Before the internet really exploded around 2000, our access to music was limited.

It began at the record label level. Without a deal, getting distribution of your music was nearly impossible. Even if you did, your music was run through other filters: radio, music video channels, record stores and music magazines. The entire time, you competed with all the other new songs out there, along with older established favourites.

Getting the public’s attention was hard. Getting them to part with their limited disposable income to buy your music was even harder.

But because the initial supply was small and the winnowing process so stringent, rewards awaited the lucky few who came out the other side of the star-making machinery system. We lived in a monoculture, driven largely by radio airplay. I

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