New Musician Find Solace in Online Music Stores
From the most popular pop star to the smallest indie band, online music stores offer an amazing and unprecedented way to distribute music to music fans everywhere. These online services have evened the playing field, giving lesser known bands a chance to compete against established names in the industry, providing listeners with an almost limitless supply of musical options.
In the past few decades, the music industry has been controlled by a small group of very large musical production companies. These companies performed the service of finding new talent and promoting them through the use of radio playtime and concerts. This overreaching control by a limited amount of individuals meant that it was very difficult for new bands to find their audience.
A big label would promote an artist, getting them playtime on the radio. That artist would become popular, selling many records and performing at concerts. The other record companies would search for artists with a similar sound and promote them, leading to a music scene that was very repetitive and narrow in scope.
This all changed with the advent of the internet. The internet, with its almost universal access, gave a new opportunity for new bands to promote themselves without the help of a big label. This meant that competition increased, causing the entire music industry to rethink the old model. As the profits of major labels continue to go down, consumers are spending more money to buy songs they want to hear, not the ones that the labels want them to.
There are many ways to find new music on the internet for any musical taste. Several online radio stations will find out what the musical interests of a listener are and design a station specifically for them. These new songs can then be bought individually from online music stores or even from the artists’ own websites.
The new musicians love this, as they can find an audience easily, without the necessity of being “discovered” by a record label. The band simply records the music and advertises it on music websites. If it is a quality song, it will get noticed and purchased. This is almost the exact opposite way in which the big labels sell songs.
The big labels create a name, turning an artist into a product and then market the songs based on the strength of the artist’s reputation. The online approach is for a new band to become famous through the strength of its songs and performances. The focus on good quality music means a much better product for the individual listeners, and a more equal chance for good new bands to be noticed. Everyone is a winner when the music scene becomes a meritocracy.
About the author: Kathleen Hubert is a blogger who writes on a variety of different sites. Check out more of her work at Car Financing.