SAN FRANCISCO -- Roll over Beethoven and move over RIAA. Todd Rundgren, musician and computer whiz, wants to change the concept of music delivery from a product model to a service model. He proposes to use the Internet to develop a system of online patronage, where fans will underwrite the music of their favorite artist in exchange for being let in on its creation.
Rundgren laid out the bones of his new model to an audience at the New Minds Forum on Thursday night. The theme of the four-week series, now winding up, was "Can Technology Have Soul?"
In a happy accident, Rundgren's computerized slide show crashed before he could begin his talk. So he paced the stage in black Chinese silk pajamas, and extemporized on the state of the music business today and what artists can do about it.
"Music is ubiquitous now, it's the background to your life," he declaimed. "Record companies still think it's a plastic disc. They try to keep track of music like it's a thing." Rundgren applauded the triumph of the Rio in the courts, saying that the tool allows people to "find music, download it, listen to it -- and then lose it, override it."
He suggested that if music were served up something like the way the phone company or the electric company delivers what you need, it would work better for the artists and for the record companies. "You pay for what you use. What's killing record companies and artists is inventory," he said. "You can't predict how many albums will sell."
"A record store is not the place to find music -- the Web is." Rundgren described the way the Internet would work as a source for music. "The Internet is like fishing -- you put out a nice piece of chum and wait for people to find it. It can hang there all year long."
Rundgren built a browser that would allow him to interface directly with his fans, deciding to cut out the middleman and ask them to underwrite his music. In exchange, he'd let them in on it first.
Rundgren launched TR-I in August and says the system will work for any artist who wants more control of his music. By January 1999, Patronet will be ready to push musicians who want to deliver directly to a Web audience of underwriters. The system will be designed to work well on a 28.8 modem and won't need sophisticated equipment for the end user to access the music, Rundgren said. He also developed a "tuner," for security to help him track users and build a database.
"People can watch you create the music and be the first to hear it," said Rundgren. A CD could be delivered at the end of a year and could also then be marketed to record companies. "It doesn't matter how many they sell. I already made the money before I made the music. Freshness is the product, people will pay for that."
Rundgren maintains that the system allows musicians to live a life that's more about making music, not about promoting it. He also pointed out that if musicians build a direct connection to their fans, they can't blame the record companies anymore if a lot of people don't buy. It's not the fault of poor promotion.
How else might the Web affect the realm of music?
"In the future, you might subscribe to someone who's your personal DJ, who would go out onto the Net and find the music you like and package it for you," he said.
Accepting the service model might also temper those who feel the Web must be censored. "The phone company doesn't come in and say, 'You shouldn't say that!'"
Rundgren hopes that the proliferation of music on the Internet will help kids make the connection between computers and music. Even with the movement to get computers into schools, the connection is rarely made between the two.
"The Web will be a great place to find music," he said. "It will make the music of the world more accessible. When I was a kid, I was exposed to music I wouldn't have listened to, because I couldn't afford to buy records. I just wanted to have a record, so I bought the ones that cost 59 cents. If it can dispel prejudice about what's OK to listen to, then it will have done something great for kids."
When Rundgren's computer was finally up and running on Thursday night, his slide show autobiography -- meant to demonstrate how technology could have soul -- revealed more about the kid in the artist. The child who was fascinated with robots led him to design the first Paint program for the Apple, build an early operating system, and to keep innovating in order to satisfy his own curiosity. He has used computers to help him play with music and video in ways he wouldn't have thought about without them.
Artists have to be realistic about what they want if they're going to try out the Web service model, said Rundgren. "If you have blockbuster expectations, you might be disappointed. If you want a million people as fans, this might not be the way to go. I want a loyal following that's interested in what I'm going to do next. It's a lot like bands who throw everything in the van and head out for every podunk town, just to find five people who will come hear them again."
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