Music & technology: Thoughts, views and concerns on the threshold of a new century

MUSIC &TECHNOLOGY
Thoughts, views and concerns on the threshold of a new century.
Presentation:Antonis Plessas
Saturday, July 13, 13

Music is everywhere...
and in the Cloudin the form of applications

One thing remains consistent over the years and that is....
The genesis and power of creativity!

Music is the aural landscape of our lives
Its power transcends national, religious, ideological, cultural or heritage
boundaries and captivates the emotions of an universal audience.

Technology
Human Behavior
Culture
Business
Technology is
constantly and
irreversibly
affecting, formatting
and changing our
culture and habits.
The catalytic force of technological evolution

Music in the industrial Age:
Sound recording & reproduction
Recordings ﬁxed a musical performance in time.
They made it possible to shift both time and space for people,
so we could now enjoy music anytime and anywhere.

Record Labels - Publishing Houses
As the modern world evolved and populations increased, greater
organizational structures and divisions of labor became necessary
to manage the needs and wants of modern society.
More and more entities arose to mediate things to us.
In music this meant the rise of music publishers, record labels,
promoters, booking and other kinds of agents.

Music in the industrial Age: RADIO
With radio people could listen to and enjoy music together
in the comfort of their homes.
Radio transformed time and space and made it possible for huge numbers of
people to enjoy music that they might never have heard otherwise.

Music in the industrial Age: Television
In 1956, Elvis appeared on the Dorsey Brothers’ “Stage Show” and became an
nationwide sensation.This was the beginning of music marketing to the masses.

Music in the industrial Age: Vinyl & Tape
StereoVinyl LPs get introduced in 1958 and change the way music
was both delivered and enjoyed.
Vinyl LPs along with magnetic tape and radio crystalized an industry.

Artists write and perform their own songs
In 1964, a new band called the Beatles appeared on the “Ed Sullivan” show
and from then on, the music business would never be the same.

Advancements in technology
allowed creators to seek and achieve new ways of expression through experimentation.
Les Paul with his wife Mary Ford in their home studio during the 1940’s

Raymond Scott in his self-built 1950’s recording studio, NewYork City
Creators sought and achieved new ways of expression through experimentation

Paul and George with George Martin in the studio during the 60’s
Creators sought and achieved new ways of expression through experimentation

Synthesizers changed the way music was produced, adding a lot of new sounds to the palette.
MIDI brings a revolution in music making by transforming the way music was produced, mixed and distributed.
Sony and Phillips introduce the Compact Disc in 1982. Red Book specs didn’t provide for copy protection
The transition from analog to digital
A few years later Philips and Sony's Orange Book speciﬁcations enabled the ﬁrst desktop disc writing.

The Personal Computer enters into the marketplace. Music apps will transform it into a portable recording studio.

Ιn 1990The World Wide Web enters to market.
In 1998, the Moving Picture Experts Group present MP3 a lossy compression algorithm files
designed to greatly reduce the amount of data required to represent the audio recording and
still sound like a faithful reproduction of the original uncompressed audio for most listeners.
The MP3 Player: In 2001 Apple’s ipod changes everything.
(The first Mp3 player was manufactured by Korea's Saehan in 1998 and it could hold up to 8 songs).
In 1999 a young college student named Shawn Fanning invents the first
Napster software that allowed people to trade and share song files.

At the turn of the century, the record industry encountered a
Best seller book by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
When the combined use of several technologies allowed audiences
around the world to share the music they love over the internet,
the record industry wasn’t ready to adapt.
Creators, artists and labels were confronted with the consequences
of unprecedented economic crisis.

Easy to use
Today’s tools are:
Affordable
cover a great number of applications.
Portable

Can you?
function as your own Publisher, Manager, Booking Agent,Attorney, Publicist, Social
Marketing Manager,Technologist and still ﬁnd the time and energy to create?
With every new opportunity new challenges present themselves
Choose the right partners!
BEWARE: DIY doesn't mean DIAY (do it all yourself).

Creativity
Understanding and Knowledge of the craft
Expression
Ever wondered if and to what extent tools limit or enhance our:

The use of tools can’t be a goal in itself.Puttingtim
e
aside
to
getto
know
them
Exploringtheirsonicpossibilities
Experimenting in every musical direction
(form, melody, harmony, rhythm, performance, orchestration)
Use them creatively to serve your musical ideas by:

My approach in using technology within the compositional process:
Don’t let tools inﬂuence or even worse dictate a direction in the creative process.
Take time off and revisit your work.
Be ready at any moment to make changes or even throw away material and start all over again.

My approach in using technology within the compositional process:
Make sure your music can stand on its own merit.
Welcome as much input as possible.

and whenever possible...
Rehearse
Play
Record
LIVE with other musicians.
&
NeilYoung speaking.“Sound City” documentary by David Grohl.

fundamental changes in the way music is
Created Produced Distributed SoldPromoted
+MusicTechnology Telecommunications
=
In a nutshell:

compose - produce - record
perform - promote - address an international audience
explore new ways to monetize
In the age of internet independent artists around the
world have an unprecedented opportunity to...

Key Innovations the Internet Has Brought to Music

Scarcity economy is replaced by abundance economy.
Key Innovations the Internet Has Brought to Music

In the era of the Internet it won’t be an elite
that will decide what to serve the audience.
This time it’s the audience itself.And that changes all the rules.
Used to be
Now
Large companies & brands
Large companies & brands
Networked individuals
Networked individuals

Attract interest
Sustain attention
Win trust
“The Real Problem For Most Artists isn’t piracy, but obscurity”.
Tim O’Reilly.

BE TRUE TOYOURSELF AND MAKE THE MUSIC THATYOU LOVE.
GO OUT AND PLAY.
TURN PEOPLE ON TOYOUR MUSIC.
SPREAD ITYOURSELF.
RICK RUBIN LEGENDARY PRODUCER
in his interview with Dave Growl for
the documentary “Sound City”.
DON’TTHINK IT HAPPENS ANY OTHER WAY...

Thank you for your presence
Performing musicians photos by: Chris GoldNY
email: aplessas@otenet.grLinkdedin:Antonis Plessas Twitter: aplessas Facebook: plessas.antonis
MUSIC &TECHNOLOGY
Thoughts, views and concerns on the threshold of a new era

Music & technology: Thoughts, views and concerns on the threshold of a new century

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