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the music industry has to change. they know this or else the ‘music tank’ discussion I attended last week wouldn’t have happened.

business models are crumbling and while old-skool artists are coming round to the fact that it may no longer be about cd sales, this feeling is by no means across the industry.

in fact they have no idea what is happening. not a clue. to sit there and listen to their thoughts with not one mention of last fm or spotify nearly made me sick. in this age of social voice, the old will die younger and younger. you’re cd sales 10 years ago hold little importance.

some got it. umair haque shed a bit of light. but it was clear his thoughts were falling on deaf ears.

they blabbered on about Twitter and how important having a relationship with each of there fans was, hideous to listen to.

to break it down… I don’t want my musical icon to be in communication with me… it’s rock and roll. I want to hear him but not talk to him - hence that is how he/she remains a god in my eyes. as soon as we talk the illusion is shattered.

the human brain is limited, some moreso than others. through collaboration, we have developed together. with faster means of communication we can now collaborate faster - whilst having constant access to previous landmark developments.

an example can be seen within online developer communities; google’s wave developments; adobe’s joint creation tools; opensource and agile project software

brands are harnessing the power of the individual. it’s a win for the brand and a win for the consumer. the thriving iphone application library, vinspired, examples are growing.

often, we can only go so far on a collaboration and this breeds a level of knowledge needed to start the next collaboration . it’s one of mankinds greatest attributes  - but with it comes the need for deeper knowledge younger. are younger generations really getting this education, or are they learning organically? i wonder how much money will come from the digital britain report and be put toward investing in digital education from a young age. it’s certainly moved on but at the rate that it needs to? i hope it will.

as media becomes increasingly socially driven, how will brands deal with collaboration? everyone who works in the digital industry will vouch of it’s growing role and brands are gradually joining us to harness this shift in behaviour. but, if they don’t jump abord - will they drown?