Technology is something which will consistently advance, regardless of the state of humanity. Capabilities of today’s technology, computers especially, would astonish the societies of as recent as 5 to 10 years ago. Naturally as humans interact with technology to benefit themselves, extended interaction has resulted in increased benefits. The music industry in particular is based on the foundation of technology, and its very existence and operations are affected by it. This has resulted in a blurring of the lines between professional, amateur, underground, mainstream and so forth, which provides the basis for a debatable scenario.
Every day devices are becoming increasingly convergent, and in turn, powerful. They allow for amateurs to produce digital content at a standard which was previously exclusive to professionals, especially within the music industry . Laptop computers, mp3 players, camera phones, handy cams and what not are readily available to anyone with a job more or less, and are all capable of recording or playing digital music. With the general public now empowered by technology, revolutionary and highly controversial situations have begun to unfold; first and most locally, the surfacing of Australian pop groups Short Stack and Operator Please.
From a culturally bland environment like Central Coast NSW, the formation and success of an indie rock band would have seemed unlikely. Technology however has resulted in the emergence of bands from all corners of the nation, and world. Short Stack are a prime example of the combined benefits of SMS, MySpace and YouTube, breaking the Australian music scene in 2008 and winning prestigious awards . The simplicity and form of the music is almost cheeky, as their success has left professionals baffled. Professional studio musicians and experienced band members scratch their heads and curse names like Short Stack and Operator Please, as they have dedicated years of their lives to breaking a seemingly unbreakable scene, whilst younger, lesser talented amateurs play to enormous crowds. Overnight success of bands through internet exposure will earn fans, but also plenty of enemies. This is an obstacle these bands will have to overcome, as their fan base will consist mainly of youth, who are temperamental and likely to change taste in music frequently. Musical skill and technical prowess were values held paramount by the music community of decades past, but now perhaps not so much.
A band would need a blazing lead guitarist or soaring lead vocals to attract the attention of a 1970s record producer or venue manager. A level of professionalism was required to even cast a shadow on the music scene, and to gain access to recording equipment. This equipment was the only adequate equipment for producing music, and thus only those who were deemed professionally worthy would become famous . This equation would result in many bands of similar appearance and ability for decades, and the stereotypical “rock star” became a household dream. Simplification of musical technique and songwriting slowly broke music scenes as garage musicians became more and more capable of recording their music at an adequate level through technology. Some could argue that this movement cheapens the prestigious industry, however without musical simplification, some of the most successful bands and genres of all time would never have seen the light of day; Nirvana, Arctic Monkeys etc. Garage bands can be an untapped resource of rock and roll gold, as they will play and record whatever and however they choose, free of influence from record companies and mainstream conformity.
What is broadcasted in excess by the mainstream outlets (Channel V, MTV, Music Max, B105 etc) is heavily based on what major record companies and labels release. Now these companies will only hire and produce what they deem to be fit, and their influence is never far from the bands they do. As most music fans will have access to televisions and radios, this ultimately gives companies the power to suggest what we should and should not listen to . Now this could seem harmless, but one must remember that a record company/label is purely a business, and when the almighty dollar is the driving motive behind anything, eventually integrity is lost. Through the revolutionary MySpace, computer users world wide have access to songs recorded by any band of any quality, from the many house hold devices which can now record audio. This approach is favoured mainly by the indie community, however it gives a general alternative option for music fans to consider. Straying from mainstream, radio spammed power pop acts like Greenday encourages the development of these independent and underrated groups. Mainstream radio can sound attractive on first listen, but easily becomes repetitive and in some cases, irritating. Alternative and independent bands which have made themselves known via self recording on accessible devices have gone on to inspire (embarrassingly enough, politicians ) and prosper, and this is an attribute which must be valued.
Practitioners of supposed high skill these days are perhaps only so because of the obvious advantages they are provided with, due to their elite status. The best guitars, amplifiers, drums, microphones, recording equipment, producers, and such are at their fingertips. There is little inspiring about U2 releasing an over-produced rehash of the last three albums with their millions of dollars; however there is plenty to admire when you witness kids receiving praise and breaking the industry through MySpace, flaunting their second hand gear which they had worked so hard at Hungry Jacks to buy. Arctic Monkey’s Alex Turner went from caressing a Christmas present Stratocaster in his garage to belting a vintage Fender Bronco in front of capacity crowds in less than a decade. This truly foregrounds the value of digital production and the ability of any computer using musician to broadcast their product. Grand success and the ability to inspire are alive and kicking with the self production of amateurs and the possibilities unlocked.
Bibliography
Scholarly articles
http://fr.creativecommons.org/articles/finland.htm - From Switzerland
http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=zgEOAAAAQAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=1970s+Rock&ots=soqFB1m2GR&sig=3nmI_HQgzGBVvi4bigLw_UZ5UTA#v=onepage&q=1970s%20Rock&f=false – Google Books
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=933548 – Google Scholar
http://www.socresonline.org.uk/cgi-bin/perlfect/search/search.pl?q=organisational&showurl=%2F11%2F3%2Fbeer.html – Google Scholar
http://www.springerlink.com/content/m7q1725217443802/ - Google Scholar
Internet sites
http://www.shortstack.com.au/biography/ - Google search
http://www.arctic-monkeys.com/ - Google search
http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2009/10/08/Pearl-Jam-U2-And-Pink-Sell-Out-To-High-Paying-Brands.aspx# - Google Search
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g4DfieP0sX0IfcY5shP2aHtntwzw - Google Search
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/5380808.stm - Google Search
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