Goodbye, Mr Bowie: there’s a starman, waiting in the sky

It’s been a very sad few months for music, with many talented, influential musicians going to the great gig in the sky – and RIP to all these souls. But Bowie is different… so, so different. Losing Bowie eclipses EVERYTHING. Having Ziggy and Major Tom snatched from us in such a heartbreaking and untimely way […]

Don’t be a star: be a musical visionary!

The music industry has always been full of moguls promising to turn young hopefuls into stars. It’s nothing new: it’s been going on ever since there’s been a way to record a song and make money out of selling it. The big cheeses will always want a hit – simple as that. But we seem […]

Owning your experience – a revolution in how we consume music and art

As the dust settles on another Christmas, I got to thinking about the presents my family and I exchanged this year. There was a time, not so long ago, when the vast majority of those gifts would have centred around three things: music CDs, movies or TV shows on DVD and heavy, hardback copies of […]

Cultural references and getting old

I’m getting old. There, I said it! They say that you’re as old as you feel, but in reality you’re as old as your cultural references. And when you start quoting TV shows, films and songs that no-one around you has heard of then you’re on the rocky road to obsolescence. Let me explain. There […]

Dad dancing – losing your rhythm and other signs of age

It’s a time of year for celebrations, festive fun and parties. And whether it’s the office Christmas party, a late-night gathering at the relations, or a New Year’s Eve booze-up, one thing is certain: after a certain amount of alcohol there will be ‘dad dancing’. Men of a certain age (and increasingly I find myself […]

Somebody pick up the phone – why music shouldn’t be background

As someone who hot-desks in several different offices, and as a regular commuter on trains full of business people, I’m often subjected to other people’s dubious choice of phone ringtone. Now, we all want our ringtone to be individual – there’s nothing worse than a phone ringing and three people around the meeting room table […]