Mike DiBenedetto dot com

I like few things more than talking about music. In college, I spent ten times more time listening to records and discussing them with friends than I did doing work (sorry Mom and Dad). In my experience, music is inherently social and the experience of consuming it is best when done with others or at the suggestion of others.

Which is why I am so disappointed with the social music offerings on the web. Tons of startups have tried and failed to offer a good experience to music fans like me. But I think they are all getting it wrong from the start. While streaming services and online music lockers are neat, what I really want is a way to bring conversations into my every day listening experience. I want my music to come with meta-data that includes every comment my friends have ever made about that song, that band, that album.  Further, I want my music to come with album and song reviews and historical context.

Here is what I envision: I leave the house with my iPod/iPad/Android/netbook and put on the first Pretenders album.  As it starts, I see that a friend says that Kid is his favorite song.  Another says that the second album is better.  I also read AllMusic.com’s review of the album and I type out that they are reuniting soon.  These comments would be made either online, in iTunes, or on our phones.  That wouldn’t matter.  The important thing is that every song I listened to would have a social context.

This idea could also have commercial implications (besides raising customer captivity for Apple if they embedded this in the iTunes platform) if music publications bundled songs with liner notes and reviews.  In fact, I started thinking about this idea when I left my house this morning and put on the Pitchfork 500 playlist.  I found myself wishing I could read song reviews as I listened to the songs.  That’s something I would pay for. I also find myself unwilling to pay for classical music but if I could buy a classical album that came with liner notes that were embedded into the song so I could read them as I listened on the go, I would definitely shell out a few bucks to expand my musical tastes.

What do you think?  Am I just a total music nerd or would any one else pay for such a service?

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