In the past, gaining exposure was difficult. Without a record deal, bands could only self-release their material which meant limited circulation, and pub gigs and local radio stations were as far as they could go to find an audience. MySpace has eliminated this barrier—a band’s existence can be made evident to wide, global audience almost instantaneously. Hart says that “on the Internet, you can reach out to the consumer, at virtually no cost, and market your products, services, your art, anyway you wish”, [8], very much encapsulating the facilities provided to musicians by a network such as MySpace.
Negus notes the “greater levels of investment [had] been required to record, market, and promote artists” in the 1980s, averaging “between £250,000 - £330,000 over the first 12-18 months of an average [recording] deal for a new act”, £80,000 of which were for “basic promotional expenses”. [9]. Obviously, these exorbitant sums were well out of reach for most aspiring artists, so handing out fliers or putting up posters was as far as they could go. Now, MySpace sees these promotional expenses dwindle to almost negligible, given the only thing necessary is access to the Internet.
Pfahl states that “contractual arrangements between record labels and artists have historically formed a major barrier to entry in the music industry.” [10] This would only just be the first barrier. The second came in the form of artistic control. Being able to sustain a relationship with a label had ‘barrier’ implications of its own, in that “these arrangements, in essence, provide labels with monopoly rights to the artistic output of individual artists from which the labels can then generate revenues.” [11]
The Internet has provided musicians with the opportunity to challenge the industry’s ‘monopoly rights’. As Pfahl contends, “[musicians] have constantly asked for more control over their work, but realise that they cannot live without the benefits provided by record labels, that is until the Internet arrived on the scene.” [12] Artists such as the Arctic Monkeys have adamantly refused to change their music to suit the industry, and this act of rebellion has rounded them a loyal fan base built and sustained vastly through MySpace. Pfahl says that “musicians believe that they know how to find and produce the kinds of music that the listening public wants.” [13] In October 2005, the Arctic Monkeys sold out a show at the enormous and historic London Astoria, proving they did not need a record label to help boost their popularity.
Of course, promotion targeted at the wrong audience is done to no avail. Finding the right audience is another barrier which MySpace has helped eliminate. Pfahl says that “the independent musician will no longer have to search for an audience; instead the audience will search for music that meets their preferences, thanks to new technologies that will be increasingly efficient.” [14] MySpace epitomises this ‘efficient’ matching between musicians and listeners in that artists can aim their music specifically at the right groups, meanwhile also being sought out by their respective potential fans. This efficiency in the allocation of music over MySpace also works to strengthened styles and genres that were originally dispersed (see post-rock case study).
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8. Hart, 2000
9. Negus, 1992
10. Fox, 2002
11. ibid
12. Pfahl, 2001
13. ibid
14. ibid
