The Internet is
great. It has helped businesses to expand into areas where only a decade ago it
was impossible to market and advertise. Research, purchasing opportunities and
even communication with friends and colleagues across the street or across the
globe is now possible. Ben Cameron in his TED talk: “The true power of the
performing arts,” talks about the arts Reformation (going on now) is like
the Religious Reformation. It will be based on the development and spread of
the Internet.
Remember, the
Spiritual reformation asked the following:
- Who’s entitled to practice?
- How are they entitled to practice?
- And indeed, do we need anyone to intermediate for us in order to have a Divine Experience?
Music is now
having the same reformation, which asks similar questions.
- Do I need to go to a concert to listen to a song I can simply view via YouTube, Facebook or somewhere else?
- Is the individual scheduling a concert, event, etc really qualified? If not, I can just listen to someone more qualified via the Internet to save time?
- Do I really need to go to a physical concert in order to obtain my musical/aesthetic experience?
Thanks to the
Internet, one business with a physical location now competes with between 3 to
5,000 additional marketing tactics for the same product and service. There is continuous
concern in the Arts world concerning the amount of concert tickets sold. I
think a quick look at how technology has affected everything will address that. Concert
attendance levels are dropping while the number of arts participants (those who
write poetry, listen to music, compose songs, etc) is exploding. Technology isn't bad. I think it's great! However, it is imperative to look at how technology has redirected previous attendees, business operations, etc. Otherwise, you will be left in the dark. And what's worse, not keeping up will be detrimental to survival.
Before
In the 1930’s
you had to work with companies such as Warner Brothers, 20th Century
Fox, Paramount and a few others if you wanted to start your own movie. You
needed the producers, the movie sets, editing sets, scoring, music and of
course lots of funding. Only a specific group could afford or even had the
opportunity to do so.
After
Now, middle
school aged students create movies in the comfort of their homes. Individuals have
the opportunity to create and distribute film and music creations across the globe. The cost and
availability of the Internet has made this a possibility for all who have the
desire to create and display artistically. There is now worldwide
distribution of products and services like never before. Venues such as Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube and other venues make this possible.
As a result
Thanks to the
development of the Internet and Technology, the distribution of the Arts has
been democratized for the first time in human history. The performing arts are
now at a place where they will be more important and readily available than
they have ever been. We do not want to miss this opportunity to participate in
this fantastic distribution of music. Stay tuned to find out how we plan to get
involved.
