Los Angeles’ new annual music technology conference, Music Tectonics, is launching a set of thought-provoking “Seismic Shifts” trading cards. Each unique card includes an original illustration and colorful design alongside a transformative theme and short explanation.
The trading cards are the brainchild of Dmitri Vietze, the CEO of music tech PR firm rock paper scissors, inc., who’s been in the music industry since way before Napster. Vietze launched the first annual Music Tectonics Conference, taking place in L.A. October 28-29, 2019 and hosts the weekly Music Tectonics podcast which explores the seismic shifts changing the music industry as a result of technology and innovation.
“The changes sweeping music in particular and digital media in general can feel utterly disorienting,” Vietze reflects. “We distilled the dynamics at work into this fun visual format that we think will guide more productive and creative conversations about the future of music and tech.”
The limited-edition set of 18 cards will first be revealed at an October 3 event called “Music Like Fire: 18 Seismic Shifts in Music Technology,” held at General Assembly, 360 E. 2nd St., Suite 400 in Los Angeles. There is no charge to attend the event, but RSVP is required here.
The print run of 500 trading card sets will only be available to attendees of the late October conference, but music and tech advocates and professionals can get a preview and hear a presentation from Vietze during the October 3 event. Media partners will reveal digital versions of the cards online in the coming weeks.
Examples of the cards include:
Music Production is in the Hands of the Masses. Home studios. Laptops as studios. Phones with music-making apps. A.I. assistants. Making music is easier, faster, and cheaper.
Music is Like Air: First physical recordings disappeared. Now physical interfaces disappear. Hello: Access. Goodbye: Liner Notes.
The Push to Transparency is Irreversible. Data everywhere is a window that cannot be unseen. Black box thinking is on the way out. Data liquidity untangles rights disputes and grows revenue for all.
Humpty Dumpty is together again. The industry fell apart when it went digital. New music uses emerge. These become problems, then revenue streams, then systems to solve. Humpty will never be the same.
The remaining cards cover these themes:
Music is like Water
Music is like Fire
The Gates are Broken
Self-Driving Artists Change Everything
Music is More Global Than Ever
No Single Path to Success
Music Has Been Sliced into Smaller and Smaller Pieces
Music Uses Outpace Systems
Data Everywhere
More Music Than Ever
Music as an Experience
Music is Competing with Everything
No Single Path to Listening
Creation and Engagement Intermingle
“Many people think we have reached a new stability in the music industry,” says Vietze. “I’m going to share 18 seismic shifts that will make you think twice about that. These are the things that have led us to where we are today and will continue to turn the world of music upside down again.”