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TheMySpace Papers, Vol. 1 by Nick Meador
One of the main concepts behind my work is that the internet has the ability to foster change by providing information faster than any other medium. It’s not mystery that many people dislike change. It can cause stress that some would rather avoid, since it disrupts the patterns that become the foundation of our lives. I recently read an article on AllMusic.com titled ”Marisa vs. MySpace,” claiming that MySpace is hindering the role that music plays in our lives. Marisa’s main argument is that the human consumption mechanism will run out of control with too much music available. In other words, we’re better off with “middlemen” like record labels and critics filtering out certain music. She claims not to be opposed to technology or change, but her points are ultimately conservative. She wants things to stay the way they were since the time she was born (and for many decades before that). She wants bands to sign contracts with record labels, who will then record and distribute the music with the intention of pulling a profit – some for the band, but most for the label. She is about to be very, very disappointed. Trust me. As a kid, I loved trips to the record store more than most people I knew. I would usually choose a 45-speed record over a cassette, not realizing that I was shorting myself 8 to 10 songs in that choice. Then I would keep the records in a He-Man case, and play them on my turntable when my friends were over. Eventually I moved up to cassettes, then to CDs, and finally returned to vinyl, with a devotion to the bands no matter what the form. Of course, the form never mattered because the function was constant. The function of musical recording will always be to illicit enjoyment by listening, dancing, singing along, and on and on. In the last 10 years, we have been presented with a new form of music – the MP3. These were directly tied to CDs at first, since the only way to create the file was to find a program that would rip the CD tracks onto your computer. Even before there was Napster, my friends used Internet Relay Chat programs to find people who would send us songs. High-speed internet connections made this process much easier, as did person-to-person file-sharing programs (like the aforementioned Napster). This file sharing was a beacon of light in dark times. Never again would I have to buy a CD based on hearing one song, not knowing if the rest of the tracks would be terrible filler material. This was a step in the right direction, but it wasn’t until a few years later that I would be exposed to music outside the realm of mainstream FM radio. MSU’s radio station, 89 FM the Impact, brought me even further out of the dark. The station is funded by the university, and doesn’t have to worry about commercial pressure. From the independent rock on regular rotation to the specialty shows like the Jazz Spectrum, I was introduced to what would soon become my favorite music. I quickly abandoned most of the artists I used to follow, in favor of something much more meaningful. Now, things have gone a step further. Internet community websites were another phenomenon to spring out of AOL chat rooms and high-speed internet. In my first years at MSU, I recall hearing people talk about websites like HotOrNot.com and Friendster.com. Then in the summer of 2005, my little brother showed me MySpace.com. From one perspective, it is a bogus entity where people display a fake version of themselves. But many people use it to meet other people, either for networking, friendships, or even dating. No matter how scary that might sound, it’s prevalence must be taken into account. From another perspective, MySpace is an entirely different thing. Any band or artist in the world with a basic understanding of the internet can register for a profile and begin self-promotion immediately. Let’s look at some examples. Thunderbirds Are Now! is a band from Ferndale, MI. On their MySpace page, you can quickly listen to four songs and see tour dates, member names, a website link, pictures and more. Their page has been viewed 96,000 times, and the songs have been played 182,000 times. This is a band on an indie label (Frenchkiss) with limited promotional capability. Therefore, MySpace has become a primary driving force for this kind of band. Next, have a look at the MySpace page for Clap
Your Hands Say Yeah. The band is currently not signed with any record label. They have apparently chosen to take a new path – perhaps the path of the future. Their MySpace page has been viewed 860,000 times, with 2,200,000 song plays. They have no record label support at all, and depend on music journalists, word-of-mouth, and MySpace for audience growth. The Decemberists are a popular band from Portland, OR, who just signed with Capitol Records, one of the biggest record labels in the world. Their songs have been played 2,500,000 times, and the site has attracted 890,000 page views. So on MySpace, everyone has equal opportunity. Do not take this information lightly. No longer does FM radio hold any power in suggesting what people listen to. Now if you hear about a band, you can obtain information from the band’s website, iTunes, AllMusic.com, MySpace and a dozen other sources. It is now possible to screen 100 times more music, and then decide which albums deserve a spot in your permanent collection. In the book The Elements of Journalism by Kovach and Rosenstiel, the authors explain why the internet, and a website like MySpace, is valuable. “This kind of high-tech interaction is a journalism that resembles conversation again, much like the original journalism occurring in the publick houses and coffeehouses four hundred years ago.” So according to this book, we are returning to the state of information sharing that was used by Benjamin Franklin and the other founding fathers of our nation. The time has come for us to take responsibility for what we listen to. If it has become impossible to devote oneself to a band’s entire work, realize that is because most bands only have one creative peak that lasts for one or two albums. With the way things are changing, no band deserves an ounce of credit beyond what their accomplishments bring. If it seems like bands come and go quicker now, maybe attention should be turned towards the internet music writers. Pitchfork Media attempts to lay claim to whatever new music they feel is “coolest.” Often that results in sensationalism with little meaning, and some bands who are endlessly praised end up meeting very few expectations. The form of music will always change, but the function will not. Anyone bent on holding a physical item in their hands can still do so, with CD or vinyl. Most people will just have a lot less “shelf warmers” from now on. But buying music on the internet is becoming increasingly acceptable and trustworthy. iTunes features many exclusive recordings, and many album downloads are under $10. Think of all the plastic jewel cases you can save from an imminent future in a trash dump! The best form of music – live music – has always been intangible (with the exception of live CDs or DVDs). We try so intently to hold onto music as if we own it, but all formats of music are eventually lost. And the most important form of music, when a band shows their true colors on stage, is lost immediately after the sound waves fade. If someone feels that the new conditions allow their drive for consumption to run out of control, the real problem lies within, not on the internet. Music doesn’t have to be a commercialistic industry where consumers are duped into buying junk. Hopefully, the result will be that art will prevail.
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