Musicians and Today's Internet

Who doesn’t love the band OK Go? Even if you aren’t the biggest fan of their music, their always-unique music videos are always worth watching. I think more people know the song “Here It Goes Again” (the third link) as “the treadmill song” than by its actual name. But you know what, these guys get how today’s music works, and the lead singer isn’t all that bad of a writer either! Earlier this year, he (Damian Kulash) wrote a very well-written story detailing why a “net-neutrality” proposal made by Google and Verizon matters, as told by someone who produces and consumes music. You can read through it here. Just a small excerpt I think is worthwhile in understanding his perspective of the Internet (especially if you don’t feel like reading the whole story):

The Internet is the purest marketplace for ideas that the world has ever seen, and the amazing power of such a level playing field has revolutionized everything. Google knows this better than anyone. It started in a garage and became an industry leader by having great ideas, not mountains of cash. And it’s wonderful: The Internet works! It rewards innovators such as Google, and it relegates protectionist, defensive, idea-squashing fogies such as record companies to the dustbin of history.

Now that the Internet has been around long enough to have developed its own giants, though, we need to make sure they don’t ruin what’s great about the technology that made them. We need to make sure they don’t crush the idea industry the way the music giants crushed the music industry. I hope Google keeps succeeding (seriously, I’m a stockholder), but it must be because of the power of its ideas, not its power to tilt the playing field.

Damian’s next installment, titled “The New Rock-Star Paradigm” is equally well-written (guess it’s good that he’s the lead singer of the band) and interesting. The article discusses his band’s (and other “new artist’s”) measures of success, which are very far from mainstream. It’s also worth the read (if you need a break, you could always watch the videos over again – you know you want to). Nonetheless, I was really inspired to write this post because of how I was alerted to this story. I was linked to it by another one of my favorite bands (even more-so than OK Go), Paper Tongues, who posted it on their Facebook page. Though I suppose an agent or something can update it, I usually (and certainly in this case) have reason to believe that a member of the group itself posted it. I know it even more in this status from yet another band’s (MUTEMATH’s) Facebook page: “Found out the sex of my baby today! I’ll try not to “becoming a dad” barf all over yall, but I’m pretty stoked.-P”

That’s pretty close interaction with the band, if you ask me, and all I had to do was click “Like”. No money was paid or anything like that (I’ve never actually seen any of the bands mentioned in this post in person, but I would love to see any or all of them!). Just another interesting way the Internet, with its massive spread of information, is pulling us all, interconnected, closer together