It will grow in the weeks to come, probably in an exponential manner.
Imagine a classic blog with a link list (also known as "blogroll").
Now, add a list of links to online songs that are free to stream and/or
download, legally provided by artists, labels, or portals. Everything
is legal, absolutely legal. The blogger thus shares his musical taste,
exchanging links with others.
There's obviously something in it for music creators with this
peer-to-peer system that is exclusively based on hyperlinks. They benefit from a promotional channel that goes beyond the usual
intermediaries (recording studio, label, distributor and online store)
and is recentered on the internet user who appreciates the music, makes songs known,
and invites others to link. This informal network that grows as the
links spread is called musiclogging. The artist gains a personalization
of the relationship with his public. There is a transition from music
as an industry to music as a craft.
Rick Bruner picks up the recent Pew Internet Survey results and does the math:
the number of U.S. weblogs is apparently somewhere between 2.5 and 8.8
million at this point, and the number of readers is obviously higher.
His article also provides a series of stats that provide a profile of
weblog readers. Interestingly, 84% of them have been on the Internet
for more than 5 years (that is, since 1999 or earlier).
