The Wired Generation

Greg Kot has a new book out called Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music. “Art thrives best when it’s created without regard to making any kind of compromise,” he tells Time, saying labels have long forced artists to adapt to mainstream tastes. In it he discusses how the Internet has fractionalized music tastes and points to the end of the “big bands” that have dominated the music industry for decades. He says that we may never see another Michael Jackson, Elvis or the Beatles again and that U2 might be the last of a dying breed as far as “big bands” go. Depending on which side of the fence you are on, this all points to a good news bad news scenario. It’s good news if your one of the many thousands of artists slogging it on your own without the backing and support of a label, as the playing field is getting more level every day and the ability to effectively market yourself to a niche audience becomes easier. Of course its bad news if you’re the manager of a band or artist trying to build and negotiate a long term career with the masses. As the Internet fragments music tastes the ability to galvanize a movement or moment with a soundtrack disappears. This will be another challenge for terrestrial radio to face as it tries to massage its musical offerings to an ever changing and ever fickle audience.