the future is unwritten...

The Music Business in 2010

unwrittenfutures — Mon, 31 May 2010 12:52:57 +0000

Great article here from Gert Leonhard who coined the phrase “Data is the new oil”.

Seven years on and still the music industry is chasing after some (if not all) of these 8 points, what they all need to realise (of the ones that are still in existence) that the glory days are over, and unless you want computer industry to control music in the future – best get your finger out and start working out how best to implement these now.

http://ht.ly/1RZno

WordPress on the iPhone

unwrittenfutures — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:26:24 +0000

Testing the application on the iPhone…and eager to see the results!

HMV Buys Fopp

unwrittenfutures — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 13:03:15 +0000

Hot off the presses is the new that my best loved retail shop will make a return, after the announcement that HMV has bought the Fopp brand. What shops will be reopened remain to be seen, but Edinburgh and Glasgow have both been mentioned along with Covent Garden.

Will be interesting to see how HMV will run their new baby..

Oh..they’ve also got the website back up again.

Lyrics for Free…er no..

unwrittenfutures — Thu, 31 May 2007 11:51:39 +0000

Ever wondered where to get your lyrics for your latest downloads? Well apart from the fansites out there apparently this is the next battle on the horizon that the record companies have decided to get involved in…

The Guardian today reports that with the opening of the new iTunes Plus software – we could be soon getting these as part of the download file. Yes sure these lyrics are available now and you have to painstaking find them through Google (then singing along to the wrong lyrics invariably)..but these sites could find themselves with “cease and desist” letters soon and therefore ultimately closed down.

Whilst it is the right of Record Companies to protect their assets – and more specifically the publishing rights – to call them “thieves” is only showing their contempt to their public.

It’s the publishing rights that are the focus of the EMI buy-out, and the current Terra Firma bid believes that they are the real “jewel in the crown” to the future success of the company. Where that leaves the recorded music part of the business is the only question…

“Goodnight Vienna”

unwrittenfutures — Thu, 31 May 2007 07:59:29 +0000

Well who else watched the Scotland game and was not surprised (like millions of others no doubt) for SkySports to use the above at the end of the game? It got me thinking, what could they have used instead that was a bit more cerebral? I bet John Colquhoun would have come up with something stimulating.

why the name?

unwrittenfutures — Mon, 28 May 2007 08:55:48 +0000

This my first attempt at a blog so it was important to have a name for it… it’s influence comes from one of the UK’s most influential songwriters (alongside Mick Jones of course!), and the recent Julien Temple film called the “The Future is Unwritten“.

The name encaptures the uncertainty (and for me excitement) of the Internet, but it’s unfortunate the record companies never embraced it when Napster was showing them the way..

With this being the 31st Anniversary of Punk – it’s fair to say the Internet is the new “Punk”. So sit back whilst I bring you my own take on music and the Internet…and maybe some other things along the way.