Music vs. Social Media: An Inverse Relationship

So I’m sitting on a bus headed back to Boston after working in NYC all week. I’ve been thinking that social media and the music industry are very similar in many ways, yet are moving in opposite directions.

The music industry has a long history, and until recently, few major influencers. Now the industry is saturated with influence and bringing in way less money. Reaching out to fans and the idea of human connection is fairly new in an industry that was once made of gods that walked and rocked the earth among us mortal listeners. I feel like as an industry we are seriously reaching out, leaving the thrones behind and going back to the people we were born from in hopes of reconnecting and rebuilding commerce.

Social media has always been of the people, and for the people. The human concept has been around since the very beginning. It’s built on reaching out, connecting, and joining the conversation. Yet, as the social media world grows larger every day, major influencers are becoming the rock gods of the past, and they’re making more money as they go.

I’m really curious if the music industry and social media will have a major collision on their paths, and if this crossing of ways will blossom into a new age of art, media and business. Or has this already happened? How do we quantify the magnificence of a new age? It can’t just be about the money. Sure it’s harder than ever to make a buck selling music, but we are truly in a golden age of ideas, advanced technologies, and a true and passionate desire to make things better for everyone. We are just at the beginning of the future of art and conversation, and as we have our struggles to find our way down this evolving path, I think we are quickly and steadily heading towards something wonderful.