[contextly_auto_sidebar id="Q0kRrypSZofvO7Cl0jQKoVvntfv83bix"] WE'RE starting to hear a lot from musicians about how music streaming destroys their ability to make a living. So far, it's been harder to find out how it's affecting jazz and classical music. I tried to get into the subject with a new story for Salon. I speak to a number of musicians (including pianist Jason Moran) and … [Read more...]
Will Amazon Crush Publishing?
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="vKKFLjwmwHjYmDjG3md6BwURLIgqKbsB"] RECENTLY I've written a bit about Amazon and other giant tech companies and how they have begun to crush the world of culture, and the people who make it, while the Department of Justice and other regulatory agencies sleep. These are longstanding concerns of mine, as a journalist who writes about music and the arts, as well as the … [Read more...]
What Are Humans Good For?
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="NUIeoMZoQbFSCCvhJftok1FkbupHfdXm"] WELL, folks, it's gotten to the point where we've gotta ask this question. With various kinds of automation and AI replacing human labels even at the most cerebral and professional level -- it's not just bank tellers any more -- we've got to ask, What can humans do that a computer or algorithm can't? A new Slate story notes that … [Read more...]
“The Disruption Machine” and the Arts
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="R3zLDzzRclVKKTROWNxF41CXdu70ZMpQ"] Jill Lepore's New Yorker article, "The Disruption Machine," which looks at one of the key fallacies of the digital crowd, has become much discussed. Her challenge to a theory that describes how newer, smaller companies destroy old ones may not seem to relate to the world of arts and culture. But these things are intimately … [Read more...]