Futurology and the Music Machine

As daunting a task as it might be, I'm going to try to sketch out where the music industry is going to be forced to move over the next five years or so. At this point it's kind of redundant to say it's going to be 'online', so what shape will it take online? As information online multiplies like jackrabbits on speed, people are going to want their information customized and centralized. The rise of home pages like Google's iGoogle gives a hint of what the future of music might look like. Cooperative, customizable, and compilation-driven sites featuring streaming audio, video and news items will overtake storefront proprietors like iTunes and magazine sites like Spin.

Now onto the fun part- content. As best I can tell, a good one-stop-shop music homepage would utilize something like what Pandora currently does with it's stations, providing relevant information based on past clicked information and purchases. The compilation site will automatically feed in videos from sites like Youtube and songs from Imeem based on user access and interests, as well as automatically update information based on an RSS feed system taken from users desired sites. Instead of surfing through the entirety of the internet for relevant music and news, that information will be delivered daily to the users homepage. This homepage would include literally anything you point to online. There would be a customized digg feeds section, an AOL Music Sessions section, announcements/pics/vid from your favorite band, the list goes on.

Additionally, the homepage will have a ubiquitous presence online. Love David Fricke but hate Peter Travers? No problem. You can designate favorite writer's pages and blogs right on their page- much in the way digg and Stumble Upon are linkable right now. Your homepage will serve as a broad base of information culled from an unlimited number of places you specifically choose, blended in seamlessly with suggestions.

How about them cash-dolla-bills, y'all? Well, probably the most effective way to make money on a homepage site dedicated to customized information would be to provide advertisements also based on customized information, something like Google's AdSense program. Not only will users be able to purchase any and all video and music featured on your homepage, but all advertisements will come from places like LiveNation, Wolfgang's Vault, as well as major and indie labels that are compatible with user tastes.