If there aren’t any objections (considering I’m writing this and none of you are here with me, I should hope not), I’m going to include some more Canadian content in this blog, at least for this post. So, if you’re anti-Canadian, look away right (wait for it)… now.

Just thought I’d point out that Halifax, Nova Scotia folk duo Sons of Maxwell are pretty much taking the online world by storm these days after frontman Dave Carroll posted a comically charged poke at United Airlines for their alleged novel take of indifference when it comes to customer service. It’s a great video, great song, and a the typical Canadian way of getting back at someone who has wronged you… don’t make them pay, make them feel really guilty and get them to want to pay on their own. Of course, United’s wanting to pay on their own only came after the YouTube video in question, “United Breaks Guitars”, went viral and reached over 1,000,000 views and spread the word quite effectively as to just how badly Carroll was treated over the course of a year. In any case, it’s funny, so check it out.

Okay, anti-Canadians, you can turn back now. The point I was making was this: The internet has become a driving force as far as artists should be concerned with getting their message and product across.

Hitlab.com is another example, as independent artists everywhere slowly discover the music industry’s best-kept secret. Put simply, the site represents the future of the music industry. The future? Today? What a novel concept. So novel, in fact, that Akon has signed on with the social-music-community platform knowing that, otherwise, he may get left behind when the digital age of music is ushered in in full. The gist of the site is this: It’s open to both fans and artists alike, with artists invited to, upload, share, and sell their songs. Not only that, but the site plays host to an ongoing competition among independent artists, giving them a shot at a record deal with Akon.

The site’s breakthrough “dynamic hit scoring” technology ranks songs based on how likely they are of becoming a hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Those who get high scores and those who resonate the most with the site’s users themselves earn chance to compete in an annual showcase in front of Akon, after which at least one performer will realize their dream of getting signed under either Kon Live Distribution or Konvict Muzik. The site has already been profiled in detail, most recently in Forbes magazine, where Akon described the site as “the industry killer”.

One glance around ever-smaller CD stores reveals the truth. More and more artists are foregoing the classic CD release altogether and are making their albums available exclusively in mp3 format. It’s a tell-tale sign that the music industry isn’t in trouble, but rather the music industry as we know it is. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though… just the natural order of things; the next step in evolution, really.

Peace out,
MC