Why the Internet is Good for Music

A lot has been said about how detrimental the internet has been to the music industry. Fans can access music so readily and download it so cheaply, that the artists themselves are losing out on significant amounts of money. While these gripes are true, and unfortunate, the internet has also done marvelous things for those of us that love music.

For one, that easy access has enabled the average listener to increase their exposure tremendously. I learned about some of my new favorite artists through the internet. Justin Nozuka and Bon Iver were introduced to me through websites. As was Colbie Caillet and Peruvian musician, Ruben Blades. I was also able to uncover older or unreleased songs from some of my favorite artists like Common, Lil’ Wayne or Counting Crows. 

This isn’t always done illegally. There are great websites like, www.pandora.com, where you find new music every day. At Pandora, you type in the name of an artist and the website generates a playlist of songs by that specific artists and other artists that play similar music. Type in Citizen Cope and also get music from Amos Lee, Rhymefest and certain soulful joints from John Mayer that I had never known existed.

There are also social networks like MySpace and Facebook to thank for unveiling countless new artists whose voices would never have been heard otherwise. MySpace has pages designed just for musicians where I constantly check out friends’ groups and find that they sound just like a group I love, O.A.R. (http://www.myspace.com/steveraszka). But Facebook joined the fight too when it created ReverbNation; an application where musicians can upload their own songs for all Facebook users to browse.

When getting in touch with an old High School friend of mine, I uncovered that he had an Artist page on Facebook dedicated to his group, Mente Derecha. I checked it out and fell in love with two of his songs (“BK M.C.” and “Loose off the Truth”. Check them out for yourself:  http://apps.facebook.com/reverbnation_fb/artist/mentederecha).  Without even trying to, the internet showed me a new artist that I really dug. It just so happened that this artist happened to be an old friend. It made me view him in a whole new light, as a talented artist, but it also made me a fan. Would I have been able to figure this out without the internet? Probably not.

So while established musicians are losing chunks of money as they figure out how to use the internet to their advantage, countless unknown and emerging artists are thanking their stars that this chance as been presented to them. Just set aside an hour one of these days and scour the internet. You’re bound to find something new that you like.

Tila Tequila, Another Celebrity in Name Only?

Everywhere you look recently, there is this pint-sized, mixed race sex symbol popping up. She goes by Tila Tequila and apparently has grown into a pretty big star. I picked up an issue of Blender magazine, she was there. I turn on my TV, she’s there. I flip through Entertainment Weekly, she’s there. Now, in some of these instances, I led myself to her. I have watched the TV show, and I admit that it is trashy enough to keep me watching for shear enjoyment, without being so bad that I actually force myself to turn it off. However, what has me questioning this 4′11″ character is the new distinction of her as a “star.” The idea that she is more than Paris Hilton; a pretty face who gets put on television for nothing more than ratings alone, yet consistently swears that she has real 

What exactly has she done to become a celebrity? She was one of the first people ever to post pictures of herself on MySpace. So that means she knows how to utilize the Internet is a self-advantageous way. I can give credit where credit is due. Then she got this TV show where she tries to find “true love,” (we’ll get to that later). Again, its enjoyable, but doesn’t show any real talent on her part. Apparently she’s got a few songs out too and we’re led to believe that this is her actual passion. You can find them on her myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/tilatequila) which led me to visit it and check them out for myself. She does a lot of gyrating and little clothes-wearing, which I think is meant to distract from the fact that the songs are really nothing special.

So why is this girl becoming famous? She’s good-looking, but by no means a Tyra Banks or Marissa Miller. She seems to have enough business-sense to make money off of her image, but she won’t build an Olsen Twins-esque empire. And she has an okay voice, but she’s not going to win Grammy’s or wow anybody with her music.

So why is she becoming this “icon”? Are we really supposed to believe that she is putting herself out there as a bi-sexual woman trying to find true love? If it were true then I would respect her for her bravery, but I have heard too much about these reality dating shows to believe it. Chuck D came to speak at my college a few years back and informed us that he still keeps close with Flavor Flav, who has been married to the same woman for decades. Wait, you mean the man who’s been looking for love for three or four season of his show is actually still married to the same woman he always was? So he’s not actually looking for love? So it’s all a set-up? Ok, I could have guessed that, but what should make me think that Tila Tequila is any different?

She had a “break-up” with her Season 1 winner, but instead of giving up on the idea of meeting somebody from a show, she decides to accept a most-likely, ridiculous amount of money to reach for love via the media again. Is she really doing this to break-down the boundaries of what America thinks about bisexuality? Because if so, the show should be geared towards something more than jacuzzi sessions and food fights. America has seen women making out with each other on TV for years, how is that breaking barriers? If anything, it’s just contributing to the idea that female couples just like to wear skimpy clothing and get freaky with each other. 

So I’ll watch the show, I’ll give in to the blatant attempt to suck in viewers with drama and fights, but I’ll hold out on the celebrity anointment for now. I’ll wait until this little star in the making actually proves that she has a level of talent that warrants all this attention. Remember that song that Paris Hilton came out with a while back? Yeah, neither do I.