Who can tell the vagaries of HN voting habits? It usually evens out.
I think the notion of "mainstream" is just as dead as the old industry models. Music audiences are more fragmented than they've ever been, and are learning to be more and more proactive in how they discover music.
Local live music scenes are thriving, even while most of the artists will never make a splash beyond their communities. Sites like http://one-track-mind.com and http://www.indabamusic.com, countless blogs like http://www.brooklynvegan.com have become popular destinations for music fans that want to find something new and more interesting than what passes for mainstream.
I suppose the new challenges that face artists also face music fans. Just as artists can no longer rely on industry hand-holding, music fans that want more than gagabeiberidolglee will have to be more proactive than they're used to being.
The good news is that there's a vast amount of talent out there and they're making high quality recordings cheaper than ever.
I think the notion of "mainstream" is just as dead as the old industry models. Music audiences are more fragmented than they've ever been, and are learning to be more and more proactive in how they discover music.
Local live music scenes are thriving, even while most of the artists will never make a splash beyond their communities. Sites like http://one-track-mind.com and http://www.indabamusic.com, countless blogs like http://www.brooklynvegan.com have become popular destinations for music fans that want to find something new and more interesting than what passes for mainstream.
I suppose the new challenges that face artists also face music fans. Just as artists can no longer rely on industry hand-holding, music fans that want more than gagabeiberidolglee will have to be more proactive than they're used to being.
The good news is that there's a vast amount of talent out there and they're making high quality recordings cheaper than ever.