Is social media giving the power to create big music acts directly to the audience?

[fabulouslyghetto]

Before myspace/youtube/instagram you pretty much had to be Clive Davis' cousin or live next to Jimmy Iovine to have access to a major label that could give you the promotion and marketing needed to create big acts but it seems social media has given that power directly to the audience in some ways. It started out kind of rough because one of the first big stars to emerge from social media was garbage rapper Soulja Boy, I know, TERRIBLE example, BUT since then these various platforms have lended themselves to some genuinely bonafied talent-- often times acts that would've been overlooked by major labels because of their appearance or sound. There's still a lot of superficiality, 9/10 of the biggest youtube music acts are all eye candy but virtually anyone with talent, work ethic and a little tech savvy can now market and promote themselves directly to the audience, which has me more excited than I've been in recent years about the future of the music industry.

 

[gsdx]

I hate to bring up this name, but I think a lot of people are hoping for their 'Justin Bieber' moment in which they are discovered by some big name to lead them to fame and fortune.

 

[luckynumbah7]

....This feels like a "Beetlejuice" moment.

 

[fabulouslyghetto]

I hate to bring up this name, but I think a lot of people are hoping for their 'Justin Bieber' moment in which they are discovered by some big name to lead them to fame and fortune.

There are a lot of attention whores just looking for their fifteen minutes but if you dig through the mud you can find some really talented musicians that you might not have ever heard of otherwise. It may sound obnoxious but sometimes I'll just randomly click on amateur artist videos in the related videos of songs or artists that I like, [STRIKE]some[/STRIKE] most of them are terrible but there are some real gems out there that, to me anyway, are worth sifting through the dirt. Then again I'm a music junkie so I don't consider this a waste of my time.

 

[fabulouslyghetto]

....This feels like a "Beetlejuice" moment.

 

[luckynumbah7]

Do you play charades?

One word,

first bit is Telly's favorite subject,

the latter consonant/vowels combo resembles a flatlined heart monitor and is pronounced as if you've tripped on your pinafore, fallen down the rabbit hole and have stolen the end off the second twin's name.

Pretty sure 'they' Google and there's too much dross on the front page already and my ears can't take the bleedin' if I should be so unlucky, so kindly keep the moniker to yourself.

 

[JohnnyAnger]

There are a lot of attention whores just looking for their fifteen minutes but if you dig through the mud you can find some really talented musicians that you might not have ever heard of otherwise. It may sound obnoxious but sometimes I'll just randomly click on amateur artist videos in the related videos of songs or artists that I like, [STRIKE]some[/STRIKE] most of them are terrible but there are some real gems out there that, to me anyway, are worth sifting through the dirt. Then again I'm a music junkie so I don't consider this a waste of my time.

I'd agree with this. Once you get hooked into a few channels or indie labels you just find everything you could ever wish for. Honestly, I can't imagine the horror shows of having to trust some shop to provide me with music I'd want to hear these days!

 

[fabulouslyghetto]

I'd agree with this. Once you get hooked into a few channels or indie labels you just find everything you could ever wish for. Honestly, I can't imagine the horror shows of having to trust some shop to provide me with music I'd want to hear these days!

And these are a different breed of artists. They don't have labels telling them what to do or sound like, they aren't being forced into it by their parents it's mostly people who have a sincere appreciation for music and in many cases are people who have been practicing their craft for a long time.

 

[gsdx]

I'm a music junkie so I don't consider this a waste of my time.

I'm into classical music, and let's face it, there aren't many people trying to make it big playing Beethoven's Ode to Joy on an ocarina.

 

[fabulouslyghetto]

I'm into classical music, and let's face it, there aren't many people trying to make it big playing Beethoven's Ode to Joy on an ocarina.

I'm sure you could find some classical musicians on youtube, there's a little bit of everything.