THE GOOD
Almost paradoxically, the same Internet that has caused all the problems mentioned above can also be an artist’s best friend, particularly in the case of independent artists who aren’t part of the current “industry machine.” How is this possible? Simply put, the Internet allows people to connect with others all around the world. This enables certain smart musicians who are otherwise unknown to find their own audience without the aid or backing of a major label, virtually eliminating the need to be “discovered” by talent scouts or A&R reps. In some cases, this can result in attention from the labels themselves (many current worldwide recording artists today got their start putting their own stuff up on YouTube). In other cases, it simply means they can market and sell their own music to their audience without the need for label or radio promotion. The audience might not be as large as it would be otherwise—but neither does the artist have to share profits with the labels. The result is that music fans now have access to a lot of music they’d never hear otherwise, and many forward-thinking musicians have leveraged the Internet to carve out nice incomes for themselves without ever courting a record label.