TimmyHMySpace V's Idol
April 2nd 2008 11:02
Colbie Caillat was able to shoot to stardom through the social networking site MySpace last year with a song called "Bubbly". Ignoring the fact that this is one of the most absurdly adorable tunes I've ever heard, it may herald a new era of music distribution.
Bypassing the regular avenues, the original version of the song was produced personally and didn't have the high production values of most current music. The song was written as a piece of art which was circulated for the enjoyment of many people worldwide at no cost. Colbie didn't have prime time TV to give her attention, there was no panel of judges or expesive text message voting. Instead we saw someone reach prominance with an original song that was distributed purely by word of keyboard and has become one of the most popular on Australian radio over the past fortnight.
The possibilities for world music are phenomenal. Instead of artists needing to prove themselves to producers, agents and record labels, they need only to publish their work. With the ability of the internet to act as its own marketing agent we as consumers will be able to choose what we listen to from an infinitely larger library of music.
The downside? Record sales for leading artists may fall and they in turn might be forced to (like Radiohead) release their music online, or otherwise simply shape up and make better music worthy of a price tag. But they too have little reason to hit the panic button, researched released today suggested that record sales have not dimished at all in recent years despite the fears that downloading would destroy the industry. Hence the music consumer has nothing to fear and everything to gain from this.
It will be interesting to see whether in the coming months and years whether someone with no experience and very little help will be remembered longer than say, the Guy Sebastian's of this world. I think not, happily.
Note: I use Guy Sebastian not because I think he will be the longest remembered of all the Australian Idol winners, but more simply because I can't remember any of the others.
Bypassing the regular avenues, the original version of the song was produced personally and didn't have the high production values of most current music. The song was written as a piece of art which was circulated for the enjoyment of many people worldwide at no cost. Colbie didn't have prime time TV to give her attention, there was no panel of judges or expesive text message voting. Instead we saw someone reach prominance with an original song that was distributed purely by word of keyboard and has become one of the most popular on Australian radio over the past fortnight.
The possibilities for world music are phenomenal. Instead of artists needing to prove themselves to producers, agents and record labels, they need only to publish their work. With the ability of the internet to act as its own marketing agent we as consumers will be able to choose what we listen to from an infinitely larger library of music.
The downside? Record sales for leading artists may fall and they in turn might be forced to (like Radiohead) release their music online, or otherwise simply shape up and make better music worthy of a price tag. But they too have little reason to hit the panic button, researched released today suggested that record sales have not dimished at all in recent years despite the fears that downloading would destroy the industry. Hence the music consumer has nothing to fear and everything to gain from this.
It will be interesting to see whether in the coming months and years whether someone with no experience and very little help will be remembered longer than say, the Guy Sebastian's of this world. I think not, happily.
Note: I use Guy Sebastian not because I think he will be the longest remembered of all the Australian Idol winners, but more simply because I can't remember any of the others.
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