(where voldy went to school after hogwarts &) the fate of musicians

A couple of days ago the New York Times published, "Merely Human? That's So Yesterday", and it caught my attention. The article profiles Singularity University and its discussion about how technological advancement will change the future of humanity. The program includes courses on nanotechnology, artificial intelligence and robotics, synthetic biology, space sciences, medicine and neurosciences, and immortality.

Writer for gizmodo.com, Kyle VanHemert, sums up Singularity U nicely: it's "basically some of the smartest people on the planet having the same discussions you did when you were stoned in college. But at this school, the participants in that conversation are the rare individuals with the intellect and wherewithal to make those ideas a reality."

Voldemort probably would've loved SU. He'd major in immortality. He'd fit right in with the super geniuses. After all, he did "great things. Terrible! Yes... but great."

&&&

In Chapter 5, Lanier discusses the fate of musicians as the world changes with technological advancements. There are hundreds of thousands of musicians hoping to be discovered on YouTube and Myspace. Many of these people want to be musicians for the wrong reasons: not because they are talented or passionate, but because they want to get attention and make millions. Yes, we (regular people) appreciate the entertainment industry, but I believe that the payscale for celebs needs to be reevaluated anyways. Maybe with artists making less money on music, it will discourage the people more interested in the money and glamourous lifestyle than actually creating music and performing for fans.

There will always be music. I'll always be able to get it. However, it might not be prepackaged or easy to find. I think of it sort of like a comparison between a chain clothing store and a vintage shop. In chain clothing stores, there are racks of clothes presented in an aesthetically pleasing and organized way. There are different sizes and colours, so everyone can have their own. There are mannequins to show you how the pieces might go together. There are new lines to tell you what will be cool this season. You are guaranteed that every store will be pretty much the same.

Vintage stores, instead of having mass produced and easy to find clothes, are all different. Some are more organized than others. Some carry only designer clothes in beautiful condition, while others have pretty much everything. They don't have sizes and colours for everyone. Normally, you have to search through racks and bins of clothes to find something that a) you like, and b) fits you.

The online music scene is kind like a crappy vintage clothing store: they accept donations from anyone. This music is not made for the masses. It is not organized. You need to have a lot of time to search through myspace profiles and youtube pages to discover new music. When searching for vintage clothes, you have to sift through a lot of crap to find something great. But, in both cases, when you make that discovery, it's awesome. Finding music on your own that you like is rewarding somehow. It's something the radio or Billboard 100 didn't tell you that you should think is cool. It's unique because not everyone knows the artist (and in the case of vintage clothing, where to get it).

Now, there are too many musicians for the average person (who isn't a University student looking for ways to procrastinate) to sift through and discover on their own. Most of them suck, and it's just easier to download mainstream stuff.

Lanier believes that the internet should be helping people “find new ways to get paid” and instead is causing people to have to run around in vans to go to gigs. I think that people running around in vans to play gigs are awesome and what music should be about (moreso than mansions, fancy cars and papparazzi anyways). While the internet has lead to 'vanity careers' for hundreds of thousands of wannabe musicians, it's also caused more musicians to share their talent. People don't have to rely on a major record label for exposure anymore.

I think that the music situation will become better. As record labels fail and digital music pushes cd's completely off the shelves, more discoveries of indie talent will be made. I think more people will rely on bloggers to sift through the garbage and discover new talent.