David Byrne On Tech Revolutionizing The Muisc Industry

Ahead of his keynote address before this weekends Future Of Music Policy Summit, former TalKing Head David Byrne gave the Montreal Gazette his view of how technology is revolutionizing the music business:

LOWER COSTS = FREDDOM – "…costs start to go away, and the artists – as a by-product – start to learn how to make their records sound the way they imagine them, all by themselves. They’re not beholden to somebody else – some mysterious magician that calls himself an engineer or producer. Right away, they don’t have to be in debt to a record company…"

SINGLES VS.ALBUMS – "This whole album thing is a completely arbitrary construct. It only has been around for 50 years or so, and it’s probably going to go away," Byrne said. "What we think of as some of the greatest pop music that’s ever been made – whether it’s Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday – those are not albums. (They were) singles or EPs…"

MUSIC RETAIL: "The shops I go to, the staff writes little recommendations and sticks them on the shelf – and that’s why you go there. There’s just too much out there. You need help finding what’s useful for you – and people will pay for that convenience, or for the service of getting the stuff that really – emotionally and in other ways – means something to them," he said