Although a White House-issued-report, released today, stated that the Iraqi government has failed to reach a number of benchmarks, President Bush defended progress in Iraq and asked for more time. After four, Ben Merens’ guests share their differing opinions on issues addressed in the President’s press conference today.
Guest:
Quin Hillyer, Senior Editor at “The American Spectator”. www.spectator.org
Alex Koppelman, Staff Writer at Salon.com. www.salon.com
After five, Ben Merens' guest says the Internet is destroying our cultural standards and moral values.
Guest: Andrew Keen, author, "The Cult of the Amateur: How today's Internet is killing our culture" (Doubleday)
posted by At Issue with Ben Merens @ 12:40 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
I take issue with the guest's views on the internet w/ respect to music. As a career musician, and someone who holds a PHD in music, if it were not for the internet, I would have almost no music to listen to. Not that I purchase or download my music from the internet (I still buy "traditional" CDs), but use of the internet with respect to the methods of discovering the music to purchase. The only radio I listen to is public radio. The music industry (major record labels and radio stations) have failed to find the most talented and skilled musicians and bring their music to the people. It is in the independent artists—whether they be on small independent labels, or no labels at all—where I have found the most interesting, unique, and adventurous music to satisfy my listening tastes. And I have found and continue to find this music because the internet allows these talented artists to post info and sound samples that are easy for me to locate.
The internet has also helped me realize that I am not alone. I've been able to connect with many people from around the world who have similar musical tastes, and owe the same debt of gratitude to the internet for helping them find this music.
It is no wonder the recording industry (major record labels) is in trouble and the so-called amateur musicians on the internet are growing. The general public is realizing more and more the failure of the major labels at finding talent. The public's hunger for real talent has forced them to look elsewhere, and the internet has made this easier. I would argue that the experts the guest spoke of who work at these music industry giants are not qualified to find the talent and bring it to the public. They can take any amateur w/ questionable talent, throw a bunch of money behind them, and then people will think they're getting the best of what's out there because the record label has the resources to promote them. What the internet has done has helped people realize that there's a lot better music out there than what the industry giants have been spitting out.
This is not only a matter of quality and professionalism w/ respect to independent musicians, but also of diversity of style. The major labels offer only a very small part of the types of music that are being created. The internet has allowed a greater diversity of musical styles—often music that people will never had heard of through mainstream channels—to be brought to the public. Now, people are discovering music they love and would've never known about had it not been for the internet. So, with respect to Mr Keen's thesis, asserting that the internet is killing our culture, and the musical culture included, I could not disagree more.
In my expert opinion as an educated, experienced, and career musician, I can state with confidence that most of what the mainstream music industry has been releasing has been absolute garbage. This shows that the guest's opinion that the people in charge in the music industry—the so-called experts he speaks of—are not the ones who are contributing in a positive manner to our musical culture. If the guest was correct, the internet would not succeed. People would reject and ignore all the music posted by independent artists it and stick w/ the artists the major labels churn out. Independent artists would not be gaining strength and listeners. The truth is, they are.
The other item I take issue with is the guest's assertion that one is only a professional (musician) if they are able to do one thing in music and earn a living at it. By saying one is not a professional rock musician unless they earn a living solely as a rock musician, he is stating that the millions of musicians with music degrees who work in a variety of musical areas (teaching, composing, performing, recording, writing, etc.), are not professional musicians. The person who may teach music, write music books, and play in a rock band could not be considered a professional in any of those fields unless they were able to earn a living solely from one of them. Most career musicians work in a variety of musical fields to earn a living.
It was at this point in the radio discussion that I realized this guest was more than someone who just had an opinion I disagreed with, but demonstrated a complete lack of credibility through his display of ignorance on what it means to be a musician, and succeed as a professional one. To Ben's credit, he challenged this notion of being a professional, but time constraints took the program to a break, and the matter was not picked up again in any detail that I heard.
Through the realization of the guest's failings, the idea that the so-called experts don't always know what is best has been proven. If Doubleday published Andrew Keen's book, we would assume he is a credible "expert" in his field. And thus top-notch programs like "At Issue" would have him on assuming him to be an expert. But Mr. Keen's bold yet ignorant statements show that even the giants in publishing, with their experts who decide what to publish, can make mistakes.
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