I suppose it didn’t. Let’s go back to say, 2001. Napster was totally making it’s mark in the online music downloading world, and it was definately the product of choice for such resources. The courts came in, with the labels and artists at her side, and then proceeded to blanket the music downloading world. Yeah… it was illegal. But people still did it anyway. From the growing torrentz, to rapidshare, and so forth, people still had ways to get the music they wanted.. for free. Where did this leave indie bands though?

Think of the analogy between music and video. How did YouTube.com come up and make the uploading and downloading of videos so easy? I don’t know, but for one thing, YouTube created a whole generation of ‘online stars,’ ‘online comedians,’ and everything else online. People were getting famous for doing stupid things.. only because they filmed it and stuck it on the web. In an essence, music and audio just got left behind. Now, already established musicians were getting access to selling music on iTunes, and Amazon, while the independent artists were left figuring out how they could one day distribute their music to a larger audience then what they already had. I know this isn’t the indie mindset, but it is a viable issue. If musicians want to do what they love.. for a living.. they need to find resources so that they CAN make a living.

Think of the popularity of OK Go. I have no qualms against OK Go, but come on… they’re a gimicky band. Their music videos are great, I give them that, but they are as gimicky as any other popular mainstream musician. Maybe even more. People would listen to them and be like “Listen to this band I found on the internet… Aren’t they totally out there?” If bands were to have become popular for their music alone, I think there is a lasting respect amongst other artists in that scenario.

What I’m trying to get at is this. In a world where corporations can control what we can and cannot have, how is it that we are smart enough to find ways around this in some cases, but not in other cases. Let’s build a framework, similar to YouTube, and optimize it for music! Let our users designate who THEY like. If they want to purchase these bits of intellectual property… let the owners decide how much they want for them… not companies trying to make a buck. Remove the middle man, connect artists and musicians with their fans, and cultivate a deeper appreciation for a culture we’re trying to bring to a next level.