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The structure and function of the major record label as we know it is slowly and inevitably crumbling, with new companies and technologies popping up every day that chip away at the foundation that has made the careers of those few and mighty high-powered music executives. The explosion of the internet in the past decade has opened a Pandora’s box for record labels: ridding the necessity of the all-powerful and controlling record label and providing avenues for artists and fans to get what they want, when they want, and how they want it.

In this blog I will explore the effects and opportunities of the new media frontier of the music industry - from the “threat” it poses to the current industry operational standards to the chance it provides the industry to evolve and better itself.

This is a topic that I feel no one is truly qualified to speak about, thus making everyone qualified to chime in – in the past few years, the industry has been going in a direction that reduces the power of the top dogs and spreads it among the masses. No one really knows every aspect of every thing that is going on, no one can say for sure what will happen next, and it’s really anyone’s game to make a move and decide what is actually going to happen next. The voice of the fans is becoming increasingly powerful – having an online buzz about your band is becoming just as important as securing that high-profile feature in Rolling Stone. Although the rock stars of decades past still do exist, it is now harder and harder to become that elusive rock god, as the internet breaks down the barrier between artist and fan, allowing for the engagement between the two parties, both to the dismay and joy of many.

As far as my qualifications go, as an avid consumer of music as well as someone who’s just gotten their foot in the industry door, I’ve yet to become jaded enough but am becoming just wise enough to begin to understand the often twisted inner workings of the music machine. My academic concentrations in psychology and public relations do tie-in to my career aspirations of one day becoming fully entrenched in the industry. With the over saturation of the musical market these days, an understanding of how to sell oneself and stand out from the crowd has become crucial, and in order to know how to do so it can be immensely helpful to understand the social psyche of your target audience. The internet is of course, not going away any time soon, and is a frontier that the music industry won’t simply dabble in but rather is undoubtedly the direction the industry is going.

I hope to explore and analyze subjects and events ranging from Radiohead’s decision to let the customer decide what In Rainbows was worth to them, to Fall Out Boy’s extensive viral campaign promoting Folie a Deux, to what having a Myspace as an artist really means today.