Elton John says the internet is bad for music. What do you think?

Question

Taken from my local newspaper:
"Hopefully the next movement in music will tear down the Internet. I do think it would be an incredible experiment to shut down the whole Internet for five years and see what sort of art is produced over that span".
-Sir Elton John on why he thinks the internet is bad for music

Obviously "shutting down the internet" is never, ever going to happen. But that's besides the point. What I am asking is, is the internet really bad for music? Some would say no because of sites like MySpace where new bands are getting their names out there and sharing their music... and then some would say yes because all of this music on the internet business has really taken away from what music used to be.
What's your take on this?

Answer 1

Here is my take, and this is a great question.



First the Good: I feel the internet is great for exposing new music at no cost to the musicians. Now musicians can market themselves in ways that were never possible and music companies are able to find talent without having to fly across the country to see them.



The Bad: A big problem with the internet is that there is so much information to be had that it has us sooo busy consuming and absorbing that we spend less time CREATING. The whole digital explosion has caused us to be more concerned about obtaining the info, obtaining the latest and greatest. We all have a "I've got to have it" mentality and the internet feeds that need. Now we spend more time "downloading" music than we do "creating" music.



The Ugly: The saddest part is the internet has allowed an avenue where any musician in any part of the world can upload his or her music to be heard. With that said, we are witnessing the worst output of truly groundbreaking talent in the history of the music scene. Of course this is my opinion, but I think what Elton John is getting at is that internet is stifling our time, attention spans and creativity that is needed to produce truly classic music that will be enjoyed and will be meaningful for generations to come.

Answer 2

No, it's not bad. It is a change, and some will suffer (ie the established bands and labels) while others will use it to be found. In the 60's, FM radio started in colleges so that different bands could be heard instead of just the pop radio of AM, which had been influenced by payola and what got played. The small night clubs were also a venue musicians used to be heard by a larger crowd of people. Just as Elton John was discovered while playing keyboard for Long John Baldry. Without that opportunity, he would still be Reginald Dwight, not world famous Sir Elton John. If you don't change, you die. The internet, while causing much grief, ie illegal downloading, also allows a much greater exposure to bands labels won't take a chance on.

Answer 3

Poeple download music from the internet everyday. Music has become a part of the internet. Evans Blue started with Myspace and their name is big now, they started with the internet (<---example). Music and the internet are not a bad mix, but if you add internet pirates to the equation then yes it becomes bad. Not everyone abuses the internet and that should be made mention of. Example #2, if I was selling records at $200 a disc I wouldnt make a sell unless it was in perfect condition with an autograph.

What replaced the Reel to Reel was the Record, Record replaced by A-Track, A-Track replaced by Cassette, Cassette replaced by Cd's, CD Player's replaced by the MP3's & IPod's (I know I missed a lot but I'm making a point not giving a history lesson). Music used to be a lot and it still is a lot, you just need to know how to make use of the new.

Everything has a struggle in adapting to change/evolution. Sites are always dropping prices if not making them free for music downloads.

Answer 4

No, I disagree. I can admit that yes the internet is bad for music as a business, because they really do lose money from all the piracy.



Actually I would say it's the 'business' that manufactures music and musicians rather than treating it as an art form. The internet is just a medium -- it's a good way for musicians to get exposure in ways they otherwise might not. For example, the last concert I went to was Mika ... I've never heard his music on the radio, I only knew about him from the internet. I asked other people there, one woman said she heard about him from perezhilton.com and another from Brian May's website (the guitarist for Queen). And this was a sold out show.



The internet is also good for fans to connect with each other, and for established musicians to reach their fanbase and communicate with them.

Answer 5

I don't think that the Internet is to blame for all the crap that has come out in the last 10 years masquerading as music. Perhaps the record labels are to blame giving contracts and publicity to talentless temporary cash cows. The Internet is certainly bad for the music BUSINESS. But it isn't bad for music itself.

Answer 6

Elton John's comment was directly referring to the ART of writing music and lyrics. Because ANYONE can upload their "music" and find at least ONE person in all of cyberspace to say, "Duh, yeah, man... I feel ya! That's really deep!" now it seems EVERYONE truly BELIEVES themselves a talented musician in some fashion. Giving a monkey a paint brush and 5 buckets of paint DOESN'T make him DaVinci or even Picasso for that matter but some IDIOT out there paid a small fortune and has BoBo's "painting" hanging over their fireplace right now and it STILL isn't art! Availability and ease doesn't equal talent.

Answer 7

I can see both sides. In a way the interent is bad for music because people can steal it and then won't buy the records. BUT, I think that a band could get noticed also. So I think that it can go either way!

Answer 8

It's all about people downloading music for free & not paying the artist for it.

The music industry is losing money. Don't be surprised at the rise in cost of CDs

Answer 9

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