The Future of Music: The Celestial Jukebox

The ASCAP Daily Brief features and article titled The Future of Music: The Celestial Jukebox written by Douglas Wolk. The article explains how the ultimate goal for music technology is "The Celestial Jukebox". This means that we will have total access to any music that has ever been recorded at anytime. For some internet junkies or shall I say "pirates", this has been available for years, but obviously not legally. What it comes down to now is how we can please the copyright holders by paying for it. This doesn't just mean the 10 million songs on itunes; this means every song in every archive in recording history. 

Wolk goes on to explain some beta versions that are already doing this, such as Rhapsody. Rhapsody lets its users access a limited library of music for a flat monthly fee, but doesn't stream directly to mobile devices. Itunes on the other hand, has a pay-as-you-go system where users pay for each individual song. But ultimately, searching for free music online is not only cheapter, but gives you more of a variety to choose from. Wolk explains that CDs have become a luxury item, and gives an example of the band Of Montreal, and how they released their latest album on seven different formats. This just goes to show how hard artists need to try to sell physical music. He makes it clear that "a shiny metal disc is now exactly as relevant to the way people experience music as a paper lantern is"(Wolk). 

Wolk believes that soon enough, someone will put a "frictionless design" on the web that users are demanding. This will be a large comprehensive library of music that is easily accessed and shared with friends and strangers. This will make it easier to find new music and have a limitless library, the only problem being how hard it will be to go around the copyright. Legally or illegally though, this will happen.