“Imaginative people forge new solutions to old problems. Right now we need every thinking person to step forward and contribute to a safe and sane future. You are part of that process. I celebrate your contribution.” - Rita Mae Brown in the introduction to “Bingo”

Budget cuts at record companies and radio stations that put talented people on the street and leave a barren dehumanized product behind; the end of brick and mortar retail and plummeting CD sales; radio format flips and the survivors' shift to the lite vocal orientation of Smooth Adult Contemporary; concert attendance dropping as ticket prices go through the roof or are replaced by free gigs that leave the audience taking the music and artists for granted and unwilling to pay at all; travel expenses and lack of on-air promotion opportunities making it tough for artists to tour; indie concert promoters getting knocked out of the way by big corporate players or, even worse, trying to stake out each other’s territories instead of working together for the common good…

It looks pretty bleak out there until you take your eyes off the rear view mirror, then all these possibilities start to unfurl: Internet radio; indie publications; websites; blogs; podcasts; online music retail and distribution; YouTube making it easy for musicians to post live clips that show what they can really do when the restraints come off; music-focused social networking sites; consumer generated reviews; recommendations and playlists; accessible technology making it possible for an artist to record and release music independently and be able to play for the audience instead of fit a radio syndicators parameters; the shift to smaller, more intimate concert settings that includes house concerts where regular people actually present concerts in their homes or in small listening rooms close by. That's the view of the road ahead, and there are all kinds of lanes, ramps, and side paths that haven't even been created yet. It's not a safe, straight line; it's a kaleidoscopic world of possibilities.

There are two big differences between the rear view mirror and the road ahead. Our entertainment consumption used to be dictated from the top down. "Professionals" created the content, and everyone else consumed it. If you didn't like what was being served, you were the one who was wrong, not the professionals who said they knew what was good for you and had statistics to prove it. Now the focus is shifting toward user-generated content, aka consumer-generated media. In real world language that means you create it, put it out there, spread the word, and if it catches peoples' attention the buzz will expand, and your audience will increase proportionally. You don't have to be a "professional" or have "credentials."  The quality of your work will speak for itself. If it catches people's interest, they will watch/read/listen/look, share it, and probably offer feedback - good feedback for encouragement, or feedback that may be critical but contain some nugget that spikes your creativity, and takes you to the next level.

The other shift is toward fragmentation. Instead of huge groups of people clustering around one thing, there are lots of smaller audiences consuming a wider variety of content and covering a lot of territory. They have 20 favorite songs instead of one favorite album; they read ten blogs and webmags instead of one newspaper; and listen to multiple Internet radio stations instead of one local corporate broadcaster. It's a shock to those steeped in the old ways, because now you create impact by being in a lot of small places instead of one big one.

It's much harder for adults to become part of this participatory culture. We grew up with vivid lines of demarcation between "pro" and "amateur." We tend to value credentials over substance and believe an impressive resume is necessary for validation. The generations growing up in this new environment just get the idea, jump right in and see where it takes them. That's where we have to go, and that's the challenge we have to take on.

Want to start a website or an Internet station? Do it. Start a blog? Do it! Post a review on Amazon or Barnes and Noble website? Do it. Start a fan page for your favorite artist? If there isn't one already, then do it! If there is one, become an active participant.  Don't have time to start a project yourself? Support the projects others have already started. Join one of the music networking groups and check out the music that others are discovering. Do a lot or do a little, just don't let the idea that you are not "qualified" hold you back. You wouldn't have read this far if you didn't have the passion or interest. You have, so there's your "qualification." Remember, though, to respect others' territory. Don't do anything that would make it appear that you were representing a musician unless you have their explicit permission to do so. There are artists who are quite surprised when they find out they have pages on networking sites that they have never even hit; so unnecessary and so not cool!

There is one thing that is even more important. We are in this together. We are all connected, and it is important to support the work that others are doing. That can be hard because we are so conditioned to come from scarcity and feel like there is not enough to go around – that if one person is doing something, there is no room for you to do it too. Or worse, to fall into the comparison trap and have to be bigger, better, best, or on the other side, to not believe you are good enough to even try. Then there is good old ego; a real trap for those of us who did have some type of professional legitimacy before falling into the indie pool. Being one little bird in a big flock can be tough when you used to be the strutting peacock. Those are the little minefields we have to face down and dance around, because we are all creating fragments of a big picture here, and the big picture is what matters. Musicians collaborate. Those of us who support them must do the same thing.

Four years ago a group of us decided to start a website. We had this idea and within the group we all had talents that were the pieces of the puzzle that we needed to put the whole thing together. Some of us had experience in the industry, some did not. Some of us had contacts, others knew no one. You, as a reader, probably have no idea which of us did or didn't, and that's the whole idea. Each of us has a perspective that nobody else has. We each see the world and experience everything in it from a different angle. So do you. The contributions you make are equally valuable and necessary. We thank you for your support and can't wait to see and hear what you come up with as we create the future together.