Playlists - Sharing

Playlists – Sharing = the sharing of playlists of favorite music

Entry retranscribed from the Smart Mobs blog:

Playlists are turning up and being shared online for many other themes. One study quoted in the article predicts that by 2010 25% of online music-store sales will be driven by playlists assembled by individuals close to the theme they convey. What the experts are saying relayed in the article includes:

"Instead of primarily disc jockeys and music videos shaping how we view music, we have a greater opportunity to hear from each other," [Harvard researcher Derek Slater] and Gartner [Inc.] researcher Mike McGuire wrote in their December study. "These [playlist] tools allow people to play a greater role in shaping culture, which, in turn, shapes themselves. In this way, recommendation tools encourage music fans to engage in expressive acts, becoming creators." (http://www.smartmobs.com/archive/2006/03/02/sharing_it_with.html)

More Information

Rebecca Tushnet, a professor with Georgetown University Law Center, has studied and written about playlists and mix CDs from an intellectual-property perspective. Her conclusion: The creation of a playlist or mix CD of music composed by others is a creative act in itself, a form of free speech. (http://www.smartmobs.com/archive/2006/03/02/sharing_it_with.html)

Lengthy Washington Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/01/AR2006030100635.html