Face To Face P2P

Maybe it’s out of fear of prosecution for illegal downloads or maybe it’s to avoid tech-imposed exile but there may be a different type of music sharing on the rise. Recently while hanging out in a Salt Lake City coffee spot, some University of Utah students were spotted having a “face to face” music sharing session. Instead of a digital gathering with countless unseen strangers, about half a dozen students got together for one of their regular swap sessions. Each person was responsible for bringing a couple of cd’s they thought the others might like or might benefit from exposure to. The music ranged from the Zombies to David Bowie and even a random Billy Joel disc. Each person also carried the discs they had borrowed from other members last time.

The group took turns talking about the new music they brought and some spoke about the new music they had been exposed to. One or two also distributed burned copies of the most popular cd’s from past gatherings. Another key element seemed to be an overt attempt to be fair about grabbing the most potentially desirable discs from the collective stack. Participants who had gotten really interesting things last time passed up the current potential best items so others had a chance.

After enquiring as to what the whole thing was about they said it was nice because you could talk to people directly about the music and since it was a group activity with regular members it was easier to lend and borrow cd’s without the complication of remembering who had what or where you needed to get them back to. It was recognized and admitted that there was a lot more available online and that it was a little limited in scope but they really felt the important part was meeting with the other people and having a fun social agenda. The group I spoke with was a really mismatched looking crowd; a couple hipsters, some more bookish looking types and a guy who could have been selling insurance to guess by his outfit. They said the nice thing about the mix was that it brought them together with people they normally wouldn’t talk too and get them to listen to new things their regular friends wouldn’t have. They also said their group was far from unique and that other similar groups were forming in the area. An important part seemed to be keeping the group around six or eight people and having set gathering times that they could get to. Interestingly one of the members was a promoter for local bands and he said it had been a fantastic way to get some buzz going for the groups he worked with.

Perhaps in this golden age of digital everything; points should be awarded for good old fashioned social networking.