What’s Ahead For 2011? Dave Cool Says Google Music Could Be A Game Changer
As we end the year, Hypebot asked some our favorite thinkers, writers, and friends to answer two questions – one looking forward and the other back. Here Dave Cool, director and producer of the film "What is INDIE? A Look into the World of Independent Musicians", shares his answers.
Hypebot: What do you see as the most important business and consumer trends that will shape the music industry in 2011?
Dave Cool: Two words: Google Music.
Google has the power to have a profound impact on any industry, so once they get into the music industry it could be a game changer. So I think 2011 will be the year of music in a cloud/in a locker and subscription models (finally) gaining traction. Other possible players will be Spotify (if they ever secure agreements with US major labels; at least there might be 1 less to negotiate with soon) and iTunes (if they feel like it).
Hypebot: Since this is ultimately all about music, what were your top musical moment(s) of 2010?
Dave Cool: 1) The video for "The Wilderness Downtown" by Arcade Fire. Incredibly innovative video and masterful partnership between Arcade Fire and Google (and the band is from my hometown of Montreal 🙂
2) Dan Mangan's album "Nice, Nice, Very Nice." Reminded me why I love music. Also a great indie artist success story, having scraped together the $ to pay for the album from friends, family and his local bank. Now signed to Arts & Crafts Records and touring the world. Good ol' Canadian boy too (Vancouver)
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Dave Cool – Director/Producer "What is INDIE? A Look into the World of Independent Musicians"
Wow, I couldn’t agree more with Dave. Google Music has the potential to completely re-shape the music industry, and change the way people receive and play their music (on mobile devices, in the “cloud”). I had heard rumors that Google was going to launch this streaming service before Christmas this year, unfortunately there is no chance that will happen. I think another player has to be Apple too. They also have been working on creating a service just like this, and have already created huge server farms in North Carolina to make the service possible.
“The Wilderness Downtown” is also an amazing video, and I would have to agree, probably the most innovative video in 2010 by any artists.
Hey Dan,
Thanks for your comments. Here’s hoping iTunes does go in that direction, I think it makes the most sense and I would buy-in immediately.
It’s unfortunate that Google Music, Spotify and possibly iTunes are all being delayed because of negotiations with major labels. You’d think they would have learned the lessons of Napster by now and embrace new ways for people to consume music.
But, there will soon be 1 less major to deal with, which hopefully facilitates innovation in the industry…
Cheers,
Dave
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Dave Cool
Director/Producer,
“What is INDIE? A Look into the World of Independent Musicians”
http://www.davecool.ca
Twitter: @dave_cool
I completely agree with you on Google and Spotify. It seems like iTunes continues to make positive (ping integration with twitter) and negative steps (90 second previews seen a bit long. If artists could select the preview snippet that would be ideal).