Music2.0 is an inspiring and invigorating collection of Music & Media Futurist Gerd Leonhard's best essays and blog posts on the future of the music industry. The book continues and expands on the ideas and models Gerd presented in his first book The Future of Music (co-written with Dave Kusek, published by Berklee Press, 2005), which has become a must-read work within the music industry, worldwide, and was translated into German, Spanish and Italian. Music2.0 clearly describes what the next generation of music companies will actually look like; hence the use of the term Music2.0, a catch-all phrase derived from the increasingly over-used Web 2.0. In this book, Gerd does not mince his words when it s about spelling things out, and his style is both engaging as well as hard-hitting and provocative. Looking back at the raw material for this book - Gerd's 1,000+ blog posts and over 20 long-form essays - it is evident that by far the most often covered subject is what many people have come to call Music 2.0, i.e. the new principles that will define the next iteration of the music business. The Music2.0 term was not invented by Gerd but is now closely connected with many other terms and portmanteaus that Gerd has co-created such as Music Like Water, the Flat Rate for Music, Feels Like Free (FLF), the Usator, Friction is Fiction, and the People Formerly Known As Consumers. Gerd has written and blogged about digital music and the next generation of the music industry for over four years, in airplanes, taxis, trains, busses, hotel lobbies, conference halls, and occasionally, at home. 1000s of other writers and bloggers have linked to or quoted Gerd s work and his writings have influenced many startups and big media companies, alike. During those years, Gerd's message and opinions have evolved but his bottom- lines and visions have not changed a whole lot. While reading the book it is often exciting to see that many of Gerd's predictions have indeed come true, by now, such as the major record labels dropping DRM, in late 2007. Music2.0 presents the best of Gerd's writings from the past four years without altering the original content too heavily in order to preserve the timeliness and context of when it was actually written. As the reader moves from 2003 to 2007, the evolution of various ideas and expressions can clearly be observed, and this will make for an engaging reading experience, as well even as the reader jumps back and forth. Enjoy Music2.0!
I had the privilege to read Gerd's book a bit in advance of the official release and I can say I was stricken by his vision, which I largely share. if you want to have in idea of what might happen in the Music business area, I strongly advise you to read Music 2.0! I was really looking forward to read Gerd's Music 2.0 as his Future of Music" book has been really inspiring for me during the last 3 years. Music 2.0 is even better and I'm really convinced that in 3/5 years we will all be saying : Yes , Gerd was right. A must read if you want to work in the music business March 12, 2008 Andrea Rosi, COO, Vitaminic SPA Gerd is terrific. He served on the NFL's special innovator focus group for Turnkey Sports, and provided amazing insights and led the conversation in places we never expected. He's someone who draws creativity from everyone around him. March 10, 2008 David Stys, Project Director, Turnkey Sports & Entertainment I have watched Gerd talking at conferences a number of times and been following his blog(s) for a long time but finally I have his main ideas in one book as oppose to having to looking around in different places on the web. A great read! March 10, 2008 Jonas Woost, Head of Music, Last.fm --Linkedin
This collection of thoughts by Gerd gives a clear vision of where the music and content industry should go: (open std & interoperability)+social networking = more revenues. March 10, 2008 --Fernando Mantovani, Manager of Content Relations, Sony Network Services, Salzburg, Austria
As a fellow digital music advisor/veteran myself, and a collaborator with Gerd, I can wholeheartedly say that his Music 2.0 book is a 'must-read' for those who operate in the trenches of the digital music world. His insights and ideas are well worth reviewing if you're in search of a roadmap to navigate what comes next in this dynamic space. Highly recommended! February 25, 2008 --Kelli Richards, President & CEO, The All Access Group
About the Author
A native of Bonn / Germany and now residing in Switzerland, Gerd has spent over twenty-five years in the technology and entertainment industries, both in the U.S. as well as in Europe, and recently, in Asia. In 2005, Gerd co-authored the critically acclaimed book "The Future of Music" which has become a must-read for music industry professionals around the globe, and which is now available in German, Italian, and Japanese. Gerd's many clients include France Telecom / Orange, German Telecom, the EBU and ABU, SonyBMG, the BBC, RTL, Granada International, Nokia-Siemens, ITV, Unisys, Gracenote, AIM / Impala, MediaCorp Singapore, SUISA and the European Commission. He is much in demand as a speaker at many leading events and conferences around the globe, and is considered a leading blogger and visionary. Gerd is an expert on the drastic changes that are impacting content, media and communication companies as a consequence of the rapid deployment of new, disruptive technologies, and of convergence. His hard-hitting yet inspiring presentations address issues such as the advent of the user-creator (aka the Usator, a term coined by Gerd) and the 'people formerly known as consumers', the attention economy in media, the wisdom of the masses and the rise of user-generated content, content syndication and pull-vs-push media, new business models for digital content, the culture of participation in media, copyright versus usage right, and the consequences of mass media becoming personal media. Gerd is equally fluent in technology, legal issues, social and cultural contexts, business models and general trends that affect media and communications. Gerd is also a digital media and Internet entrepreneur; he currently is Co-Founder and CEO of Sonific LLC, a San Francisco based company that provides music applications and widgets for blogs, social networks and online communities. In addition, Gerd works with select cutting-edge start-ups and new ventures in the entertainment and technology industries worldwide, as well as with investors and Venture Capitalists. Gerd holds a Jazz Performance (Guitar) Diploma by Berklee College of Music (87), and is the recipient of Berklee's Quincy Jones Jazz Masters Award (1985). He is also a fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts (RSA, London).
