Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

(Berklee Press). For the next generation of players and downloaders, a provocative scenario from a music industry think tank. From the Music Research Institute at Berklee College of Music comes a manifesto for the ongoing music revolution. Today, the record companies may be hurting but the music-making business is booming, using non-traditional digital methods and distribution models. This book explains why we got where we are and where we are heading. For the iPod, downloading market, this book will explain new ways of discovering music, new ways of acquiring it and how technology trends will make music "flow like water," benefiting the people who love music and make music.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Acknowledgments (p. ix)
• Introduction (p. x)
• 1 Music Like Water (p. 1)
• A Digital Music Primer (p. 4)
• Music Today (p. 6)
• The Ubiquity of Water (p. 8)
• Utilities (p. 10)
• Music: A Product or Service? (p. 12)
• 2 Our Top-10 Truths of the Music Business (p. 19)
• 3 Futurizing Some Popular Music Industry Myths (p. 35)
• 4 The Future of Music Marketing and Promotion (p. 56)
• Traditional Radio: The Death of the DJ (p. 58)
• Internet Radio and Podcasting: The Infinite Array of Choices (p. 61)
• Satellite Radio: The Return of the DJ (p. 62)
• Music Television: What a Lovely Ride It Was (p. 63)
• Sponsorship: The Lure of Cool (p. 64)
• Direct Marketing: Knowing Your Customers (p. 66)
• Video Games: Targeting Players with New Music (p. 69)
• Cell Phones and Wireless: Direct Marketing on Steroids (p. 70)
• Marketing Lessons from an Unlikely Source (p. 72)
• 5 The Future of Music Distribution and Acquisition (p. 80)
• The Demise of the CD (p. 81)
• The End of the Replacement Cycle (p. 82)
• The Changing Face of Music Retail (p. 86)
• The Future of Music Retailing (p. 88)
• What Not to Do: The Criminalization of File-Sharing (p. 93)
• 6 The Digital Kids and the Changing Marketplace (p. 97)
• The 'Net Generation (p. 98)
• File-Sharing (p. 100)
• Too Much Money (p. 102)
• Mixed Messages: Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too? (p. 103)
• Oldies but Goldies (p. 104)
• Music Companies Must Embrace the Digital Future (p. 104)
• 7 A New Music Economy (p. 107)
• Long Time Gone: A Perfectly Broken System (p. 108)
• Pennies from Heaven (p. 110)
• Independent Labels (p. 111)
• Live Performance and Touring (p. 114)
• Merchandising (p. 117)
• Mixtapes, MP3 Blogs, and File-Sharing (p. 119)
• CD Pricing (p. 121)
• Singles Pricing (p. 123)
• Compensation (p. 125)
• Why Can't File-Sharing Be a Winner for Everybody? (p. 127)
• New Operating Mantras (p. 129)
• New Licensing Approaches (p. 130)
• A Digital Utility License for Media Companies (p. 135)
• A New Type of Music Company (p. 136)
• 8 How Technology Will Rewire the Music Business (p. 139)
• Historical Perspectives (p. 142)
• Technology in the Hands of Artists (p. 143)
• The Ravages of Free (p. 145)
• The Digital Chastity Belt (p. 148)
• Honey vs. the Stick (p. 152)
• Music Recommendation (p. 154)
• Music Recognition (p. 156)
• Digital A&R Empowerment (p. 157)
• Upgradeable Music: Try-and-Buy Models (p. 158)
• Integrated Music Experiences (p. 159)
• 9 Megatrends that Will Impact the Future of Music (p. 160)
• The Accelerating Pace and Scope of Diversity (p. 161)
• The Changing Paradigms of Work and Leisure (p. 165)
• The Unobtrusive Expansion of Technology (p. 167)
• The Overload of Information and Media (p. 168)
• The Surveillance Society and Concerns of Privacy (p. 170)
• Heart over Brain (p. 171)
• 10 Onto the Future (p. 174)
• Index (p. 177)
• About the Authors (p. 191)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

In what could be one of the most provocative music books published this year, two innovators in music technology take a fascinating look at the impact of the digital revolution on the music business and predict "a future in which music will be like water: ubiquitous and free-flowing." Kusek and Leonhard foresee the disappearance of CDs and record stores as we know them in the next decade; consumers will have access to more products than ever, though, through a vast range of digital radio channels, person-to-person Internet file sharing and a host of subscription services. The authors are especially good at describing how the way current record companies operate-as both owners and distributors of music, with artists making less than executives-will also drastically change: individual CD sales, for example, will be replaced by "a very potent `liquid' pricing system that incorporates subscriptions, bundles of various media types, multi-access deals, and added-value services." While the authors often shift from analysts into cheerleaders for the uber-wired future they predict-"Let's replace inefficient content-protection schemes with effective means of sharing-control and superdistribution!"-their clearly written and groundbreaking book is the first major statement of what may be "the new digital reality" of the music business in the future. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved