The truth is that it's never been harder to find new music via search engines. Type 'Music' into Google and you'll find 'About' 7,920,000,000 results, Bing has 94,900,000 and Yahoo! a meer 84,500,000,
So it's quickly obvious to all that Google is the market leader. But that's where the problem lies. Google is like the music charts, less about what is really going on and more about how much advertising has been spent to get it there. To further complicate development of new music, every single result in the first few pages of the search has the word FREE on it. How can new artists establish themselves in the modern world if they can't generate proper revenue from their work?
Touring is a great revenue earner after your first 10,000 hours of graft, but before that it's all paying out, sleeping on friend's sofas and hoping your Van doesn't need any maintenance. You'll make up some CD's and sell them at Gigs and stick your stuff on Youtube, Spotify etc. Just to be seen. But there is little money in iTunes unless you are selling a few thousand a month to survive on a basic salary, if you want to survive via Spotify you are looking at millions of plays, which for all but the biggest artists is nigh on impossible. But you accept this and carry on.
Great musicians are in it for the art. If you want a new car then get a normal job, the car comes after the penance, if you are lucky. So the reality is we are hailing the current tools of the trade as the future, well if that is the case then the future is pretty bleak. So how will we get out there? How will the artist win. Without selling their soul or their van.
Frontline websites need to do more for the unsigned band or artist, they need to create an environment where they can help artists create, not just profit off their creations. It's not about helping any old piece of crap though, there needs to be A&R involved, but in this modern world, the outlets have the best opportunity at becoming the newest and cheapest modern record label. They have the audience, they have the advertising mechanism. What they don't have is the interest in the system. They need to realise that like a physical product, people will lose interest if the quality doesn't exist. So today's portals need to play a part in delivering that quality.
But the problem is, do a Google search and you'll find the top 10 pages full of the obvious, the safe and the identical.
So, if you are looking for new music, don't waste time on search engines. It's all about Apps, the computer is dead for the new emerging artists, it's all happening via iPhone and Android tools. So now you know!
- Discovr Music (App) - This app is like a music map, top quality aesthetics and interaction and really highlights the fun and appeal of an app.
- Band of the Day (App) - It's really simple....365 days, 365 bands!
- Hype Machine/Hype Radio (Website/App) - 'The Hype Machine' keeps track of bloggers and what music they write about. A Gigseen Fave!
- Bandcamp/Bandcamper (Website/App) - Streaming and sales tool for new and exciting often unsigned artists.