Internet, social networks help aspiring artists promote music

By Celina Wu
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Sitting at the piano, senior Cadey Phipps experiments with different notes to find the right combination for the perfect melody. For her, the purpose of creating a new melody is to pair it with her own lyrics, making an original song of her own creation. Composing isn’t just a hobby, but Phipps also said it will hopefully bec

ome a future career for her as a singer

.

“I started writing my own songs in third grade, and then I started writing more complicated ones with the piano my freshman year,” Phipps said. “I sit at the piano and experiment with different chords and melodies trying to find things that sound good and different from anything else I’ve ever done or heard. I love singing and it would mean so much to be a successful singer.”

Two-Man Bandits, featuring juniors Andy Painchaud, Taylor “Tate” Riner, Owen Yonce and Brian McGowan, performs.Two-Man Bandits, featuring juniors Andy Painchaud, Taylor “Tate” Riner, Owen Yonce and Brian McGowan, performs.Phipps is among the countless aspiring singers who are trying to make it big in the music industry. Of course, breaking into the business and becoming famous are difficult tasks only some individuals achieve. However, with the wide availability of the Internet, it has become easier for unknown singers to promote their music through various Web sites. By posting songs online, artists can make their music known to an extensive amount of people, hopefully garnering attention that could lead to discovery, initiating a career in the industry.

Choral director Diana Gillespie said via e-mail, “It is definitely easier to market your own music nowadays with the Internet. There are so many ways to introduce your music to millions of people now than there were even five years ago. Artists are putting their music on their own Web sites, putting their songs on MySpace, Facebook and the list goes on. One can’t help but hear somebody’s music when visiting a Web site, and that song might just be an emerging artist trying to market his or her music.”

Phipps has already used some Web sites because she said the Internet would be a useful tool to get discovered. She said that she has used  Facebook as a means to have her music heard by uploading videos of herself singing her songs.

Phipps also said a positive result has come from uploading videos on Facebook. “My cousin who owns a recording company heard the stuff I posted up on Facebook and recently asked if I would ever want to team up with a professional songwriter,” she said.

Singer, songwriter and guitarist for his band, the Two-Man Bandits, junior Owen Yonce is also hoping to pursue a career in music. He said the Internet benefits aspiring musicians, like himself, as well. “There is definitely an advantage to using the Internet because you can reach more people that way,” he said. “People can sample or preview your music whereas before, singers had to have a CD out there for people to listen to.”

Yonce also said that his band has a MySpace page, on which he has posted some songs, such as “Troubled,” “Orleans,” and “Frog.”

According to the New York Times article, “MySpace Music Store Is New Challenge for Big Labels,” approximately 3 million independent-label bands and unsigned artists have found MySpace to be an effective, inexpensive way to spread the word about their recordings and concerts.

The Internet has changed how unknown singers market their songs and gain recognition or possibly fame. “More artists are getting discovered by promoting themselves through the Internet,” Gillespie said. “Just think of how many talented musicians there are out there who are just waiting to be discovered. Virtually every local musician I know has his or her own Web site where I can find their performance schedule for the month or year. This kind of promotion was unheard of 10 years ago.”

Having already begun to promote her songs through Facebook and YouTube, Phipps may be on her way to achieving her aspiration.

“To be a successful singer would mean so much,” she said. “I’ve always written songs because it’s the only way I can get all my ideas and feelings out of my head. There’s really nothing else that I have ever done or can imagine doing with my life that would make me as happy. The feeling of knowing other people like something that you have created all by yourself is really cool. I just think being able to put myself out in front of people who appreciate what I’m trying to do is a really amazing feeling that I would love to feel for the rest of my life.”