cool tech: smartphones and tablets *rule*

As an iPhone 4 and iPad owner – and enthusiast – this article did not come as a surprise, but it was still fascinating to read: research firm IDC predicts that in 2011, computing’s third major technology wave will become mainstream, when computers held in one’s hand — smartphones and tablets — really take over and start putting personal computers in the rearview mirror. That, exactly, has been my personal experience this past year – I use my trusted MacBook Pro a lot less, and my iPhone 4 (because of the insanely good screen resolution) and my iPad (because of its portability and stuff-in-purse-ability) much more.

How that affects music? In more ways than I can describe here. Music becomes even more portable, music apps become more ubiquitous, and tools become both smaller and more powerful. In any case, it’s a fascinating article. Enjoy!

cool article: newborns and rhythm

Read an interesting article on MSNBC about newborns’ ability to follow a rhythm. “Infants as young as 2 days old can process pitch and tell if a series of notes are rising or falling in scale. And it is now known they have rhythm, too.”. A study last year found that babies as young as 5 months can distinguish an upbeat tune, such as “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, from other gloomy tunes.

cool book: appetite for self-destruction

I have been reading Appetite for Self-Destruction – the Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age and it’s both a well-written and fascinating tale of the rise and fall of the record industry over the past 30 years.

cool book: groundswell

If you are interested in social media marketing and social networking (and to be honest, you can’t afford NOT to be), here’s a great new book: Groundswell – winning in a world transformed by social technologies. While the book is not focused on musicians, it gives an excellent overview of the subject matter as well as provides an in-depth study of how to structure your own social media and technology strategy.

cool blog: bloggable music network

One of my favorite bloggers, Kat, just started a new music blog not too long ago: bloggable music network. She highlights not only her favorite music (and does so with much humor), but also music her readers submit. Oh, and did I mention she had excellent taste in music?

cool book: the art of the start

Many musicians are also entrepreneurs, and all entrepreneurs (and most musicians) should read Guy Kawasaki’s brilliant book The Art of the Start. One of the central questions is brilliant in its simplicity: how do you turn ideas into action? That question is particularly important for artistic music types (I am one, so I am speaking mostly to myself here!). However, the book is excellent for anyone who is even remotely interested in starting a new initiative – whether it’s related to music or not.

cool website: flickr

One of the most popular photo-sharing sites, Flickr is also a great tool for musicians. Besides of course posting your pictures, Flickr is a wonderful tool to build community and communicate with fans, but also find new fans – you can search and make friends, create groups and join groups, all through posting pictures.

A few tips: obviously, post pictures of your shows. But do not limit yourself to that – post pictures of rehearsals, of fans at your shows, of your hometown, of things you like or think are beautiful – all this creates new ways for people to relate to you, and it builds community and makes people feel involved.
This is an excellent article about the use of Flickr for musicians by the always-amazing Ariel Hyatt: check it out, you will not regret it!

cool book: music success in nine weeks

Music Success in Nine Weeks is an amazing, practical, and inspirational book by Ariel Hyatt – and it is worth every penny you spend on it.

wow

From the August Rush soundtrack:

This is an amazing song – here performed during the Academy Awards earlier this year. We just added it to the repertoire of an AIDS benefit concert we’re putting on in May.

cool article: hallelujah

Interesting article about the power of getting a song covered on American Idol. This particular one referring to Jason Castro’s performance of “Hallelujah” on the show a few weeks ago.