ENVISIONING THE FUTURE – Planet Earth 2020 and beyond…

As a “baby boomer” growing up in the late’60’s and 70’s on Long Island, NY. – I experienced a rich, diverse music culture. The Music Business at that time played a big part in the US economy. There were lots of music stores, affordable music concerts and FM rock radio played a wide variety of music. By the mid-seventies, we were experiencing “punk rock” and had alot of “rock sounds” to choose from. Around 1975, it seemed that the radio playlists were shrinking – and then…..
someone decided that “Disco Music” would be a good idea? Studio 54 in NYC was all the rage at this time and it seemed to be “all about the bass” (just a passing phase?) (this brief music narrative continues)..

The mid-eighties brought us grunge – a different flavor of rock and then the nineties happened – with Nirvana, Heart and a lot more artists competing for airplay. How do you decide who gets to be played “on the radio”? Well – there was the “payola scandal” where you paid to get it played but that was determined to be “illegal”. Now they have something called “promotion” and so the big record labels have an advantage in influencing radio station playlists.

Moving forward – the decision of deciding who gets to be heard on the “public airwaves” could be decided by ordinary MUSIC LISTENERS!

We have the technology now to communicate en-mass on-line. People could be invited to “sign-up for free” under their favorite music genre. They would then receive access to an on-line music survey where they would listen to “music clips” from various artists. The decision on which artists to include in these surveys would fall to “radio professionals” – perhaps a group of 5 or more per station – who can agree on which songs deserve to be heard (or voted on). This would take all of the guess work out of which new music the listeners will enjoy!

Yes – there IS a way forward for Music in the 21st Century. Imagine all of the great New Music that could be discovered if we leveled the playing field for artists access to the public airwaves. Let the Music Listeners decide which new songs they would like to hear on the radio!