Song Stories: Music That Shaped Our Identities and Changed Our Lives

Publication Date: January 31, 2017

Summary

Songs become a part of the story of our lives. Their lyrics linger inside of us. We recall those words, but what we remember isn't what they meant to the person who wrote them. It's what they mean to us. We relate their lyrics back to the events that have happened in our lives.

What you will read in Song Stories are personal essays written by influential music professionals and independent artists about songs that impacted their lives. Elliott Smith's "Between the Bars" set NYU professor Cortney Harding's romantic notions of adulthood, The Velvet Underground's "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" played one night at a friend's place and changed startup founder Marc Ruxin's musical tastes, and Coldplay's "Lovers in Japan" reminds music writer Caitlin Teibloom of a college breakup and who she became through that experience.

This book will deepen your understanding of music. It'll extend your interpretation of a song beyond what it means to you to how the song has been experienced by another and the meaning it has created in his or her life. Reading each story and playing the song will allow you to hear what music sounds like through ears other than your own.

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Praise for Song Stories

Aram Sinnreich

Author of Mashed Up and The Piracy Crusade

“Song Stories focuses on what makes music actually matter in our lives: the intimate, personal memories that we often associate with our favorite songs and albums. Written authentically and often touchingly by a range of professional writers and executives, this book will strike any reader with a love of music as simultaneously strange and familiar.”

Portia Sabin

Aram Sinnreich

Kill Rock Stars and The Future of What

“Reading Song Stories reminded me of the many songs that were instrumental to my becoming who I am today — the songs that made me cry and the songs that saved my life, to paraphrase one of those actual songs. A good read for music lovers!”

Andrew Dubber

Aram Sinnreich

Andrew Dubber

Music Tech Fest and New Music Strategies

“Music makes meaning for people in ways nothing else can touch. The specifics of memory — the emotional grit of lives lived and hearts broken. Song Stories are human stories — and this collection will not only resonate, but bring up dozens of your own you might have thought you’d forgotten.”

Promised Land: Youth Culture, Disruptive Startups, and the Social Music Revolution

Publication Date: September 11, 2014

Summary

Promised Land is a collection of essays by Kyle Bylin that chronicles how disruptive startups and digital youth reshaped the music industry from 2008 to 2013.

It begins by showcasing Bylin’s unique take on the piracy debate — how major label thirst for blockbuster artists encouraged fans to file-share music, and why unlimited access to songs makes them feel overwhelmed by the number of options.

The book then explores a wide array of music services and applications that strive to change how people listen to and discover music. Bylin, a North Dakota native turned music technology writer and user experience researcher, takes readers on a journey to the center of the music industry and the social music revolution.

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Praise for Promised Land

Bruce Houghton

Founder and Publisher of Hypebot

"If David Kusek and Gerd Leonhard wrote a sequel to the seminal Future of Music, it would be Promised Land. Bylin combines scholarship and gut instinct in a rare way that produces new insights. These may not be the answers that save the music industry, but I wouldn't bet against him."

Matt Voyno

Bruce Houghton

Co-author of New Rockstar Philosophy

"If there is a website, app, or idea that is supposed to save the music industry, Bylin has tried it and written about it. In Promised Land, Bylin provides a fresh look at where the music and technology industry is headed."

Jon Maples

Bruce Houghton

Jon Maples

Co-Founder of Gimme Radio

"While most of the music business is either holding onto the past or slavishly relying on technology to save its bacon, Bylin's unique perspective sets him apart. In Promised Land, Bylin delivers a guide to what the music fan thinks, feels, and does. It's a must-read for anyone who cares about the music fan values the most.

Divergent Streams: Reflections and Explorations of the Modern Music Industry

Publication Date: May 16, 2013

Summary

Divergent Streams is a collection of essays written by influential executives, startup founders, and thinkers in the music industry.

It explores the revenue streams of the musicians who bring music into our world and how technology changed the way in which we discover their songs. It explores the failures of social music and what the ultimate listening experience might be. It explores the live music sector and what opportunities lie ahead.

The new music business has diverged from the old into uncharted territory. Use this collection as your guide to navigating this new digital world and understanding the disruptive forces shaping the modern music industry.

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