Thanks to a heads-up from Stephanie Murg, the co-editor of mediabistro.com’s design blog, UnBeige, we’re captivated by the concept of The Journal of Popular Noise, a limited-edition “audio magazine” that packages three vinyl records (“issues”) made by three different bands, each of whom work from the same set of “instructions,” and wraps them in a fold-out letterpressed document that talks about the musicians and the structural guidelines under which they’re operating. Only 100 copies of each three-disc set are made, and they retail for $30. (Actually, there is a “zine” edition of 400 copies that isn’t letterpressed; that’s only $15.) Issues 13-15 were released earlier this month, featuring a triptych of spoken-word performances from Andrew WK, Ian Svenonius, and Walker & Cantrell.
It’s a fascinating approach to the presentation of music in the age of the ubiquitous MP3, and it ties in with thoughts we’re not alone in having about the future of the printed book once the e-book reaches the level of saturation the MP3 has. To put it another way: When information can be had with a couple dozen keystrokes or a simple mouse-click, what will compel readers to choose the print package? Or, as I put it nearly two years ago, maybe instead of asking “how can [readers] convince publishers to give us cheaper books sooner?” the question should be “what can publishers do to make hardcovers so attractive to [readers] that we can’t wait until next year for the paperback?”