In much the same way as buyout music libraries have functioned to provide easily-accessible solutions to music synchronization for video, telephony, web, etc...the emergence of the independent musician has begun to change the way music "gets done". The traditional record labels and the music industry have begun to become completely unhinged...their power is diminishing (both for good and for bad), and this, combined with the accessibility of the internet and the ongoing explosion in technology (especially MP3 technology) has made music, even good music, ubiquitous.
Because indie musicians control their own creations (freeing those creations from the traditional publisihing agreements), commercial enterprises of various types have begun to look at how this music can be incorporated in various ways. These days, you're as likely as not to hear the intro for a tune from a local singer-songwriter playing as "bumper music" on the Martha Stewart show as you are a song from a major pop artist. Why? Because the rights to that song can be acquired much more cheaply....and money is a factor for everyone, isn't it?
This is why you've seen more and more unknown artists like Dirty Vegas and Hem seeing their music utilized by major advertising entities such as Volkswagen, Liberty Mutual, Apple Computers, etc. It's much cheaper for Apple to approach someone an indie artist than it is for them to use a song by U2...which they still might do, of course, if they are promoting a U2-branded iPod. Otherwise, however, they're more likely to dip into the indie world. |