As the Internet becomes more and more central to music distribution and promotion, debate concerning the relatively young medium's pros and cons has swirled through communities of musicians.
Just last week, we reported that
85 percent of the albums offered for sale online in 2008 never sold a single copy.
This week, though,
Techdirt -- going off a piece from the Wall Street Journal -- reports that, at least in the case of one Great Lakes songwriter, the Internet's offerings are more boon than bust.
When
Justin Vernon cloistered himself in a northern Wisconsin cabin to record his rustic, acoustic compositions, he probably didn't foresee those sessions culminating in a proper record, let alone a hit record. But, with the aid of substantial buzz on
MySpace and key blogs, that album -- '
For Emma, Forever Ago' -- has sold 87,000 copies, certainly a hit by most artists' standards.
That buzz -- perpetuated by such blogging heavyweights as My Old Kentucky Blog, Brooklyn Vegan and Pitchfork -- facilitated a contract with renowned indie label Jagjaguwar and has verily made Vernon's band Bon Iver a household name. (Or, hipper households, at least).
Truly, Techdirt and the Journal's assessments of Bon Iver's success have merit; the Internet and more independent media outlets undoubtedly can, and do, help bands and artists that major labels and publications wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. Still, though, we're hesitant to proclaim this the Egalitarian Age of Music. While Pitchfork isn't Rolling Stone, it is a major publication in its own right, and one of the sort whose blessing seems to be a prerequisite for success the measure of Bon Iver's. [From:
Wall Street Journal via
Techdirt]
Let's be frank. No one gets all that excited at the idea of safe 
