Contact: Jennifer Mott, College of Sciences and Technology, (360) 650-2454

BELLINGHAM - Western Washington University's College of Sciences and Technology will host Matthew Dunn at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21, in Arntzen Hall 100 as he presents "The Day the Music Died," a lecture on the impact of technology and social media and their roles in the decline of the recording industry.

"This is a rare opportunity for Western students and community friends to learn more about the social media revolution, from one of the real experts in the area," said Arlan Norman, dean of the College of Sciences and Technology.  "We along with the Western Libraries and the BP Cherry Point Refinery are excited to be able to sponsor this community event."

Record sales peaked in 2000, but declined 30 percent by 2008. Yet more people have more recordings than ever, with more than 150 million iPods sold, and countless personal computers are stuffed with music tracks. Recording industry bodies blame (and sue) fans who share their music with peers and strangers. But is it that simple?

At the same time, payments to composers is rising - climbing more than five percent per year. Live performances are booming, with concert ticket revenue at all-time highs and "unsigned" bands packing stadiums without conventional advertising. Perhaps no industry save journalism has been so directly restructured by the rapid wiring of the world.

Dunn was acting and singing professionally by age 18, and built a successful career over the next decade as an actor, graduate-trained director and teacher. He chucked it all to drive cross-country and start over in software. In almost a decade at Microsoft, he wore 13 titles, worked in three different countries, secured eight patents and completed a doctorate in Digital Media.

Not content to stay in desktop software when momentum had shifted to the Internet, he moved to Bellingham and started the consulting firm Socratech, helping U.S. and international companies kick off their Web strategies. He was then recruited to Intrawest, the largest ski-resort operator in the world, to spearhead its digital strategy as the company's chief information officer. He left Intrawest to launch technology standards organization for the hospitality industry, and then was recruited to run Los Angeles-area music technology startup MusicIP as its CEO and president.

This event is free and open to the public, and is part of the WWU College of Sciences and Technologies Leaders in Their Field Lecture Series, made possible in part by a grant from the BP Cherry Point Refinery.

For more information contact Jennifer Mott at (360) 650-2454.

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