In today's music industry most of their top artist seem to be over paid sell outs.  Who can blame them though with all their is on the internet a simple garage band can send their music across the world for free.  So why not play a song that's catchy and sounds like everything else on the radio?  I mean I would like to say old time rocker's and roller's from my fathers youth were the true musicians (which I do believe) but they never had the internet.  The music industry has changed drastically and has created this mainstream money train that people seemed to by guaranteed success for backing a product or putting off the right image.  My friend Dave Emanuel play's in a band called "Black Day Seven", they play mainstream music and have actually had a couple meeting with big record company's, these guys are very familiar with the industry.  I asked Dave one day, "what does it take to make it in the industry now days?",  he replied with "Kyle it's not about the music anymore, I mean sure they said our music was what they were looking for but they didn't like our image our our attitudes and pretty much told us that they were looking for our sound with boy band faces in tight leather jackets and gelled up hair".  Music is slowly deteriorating from this industry,  I'm sorry not music what I meant to say in place of music was TALENT! On top of this look at all the advertisement going on in music videos, I mean there was product placement back in the day but not nearly as much as now.  Almost every single mainstream band is backed by at least 10 sponsors.  For example look a Brittany Spears new video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Edv8Onsrgg, now tell me their is not at the at the least 10 different close ups on products that are unneeded in that video.  It is now longer a video to play along with the artists piece of music, it has been turned into a giant advertisement/money making short film.

A lot of the new technology out helps a lot of bands and groups become known.   Look at Rebecca Black (Currently 102,110,054 views on you tube), I honestly have no idea how or why that video was made, was it like a sweet 16 birthday present?  Daddy giving his little princes what ever she wants on her special day.  Cause honestly if this was made by a record company who signed this untalented waste of space, I can only guess that their hopes of creating a celebrity hate star and taking advantage of the negative media created by that video to advertise and sell products, if that was their true intentions...was success full.  With out you tube this type of attention probably would be impossible to achieve.   So on and so forth with my space and twitter, like I said before a garage band can send their music across the globe for free; which isn't a bad thing sometimes.  Since bands upload their music to the websites, they have created company's like I tunes and allowed users to purchase music right on bands web page.  Doesn't matter if the bands are major or independent the money making option is open to everyone now days.  Take Pandora.com for example, this is an internet radio site that allows users to create their own radio stations by entering a favorite song or band.  The site than analyzes the music and finds other songs/artist that are similar for the user and allows users to "Like or Dislike" the song, if liked the site will find more music similar to this song and it will become recurring on your radio station.  Users have the option to purchase each song that is played on radio station from a little link tab at the top of each song. Beside from artist making money from people buying these songs from Pandora they also get royalties each and every time their song is played from Pandora "http://blog.pandora.com/faq/contents/351.html".

Led Zeppelin gettin down.

With all of this being said, I cannot blame the music industry for changing so drastically.  They have been affected by technology the most. I mean how many people download music rather than buy a CD?  I will admit I have certain bands that I love and will buy their CD every single time cause I'm a loyal fan... to them lol.  We the down loaders and leachers and the seeders have brought this upon the our selves by taking a lot of  the music industry's profits by illegally downloading.  We have pushed them to alternative means in my eyes to make up for the decrease in CD sales.  I  really don't care though they are payed to much anyways lol,  Thank god for websites like Pandora for not only keeping the artist from bitching, but for giving me access to all of this great  music that I would have never found in a million years.  God bless Amer... screw this place.