The Internet has been a gift and a curse for the music industry all depending on where your viewing it from. On one hand music piracy is very common place today and just about anybody with a computer, the internet, and a little technological knowhow can download just about any song for free. However, the industry is far from dead although I think CDs are on their way out. It is much cheaper and practical to download music online.
On the other hand, the net has been a godsend for independent music. Before, if you weren’t on the radio or television you weren’t anybody. The internet has launched and boosted countless careers. It has allowed independent labels to get their music out there and heard, whether it be through sites like youtube or soundclick. It’s a nice feeling knowing that its not just the major record labels dictating what type of music we are exposed to. Sure, they still dominate the airwaves but if you go on the world wide web you’re in the driver’s seat. And if indedpendent labels are profitable then that’s a great thing for music because artists are able to express their creativity freely. No money hungry execs sucking the life and soul out of music just for an extra buck.
That recent Joe Budden post also proves that just because your dropped from a label like Def Jam, that doesn’t mean your career is over. Far from it. Just keep your music coming and keep the quality high and the internet will keep you relevant. There are rappers who have pretty much made their careers strictly through the mixtape circuit, and the net is a vital part of that pipeline.
So yeah, like I said, depending on who you are, your probably either think the net is the best or worst thing thats happened to music. I for one, think the web has done wonders for the quality for music as a whole.
