Media Disrupted – Thoughts on Gerd Leonhard’s talk
Yesterday I posted a link to a chat with Gerd Leonhard (@gleonhard), renowned media futurist. If you haven’t heard Gerd speak, or read any of his work, one of the best points of entry is the video I shared recently here. Sheryl and I follow him closely and definitely pay attention to what Gerd says.
In the transcript, Gerd makes some points I want to call your attention to.
I wrote a book called The Future of Music and a second book called Music 2.0. It’s about how to solve the music problem. If you want an actual copy a deb3 version, you can get one from me; I have free books. If you prefer to download, it’s www.music20book.com. It’s a free PDF. My third book coming out later this year is The End of Control. Why is it called The End of Control?
Music is changing and Music 2.0 is proving to be a roadmap for the music industry; at least for those who will succeed in the long run. But the ideas there apply across all media content. It really doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about music, movies, podcasts or videos. Rich media isn’t delivered the way it was in our parents world, or when we were teenagers. The last ten years have reshaped industries. As Leonhard says.
Convergence. Integration. Change. Disruption. Sectors that were distinctly separate have collided and forever changed how we receive, listen, and view media. Unlike the broadcast styles of the past, blasting from a big antenna on a mountain top, medie is now delivered to a cornucopia of devices, from homes to cars, computers to mobile phones. It’s delivered any time, anywhere, on demand.
The genie is out of the bottle and can’t ever go back. Old media struggles understanding and embracing reality. Old commercial models, the economic engine of old media, simply don’t work today. That means advertising has also been disrupted by the revolution in communications.
In my role with eComm, one of the most exciting aspects is that we’re part of a revolution in communications. But beyond that, communications is at the core of our daily life. We are being disrupted and many aspects of our lives are changing. How we receive, share and discuss news and entertainment is a large part of our lives. Leonhard does a fantastic job of lighting the way to new models of what our world is becoming.