Merethrond said:
I'm not talking about "Metallica" here, I am talking about all the Independent bands out there who just want to play music but struggle to get enough money to live
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the internet is great for indie bands. they get so much more exposure. before for a band to break they needed radio airplay. now they need word of mouth on a message board and a few mp3s on their website.
its the big record companies that are worried because, as i see it:
(1) the teenybopper market is still their biggest market. Even though they arent really music fans, the flavour of the month is usually what makes the most money. Since your average trendy kid who wants the latest trendy song isnt really a music fan, they will be content with downloading the latest evanescense song off kazaa at 96k quality and spend their $30 on lipgloss and dolly magazines.
(2) the music fans used to have to be very "in" with the scene and know where to look and who to talk to to find good music. Now its easy to find online, order from little american indie labels, find out about, tell others about, etc. For real music fans the internet is like one big digital mixtape trade spanning the world. Real music fans are still going to buy the stuff that they like because rather than being tightarses they like to have the artwork and liner notes and own a physical copy of the record. They know that they cant go around calling themselves a fan of a band when they have deliberately not bought their products. But they only have so much time for music and the problem for the record companies is that now they do not have sole domination over what people hear, and as such they arent shifting as many units to this market either.
the internet has been a massive boost for the indie scene. do you really think artists like Xiu Xiu would be touring if it wasnt for the internet exposure?