I don't listen to music on the radio and I don't watch much TV. Everything I learn about new bands comes from social networking sites and individual band blogs, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, etc.
It's a bit of a pain right now to do that, and so the majority of people still depend on a label
No, no, no, no.
If you don't watch TV and don't listen to the radio you are not the majority of people. Most of us are here discussing this topic because we are passionate about music. We are not the majority of people.
There is plenty of space for a niche site that lets bands promote themselves. But don't think that the majority of the population is just itching to get their hands on it, because they aren't.
> If you don't watch TV and don't listen to the radio you are not the majority of people.
You could have said the same thing in 2000 about social networking - if you don't share your photos and broadcast your thoughts over the internet, then you're not the majority of the people. But look at how things are now.
My point regarding how I discover and listen to music was to show that it's possible to do all that over the internet. That it's not outside the realm of possibility with respect to logistics and technology.
Don't look at what people are doing now, but what they could be doing in 5 or 10 years if you give them a valid reason for doing so. It's already been proven that people are willing to root their social interactions in websites and computers. There's no reason the same couldn't be done for music. It's just a fervent belief that the status quo is unalterable that stops these shifts from occurring.
Without a doubt, the degree to which the big music labels are entrenched will make such a shift damn near impossible. But as they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Whoever is successful in cracking this egg will reap unimaginable rewards. Hopefully this will spur the kind of innovation that will lead to some breakthroughs in the near future.
No, no, no, no.
If you don't watch TV and don't listen to the radio you are not the majority of people. Most of us are here discussing this topic because we are passionate about music. We are not the majority of people.
There is plenty of space for a niche site that lets bands promote themselves. But don't think that the majority of the population is just itching to get their hands on it, because they aren't.