Organizers of San Francisco's Noise Pop Music Festival say it's never been easier to pack their shows with talented independent artists.
"It's easier for us to find stuff too because of the internet. In terms of easier for us, we're getting music from different sources than we would have ten years ago," said Jordan Kurland, co-owner Noise Pop Festival.
Now he can just turn on his computer and see what Facebook is focused on or what bands the blogs are talking about. As the once mighty powerful music label continues to disappear, Jordan Kurling says it's time to embrace the new way of doing things.
"Look at the book industry, once TV came along, people weren't selling as many books as they were, but the publishing industry figured out how to make it work. They figured out how to make more money from less books sold and that's the music industry and that's what we're going through right now," said Kurland.
The Dodos of San Francisco have definitely figured out how to make the new media work for them. The duo has made sure their videos are on their website and on YouTube.
"I think for bands like us that are small and just starting out it's a really helpful thing it makes it easier to get stuff out there," said Meric Long, The Dodos.
But even they have been surprised at how far reaching the internet can be. They haven't had a music label backing them up and promoting them, yet people keep coming to their shows.
"We're always shocked by the people who show up and people either know the songs or they are willing to have us stay at their place anything like that. It's always shocking every time we go out," said Meric Long.
The pendulum has swung so far the other way, the popular band Radiohead dumped their record label and released their new album on their website. Bands say it's not only a good time for the little bands but also for music fans.
"It just opens up the whole world of music to curious minds who want to go find something they like, purely for their own reasons," said Logan Kroeber, The Dodos.
Of course, there is still some longing for the old days and some bitter feelings about how streaming video on line has hurt record sales and even some complaining about all the bands on the internet. But all of the mixed emotions are part of the industry's evolution.
