If you’ve heard of HTML5 and wondered what it was, or if it was going to be all that spectacular, you might want to check out director Chris Milk’s new experiment for the Arcade Fire and their track “We Used To Wait (The Wilderness Downtown).”

This confirms that we’re one step closer to that computer they used in Minority Report.

First came Blink 182, which sold about a gazillion records to every kid who needed a break from Green Day (this was back when bands still sold records). Then came the offshoot, Angels & Airwaves, which took a slightly darker, anthemic approach to making music—even as the glory days of record sales were sailing off behind them.

And now, here we are at the beginning of a new chapter for the music industry, with artists facing a fresh set of challenges, but the same two questions of survival: How do I stay relevant? And how do I get paid?

And then this appears on YouTube.

I have no idea if it’s going to be any good, but hey, props to a band for making a movie.

Oh, and by the way, here’s the album that it’s based on. For free. On their site.

Yes, everything is changing.

Enjoy >

In case you’re just as fascinated as I am with what’s been happening with Joaquin…

As a professional artist promoting your work in today’s DIY hyper-connected world, you may long for the days when artists relied on management teams and publicists to get our names out there. But if we actually look back, history shows that taking your brand into your own hands was always a smart idea waiting to become the rule. Take, for instance, Trent Reznor, the brilliant creator and producing powerhouse behind one of the most important industrial rock bands of all time, Nine Inch Nails, who somehow got booked for Dance Party USA during the 1990 promotional tour for Pretty Hate Machine.

If you’re unfamiliar with the band, here’s what the Nine Inch Nails brand actually represents.

So yeah, not quite the right fit for Dance Party USA.

If there’s an artist who truly understands his brand, it’s Reznor. If you do a Google search on “Nine Inch Nails” and look at the images, videos and websites that come up, you’ll see what I mean. The Trent Reznor we know today would never have let the Dance Party USA gig happen, and if he did, he would have meant it as a joke.

Today, Reznor continues to find new ways to extend his brand, most recently teaming up with director David Fincher (a powerful brand in his own right) on the score for the film The Social Network, about the forces that came to create Facebook. Just the fact that these two artist brands have leant themselves to the project brings a whole new perception of what the film experience will be like. The movie trailer reflects this beautifully:

And, if that wasn’t enough, you can see yet another way Reznor is expanding his brand with his latest music project How To Destroy Angels with wife Mariqueen Maandig and bandmate Atticus Ross. Their self-titled EP picks up where Nine Inch Nails leaves off—taking the brand into a sexier, paired down territory—with influences ranging from Massive Attack to Brian Eno.

How To Destroy Angels (Trent Reznor, Mariqueen Maandig and Atticus Ross)

You can download the new How To Destro Angels EP FREE here >

Fast forward to 1:00 when the track comes in. And wait for the pay off at 4:04.

EQ Magazine, one of the UK’s top-rated online music journals featured my latest transmedia storytelling collection, Nightwork, and A Crowd Electric’s new single “Don’t Touch Me (When I’m Dancing)” as part of their new TRAX series. We’re being listed among the likes of N.E.R.D. and Chromeo and are super proud to have been given such a prestigious shout.

See the EQ feature and download “Don’t Touch Me (When I’m Dancing) here >

If a skinny white boy led the congregation of a southern Baptist church, it might sound something like “Sermons” by the Cold War Kids. Lead singer, Nathan Willett’s voice is one of a kind. Have a listen and you’ll see what I mean.

Preach it, brother.

The studio version is available on their new EP, Behave Yourself. You can buy it here on iTunes >

If you like this song, you need to see the movie The Apostle featuring Robert Duvall (at his absolute best).