Here's my response to a message I received from someone on garageband:

***Orignal comment: Music has surely progressed during the computer age. ***

Some would say it's progressed...I imagine the big record labels would disagree. One thing is for sure...now more than ever it is back in the hands of the people who make it. I am sure there are a lot of groups out there who still dream of "hitting big", but the reality is that only a scant handful of bands (new bands, at least) are playing large venues and those groups all have niche audiences that have been on board for awhile, ie they didn't get where they are at because of any record label support. "Breaking Out" is a concept that is very soon to follow the dodo bird into oblivion. There are SO many choices and so many venues of exposure that it's almost like a huge river stuffed to the gills with fish...you snag one, you don't like it, you throw it back in. You catch a good one, you keep it. The difference between now and 20 years ago is that YOU decide which fish are worth taking home and not the game warden (record labels). Not that the warden didn't sometimes have some good suggestions, but it gets tiring to have someone else tell you where you can find some trout when you're looking for catfish. You might just love trout, you may be ignorant of the whole species of fish and the game warden may be your indispensable best friend. But the seasoned fishermen (the serious musician, music lover in this analogy) knows enough about the craft and what he wants/likes that he'd like nothing more than the game warden staying as far away as possible.

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