Gerd Leonhard is a well-known Futurist and Author of five books, a highly influential Keynote Speaker, Think-Tank Leader & Advisor, and the Founder of GreenFuturist.com. Gerd also serves as Visiting Professor at the Fundação Dom Cabral (São Paulo, Brazil). He is well-known as the co-author of the influential book 'The Future of Music' (Berklee Press, 2005), and as the author of 'The End of Control' (2007), 'Music 2.0' (2008), 'Friction is Fiction' (2009, Lulu Publishing), and 'The Future of Content' (Kindle-only, 2011). His new book "From Ego to Eco" will be released in 2012.
Gerd's background is in music and the music business; in 1985 he won Berklee College's 'Quincy Jones Award' and subsequently spent 10 years working as a professional guitar player, composer and producer. He then caught the Internet bug and became a digital media entrepreneur, serving as CEO with several Internet startups, based in San Francisco for 7 years. In 2002, Gerd returned to Europe and started his career as Futurist, Keynote Speaker and Strategic Advisor.
He now travels around the globe and speaks at major conferences and events, company retreats, seminars and in-house trainings on the Future of Business, Sustainability, Environmental Policy and Climate Change, Media, Content and Entertainment, Technology, Marketing, Advertising & Branding, Telecommunications etc. Since late 2011, Gerd has been widening the scope of his work to include some of the most pressing 'green' issues such as sustainability and 'sustainable capitalism', renewable energy, climate change and global warming.
Gerd is considered a leading expert on topics such as digital business models, the networked society, a sustainable business ecology, social media and social communications, TV & Radio 2.0, mobile content, innovation, leadership and entrepreneurship, consumer trends, UGC and peer production, copyright and IPR issues, next-generation advertising, marketing and branding, and recently the development of 'green futures' scenarios. In 2006, The Wall Street Journal called Gerd 'one of the leading Media Futurists in the World'.
Gerd's keynotes, speeches and presentations are renowned for his hard-hitting and provocative yet inspiring, personal and intense motivational style. With over 1'300 engagements in 43 countries since 2003, Gerd has addressed over 200'000 executives and professionals, and is often considered a key influencer. His diverse client list includes Consumers International, YouTube, Nokia, The Guardian, Google, Sony-BMG, Telkom Indonesia, Siemens, RTL, ITV, the BBC, France Telecom, Orange, Deutsche Telekom, MTN, The Financial Times, DDB / TribalDDB, Ogilvy, Omnicom, the European Commission, and many others.
Gerd is a fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts (London), a member of the World Future Society, and a visiting professor at the Fundação Dom Cabral in Brazil. A native German, he now resides in Basel, Switzerland.
Meet me somewhere near you: www.plancast.com/gleonhard
The music industry should have read Gerd Leonhard articles before. A lot of his ideas are now standard. The business as a whole could have been more profitable.The record labels and publishers should listen to the costumers instead of old business models.
As a music business educator at Five Towns College, I use Music2.0 every day. It is the most valuable resource I know of for young musicians who want to achieve success independently in the music industry. In my opinion, it is "must" reading, written by one of the music industry's true genius futurists.
Gerd Leonhard's writings come from a position that is both inside the music industry (Gerd was a performing musician for many years) and decidedly outside as well. From his insider's position, he knows well what the ecosystem needs, especially what artists need and what audiences of all kinds need. He courageously speaks truth about the arrogance, indifference, and obdurate ignorance that the music industry displays, day in and day out, as they attempt to hold on to a broken model that existed more as a fluke than because of any genius or intention.
And, as one begins to understand by seeing the timeline of his essays, the music industry, which is collapsing as profoundly as the sub-prime mortgage industry, is Just Not Listening. But just because music industry executives are ignoring his ideas does not mean that you should, especially because the future of music is going to be defined, ultimately, by a political solution. It will be music industry lobbyists vs. the public.
Gerd's book informs what is actually at stake, and how, as a capitalistic society and as a political democracy and as an emergent digital culture, we can define the boundaries and rules that make music at least somewhat sustainable and somewhat fair. Read it and help bring about a bright future for popular music. Or ignore it, and we will see the music industry look more and more like our automotive industry: building cars that nobody likes based on economics that no longer exist, supported by government policies based on hearing only one side of the story.
