Chad Hoefler's take on the future of ambient music.

We asked musician Chad Hoefler:

What do you think the future holds for ambient music?


Forecasting the future is always difficult, but I assume (and hope) that ambient music will still be flourishing. The advent and popularity of digital distribution and music production software has resulted in an explosion of ambient artists and labels: there has probably been more ambient music made this decade than previous decades combined. Technology has rapidly facilitated the exchange from musician to listener, which has pros and cons. I suspect, however, that ambient music will always appeal only to a small faction of music listeners. It lacks many of the characteristics we commonly find in commercially successful music, it often requires patience, and it simply sounds too bizarre or too boring to most people. Perhaps with larger exposure though, ambient music will blossom into the future. Who knows?