The Rockefeller Fortune knows technology can be a help and a hindrance
"Like everything, it's sort of a double-edged sword," said Wilson, "I wouldn't say there's more competition, necessarily, but there's definitely a lot more noise . . . I'd imagine it's a little easier to get someone to look at a physical press kit than it is to get them to read an email."
By Kate Andrews
12/13/10
During the golden days of rock 'n' roll, bands were made through friendships and love of music. For The Rockefeller Fortune, their line-up was complete after filing an ad on Craigslist. Welcome to the 21st century.
"They have a 'musicians' section and there are a lot of cool people on there. Decidedly less creepy than the rest of Craigslist, although the sample does skew a little bit on the old side," said vocalist Orion Wilson.
Wilson said he posted an ad calling for a keyboardist while band mate and drummer Danny Joseph said he would have never thought of going to the Internet for a band member.
Wilson listed the band's biggest influences as well as their age in order to find a perfect fit. After a few "duds" as Wilson puts it, that perfect fit was found in keyboardist Alex Newbury who joined Wilson, Joseph and bassist Jake Gardner.
Newbury said he appreciated technology for what it was doing for the music business because it makes music easier to access and distribute.
"Theoretically, any slight enthusiast who has a desire for writing a song could lay down a four-track GarageBand tune, upload it to their MySpace, and be heard instantaneously," said Newbury, "clearly an awesome innovation for those 'bedroom producers' out there, like myself."
"While I could have put up a wanted ad in the local paper and gotten a similar result, I feel that the Internet allowed the process to go much faster and smoother," he said.
The band now has a Facebook, MySpace , their own website and a page on bandcamp.com, a site dedicated to connecting fans with rising talent. But is technology like Craigslist more of a help or a hindrance?
Joseph said the Internet has helped get the word out, "but this has turned to over-saturation. You got to really look hard for the best bands . . . It's nice to think the best ones will find their way to enough people but some just don't know how."
Newbury agreed with Joseph.
"There are bands out there that definitely deserve more praise than they get, simply due to a highly saturated market," he said.
However, he said this rise in talent is nothing new. A 2008 study done by the National Endowment for the Arts found that the number of people claiming to be musicians has seesawed for 20 years. In 1990 148,162 people claimed "musician" as their occupation. That number grew to 170,015 in 2000 but fell to 163,149 in 2003. In 2004 it reached its peak of 176,713 and fell again in 2005 to 169,079.
Newbury said with each era of new technology, more musicians appear on the scene. "However, this dynamic of 'advances of technology resulting in more competition' is something that musicians have been wrestling with since the dawn of recorded music," Newbury said. "At each historic development of musical media, gramophones, vinyl, 8-track, cassette, CD, mp3, etc., you see an increase of not only musicians, but also musicianship."
But he said he sees the increase in musicians as the growing of a musical community rather than people he has to compete against.
"I believe technology has made more musicians, but that doesn't necessarily mean more competition. Musicians should look at one another as potential collaborators, or, if nothing else, an artist in their own right. At least, that's my romanticized view on it," said Newbury.
Wilson said he also sees two sides to this situation.
"Like everything, it's sort of a double-edged sword. I wouldn't say there's more competition, necessarily, but there's definitely a lot more noise. I obviously wasn't involved in the music business before there was the Internet, but I'd imagine it's a little easier to get someone to look at a physical press kit than it is to get them to read an email."
During the golden days of rock 'n' roll, bands were made through friendships and love of music. For The Rockefeller Fortune, their line-up was complete after filing an ad on Craigslist. Welcome to the 21st century.
However, he said this rise in talent is nothing new. A 2008 study done by the National Endowment for the Arts found that the number of people claiming to be musicians has seesawed for 20 years. In 1990 148,162 people claimed "musician" as their occupation. That number grew to 170,015 in 2000 but fell to 163,149 in 2003. In 2004 it reached its peak of 176,713 and fell again in 2005 to 169,079.
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