"There's a disconnect when a phenomenon like 'O Brother' isn't even talked about on the radio station," Lenski said. "Here, programmers are saying, 'We know better than you.' That's a mistake. They all missed this, and they'll probably miss the next big thing."

Moreover, an analysis of Internet file-swapping services suggests that contrary to some programmers' contentions, the music of "O Brother" gained a following among fans of more contemporary country. Data from Los Angeles research firm BigChampagne shows that among fans who downloaded songs from the soundtrack, the acts most frequently downloaded are mainstream country stars, including Alan Jackson, George Strait and Toby Keith--the same artists who top the playlists of many country stations.

If you can't trust the radio programmers, and you can't trust the labels, then who can you trust? [cough]EmergentMusic[/cough]. It's all about finding better 'music filters' because the traditional filters are failing not only us the consumers but the artists as well (having to sell 500,000 to 700,000 to break even is ridiculous!). Hopefully we've found a way to find those filters.
10:00:49 PM   []

Redistributing half of of the wealth of Britney Spears and her handlers would enable what, 100? 1,000? talented non-stars to make an honest living.

We need another way to sell music.

Let's work on it together.

3:28:48 PM   []