Does a free for all mean that we are slowly losing standards??
For years the struggling artist/writer/filmmaker/musician/actress/general art bum has been forced to sell their soul, and often their bodies for a chance at fame through casting, signing, publishing, etc but now the internet has rendered it possible to skip out the middle man so to speak.
So let’s look at the pros. Exposure to the missed talent of today. You can reach the masses from your study; I do it. I am a musician and My Space allows me to spread my music, find gigs, find similar musicians, etc. Check it out if you want, whore it out for me even. (www.myspace.com/charlieannebrown) I have had it for just over two months now, and it has allowed me to get into the circuit for very little money and in a very short amount of time.
However, due to the creative industry’s own saturated nature, it is a common known fact that everyone believes they can write the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, or the Grammy winning song. There is a lot of talent out there, but the truth is that the talent is well hidden in the masses of what I will call sub talent reaching the people. If everyone can post their work online, chances are everyone will. We live in a world of perpetual talkers and blocked ears, thus the internet is that nonstop, nonsensical, non sequitor of a “conversation”. So it has the potential, but because the people will always vote, the rubbish tends to stay out in the rubbish and the gold has a way of being mass playing and rising to the top. If its good, or so bad its good, people will keep listening/reading/watching, and people will always feel free to decide and declare what is rubbish and what is not.