In October 2004, for Wired, Chris Anderson, in the article which was the pre-cursor to his book, wrote "Forget squeezing millions from a few megahits at the top of the charts. The future of entertainment is in the millions of niche markets at the shallow end of the bitstream."
Instinctively, I think we all agree with it, yet from afar it still looks as though the megabucks, development money and time only go into one-hit, or one-album wonders. Even though the platforms, infrastructure, recording artists and the paying public are probably ready for Anderson-style ways of doing business.
Take me as an example. I am a fan of a wide range of music - from mainstream rock and pop, commercial rnb, to folk and the odd bit of jazz and country. Reason being, what I really love is songs - melody, harmony, stories - and great vocals. So, I'm constantly on the lookout for new, often lesser known artists who fit this criteria - like Teedra Moses, Jazmine Sullivan, Ryan Shaw - whose music I can legally download, or better still whose gigs I can go to. And, occasionally I find a new one! but it is definitely not easy, as all airtime and promo attention is dedicated to the next Britney, Justin or X-factor sensation.
So, my conclusion - "If you build it, they will come..." Even in these credit crunch times, people will pay for good music, of a kind that they like, and that lifts their spirits. It just needs to be easier to get hold of.
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