Building the Record 2.0
Music is not worthless | part III
This is part 3 of a series that discusses the value of music in the age of streaming and how the industry can leverage online music beyond ads and the 9.99 model.
It is compelling to think of streaming as the killer of physical records. After all, the market seems to be indicating so, the printing press has known a similar fate and our daily music experience happens mainly on the phone far from CDs and such.
Streaming is killing the record because the record never embraced streaming.
The record as we know it has to embrace our current ways to experience music. This new record has to be more than a preset number of songs doomed to obsolescence. It has to embrace the abundance and versatility of streaming without losing its intimacy.
Designing the record 2.0 consists of creating a better music experience. This ambitious task is driven by our own desire to propel music streaming beyond screens and apps into concert halls, merch tables, stores and of course our personal shelves.
Making streaming tangible means making music valuable
To achieve this, our approach was to rethink the record as if it was to be invented today. Far from romanticizing the past and nostalgia, we wanted to create a better experience for music lovers without falling into mimicking an old experience disconnected from the present.
Versatile
The record 2.0 has to work seamlessly with phones, computers and home equipment. It has no limit in size and can play music but also videos and photos.
Dynamic
This new medium should be a link between the artist and his fans. It needs to be seamlessly updated with new releases, demos and playlists.
Straightforward
The artwork (and not the device) should be the starting point of any music experience. The perfect physical format for music has to be a beautiful representation of its content and an object you can collect, talk about and share as gift with other people.
Bringing back its value to music today consists in creating an experience that benefits artists, record labels and most importantly the listener. After seeing Qleek in the hands of all of them, I know we’re building an ecosystem at the intersection of hardware and software that will change the way we perceive and value music.
