Student:Andy Connolly - 09001950
Chosen blog: Future Music - http://futuremusic.com/blog
Chosen post: http://futuremusic.com/blog/2009/09/25/richie-hawtin-releases-twitter-dj-for-traktor-pro/

The blog I have chosen to write about is Future Music (futuremusic.com/blog), a blog dedicated to advances in the world of electronic music creation. The author(s) have chosen to remain anonymous, presumably to facilitate honest and unbiased opinion. Given the nature of the blog it is quite possible that the authors work within the industry and do not wish to compromise their future/current job prospects with negative reviews/controversial opinions.

I also followed Mashable! (a general technology based blog, focussing more on social networking media and advertising) and Pipomixes(a resource for hip hop culture, posting out of print music and videos relating to DJ/Producer culture, including occasional posts relating to digital media relevant to DJs/producers). I found Mashable! interesting but of little personal relevance and Pipomixes of huge personal relevance but of less interest in relation to digital media.

Topics on Future Music vary from a new model of headphones to software updates to new digital interfaces for music creation. It is a huge area of interest and I feel that the blog covers many bases with very little "filler" content. The language used is rarely overly "techy", i.e. anyone with a basic knowledge of digital music creation should be able to understand the posts. It is definitely aimed at the electronic music producer and DJs although the readership is hard to quantify as commenting is not available. This is the only negative aspect of the site in my opinion.

The topic I most enjoyed was news of the development of Ritchie Hawtin's (legendary electronic producer/DJ, records under the names Plastikman and F.U.S.E, owner of the Minus and M - Nus record labels) Twitter application that runs in conjunction with popular DJ software interface Traktor. The app allows for publishing the names of tracks the DJ is playing on to his Twitter account, which can in turn be broadcast on screens in realtime. As a gimmick, this is mildly interesting. As a cataloguing device however, the app has the potential to revolutionise the paying of royalties to artists.

All venues that play music pay an annual fee to their national licensing agency (IMRO in Ireland), in theory this revenue is distributed among the artists whose music was played. In reality however, venues do not catalogue the music DJs play and the money is split up between the top selling artists in the country (slight variations exist from country to country but this is the general situation worldwide). The Twitter/Traktor app, which could be modified to run with any digital DJ program, would allow for clear and easy cataloguing of music played in theatres, clubs and pubs thus ensuring the artists get their dues.

The site is quite basic in design, possibly created from a standard blog template. This does ensure the blog is easy to navigate and read but might frustrate those who like their blog experience to be visually stimulating. Pictures and links to videos are included in the vast majority of posts to further illustrate the topic in question.

Comments - As mentioned above, Future Music would not let me comment, nor could I find evidence of any other comments. Links to my comments on Pipomixes and Mashable! located below.

Mashable!
http://mashable.com/2009/10/28/droid-phone/?dsq=21202122#comment-21202122
http://mashable.com/2009/10/27/dj-hero/?dsq=21204949#comment-21204949
http://mashable.com/2009/10/27/myspace-music-msn/?dsq=21205716#comment-21205716
http://mashable.com/2009/10/27/lawfirms-icoyote/?dsq=21206841#comment-21206841

Pipomixes
http://pipomixes.blogspot.com/2009/10/dj-nuts-mini-set-and-studio-footage.html
http://pipomixes.blogspot.com/2009/10/mobys-drum-machine-collection.html
http://pipomixes.blogspot.com/2009/10/edan-rapping-and-mixing.html