A New Day

It seemed every Mc who ever picked up a pad or pen, every producer who ever cut up a sample on the MPC, every band who ever spent countless hours arguing over a name for the group, every kid who ever sang in the shower pretending that the shower head was their microphone; to be signed to a major record label and to one day see their CD on the shelf of the record store. The goal to one day see their blood, sweat and tears materialize from a pipe dream to a concrete reality of fame and fortune.

But as Langston Hughes warns in his timeless poem A Dream Deferred, a eulogy to dreams, “does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over – like a sugary sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?”

The record industry is experiencing a period of evolution due to several factors including the technological revolution of the internet and major label’s ignorance towards the quality of their product. By the end of this summer Itunes will be the No. 1 distributor of music in the entire world. No longer is there a need for big-label marketing or distribution, in short the middle man is getting cut out. Groups like Radiohead and Gnarls Barkley have taken full advantage of the ability to get their music directly to the fan without a label, and have experienced ground breaking success.

So what does this mean for music? I believe the ability to get your music straight to the fan without the filtering process of working with a label will only improve the quality of music by allowing the artist to have the liberty to experiment and to truly express his artistic vision. No longer will the music fan have to choose from a monotonous buffet of bubble gum artists or whatever the labels deem as “hot” at the moment. Digital record stores, like Itunes, will give a balanced ground for the established and up-and-coming artists to get their music out on a global scale.

As time-honored record stores continue closing down and overall CD sales continue to decline each quarter it only seems inevitable that the record label keeps getting closer and closer to their pinewood box six feet under the dirt. Right now is the time when music can start a metamorphosis from it’s spiraling plunge into ring-tone jingles to the genuine art form we all fell in love with. Now it’s on us to get up and do it…

Peace, love and happiness,

Pops