9 Reasons Rock And Roll Is Dead (And Never Coming Back)

7. New Media Doesn't Pay

Supply and demand is the basic tenant of all commerce, whether that product happens to have any artistic merit or not. And since we've already established that there is far too much new music being generated for any one band to really corner the market, that means that most of these up-and-coming bands now have to settle for a pittance. It was recently assumed (and even more recently disproved) that the best way for a new artist to get their music heard, and thus, get more money in their pockets, is by using the many facets of the digital age to their advantage. Online radio stations like Pandora, for instance, could help bands introduce themselves via similar-sounding artists. Other streaming music services such as Spotify act in a similar fashion, almost like a dating service for musicians and their possible fans. The problem is that Pandora has become increasingly influenced by the record companies, and are now filling up the bulk of their "suggestions" with already established artists. The little guys, ironically, are now finding it harder to get into the mix, which seemed to be the initial point of the service. And forget about making any real money off it even if you're lucky enough to squirm your way into their catalogues. Pandora only pays artists $0.001 per stream. (Spotify's price points are only slightly better.)