Our cultural consumption exists on a spectrum from "individual" to "collective". Technology has shifted the balance for both books and music. Digital distrbitution and the iPod have made music consumption much more individualistic, while the internet and global branding have made book consumption increasingly collective.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2008/07/music-literature-and-the-web/214528/
