prowess of the masses. Sequencing of songs will be rated based on how many users play tracks adjacently in playlists, etc, with appropriate weighting of best rated playlists, most novel combinations, and other methods not yet disclosed.

GenreFolksonomies
No longer will iTunes tracks be chained to single categories. Users will be able to create multiple tags across all track variables, as well as at the album, artist, and playlist levels. This intelligence isn’t tied to individual users either.

SocialMeta
Users will be able to share meta tags on all tracks and music. Find groups and users who have meaningful tags–adopt them based on the same smart playlist selection criteria and up the intelligence of your track data in a few clicks.

iMixCasting
No longer are your iMixes just a vehicle to promote sales of files on iTunes. Make your smart playlists podcasts and streaming stations automatically. Users subscribe and tag your casts and stations.

PersonaSettings
The magic of the new algorithms won’t just be social, you’ll also be able to use them to gain better intelligence about your own listening habits. Let the software create your listening personas automatically, or define your own through mood, context, etc. All iTunes settings get stored in the personas including track display variables, equalizer settings, airtunes destinations, and playlist and track tag criteria/filters.

PodTagging
Another useful new feature comes via the iPod. If the iPod is your primary music player you’re currently not capturing a good amount of meta data for your tracks. New iPod software will allow you to quickly tag and rate anything being played–including video, podcasts, playlists, and tracks.

We’ll share more information as it comes in.

Update 2: A couple forums chat about this as well. Interesting take on this post. I’m lucky I didn’t post it during the week. This makes me wonder how the majority of people read blogs. That’ll be for another post.

I’ve been lost… in the latest Murakami. I’ve been lost as a DEWNster. As well, I’ve found my time caught in Gary Benchley, Making Meaning, and The Shape of Time.

I’ve been in Lost Cities, Lost Towns, and Lost–the ARG.

Never fear. Fulminator will return. I’ve got the Intonation Festival June 24th and 25th and the Pitchfork Music Festival July 29th and 30th to look forward to. Both within a 5 minute walk from my home.