This is the kind of thing that works. Justice isn't trying to appeal to a wide audience, there is no glitz and glamour here... Market segmentation, right?

Its a long way...

Sam Cooke once crooned:

It's been a long, long time coming
but I know a change gonna come


Or, if AC/DC is more your particular cup of tea (well, maybe more like brand of whiskey), remember that, "

It's a long way
to the top if you wanna rock and roll


Record companies, new artists, hell, even superstars have been feeling a financial crunch since the dawn of the digital age, as an industry that rocked and rolled to huge successes throughout the 90's has suffered immensely in recent years.

As a fan, wannabe creator and eventual purveyor (thats the idea, anyways) of music, I want new artists to have a chance to be heard. I want them to succeed if they have a worthwhile story to tell. And really, I want to be inspired.

This blog space will be used as a forum to discuss my thoughts (and yours) in regard to the future of the music industry, by diagnosing the problems of the past with the solutions of the future. More specifically, I want to examine how the digital age is affecting previously held notions about intellectual property, and the fallout from these new implications. I want to look at all approaches, from the poor unfortunate soul’s at the RIAA fighting against the tyranny of a 10 year old girl, to the free release of music a la Radiohead and Immortal Technique.

I also want to look at marketing music in new ways. Are social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook the way, or are they already becoming extinct? With radio becoming less and less popular, especially among younger people, where will generation Y (and beyond) find new music?

But I can’t just talk business.

Where’s the fun in that?

I also have to discuss how music as an art form is evolving, both for better and (more likely) for worse. The digital age has made artists (as well as no talent ass-clowns) rich off ringtones and singles while genuine albums can't be given away.

Will this change how music is created? Personally, I believe we have arrived at a point where most popular music is a muddled, muted mess, seriously lacking in creativity and vision. Just look at American Idol. Yeah, it generates revenues, and lots of it, but the producers pigeonhole the artists into toned down pop versions of themselves (ahem, Ruben Studdard) by selling them to hit-makers whose goal is completely financially motivated. Yea, this is all good and well in the short run, but if this oligarchy persists, you can bet on even more stagnation in the music industry.

The conservative theology of Wall Street investors has led to the rise and glorification of hit-making producers who write candy. As good as it is, its fleeting, and after having too much, you kind of start to feel sick. I want to see what artist will come along to take us back to creativity and ingenuity and spice up what has become dull.

So feel free to tell me your thoughts on anything, including how idiotic/stupid I am because believe me, I have my moments.