But the idyllic, ultra-democratic model of free-music-for-all that some artists expected hasn't come to pass. In fact, many of the same mass media players that guard the gates at radio stations and television networks are pulling the strings behind online music, as well.
Arbitron, the company that has monitored radio ratings for decades, started tracking online radio listening late last year. (http://www.arbitron.com/article4.htm) And to nobody's big surprise, the most listened-to online radio stations are major market, commercial radio stations.
These ratings are limited to online radio signals, naturally. But any non-radio online audio stream that's capable of attracting over 10,000 listeners a month is programmed in much the same way as a traditional radio station.
Therefore, if you want your music to be heard by huge amounts of people, there's still no quick fix. You'll still encounter the same challenges that you would encounter if you were trying to get your song played on any major market radio station.
That shouldn't mean the end of your quest, however. Remember that the key to long-term success in our industry is in the number and the quality of the relationships that you make. If you're just starting out, this is a perfect time to get that song you've been working on into the Rio Players of a handful of the right people.
You don't even have to have your own website right now, if your budget won't support one. Plug yourself into a free network like Audiogalaxy (http://www.audiogalaxy.com) or MP3.com (http://www.mp3.com), and take advantage of their tools and resources. I recommend Audiogalaxy in particular, because they've assembled a music department that really cares about exposing their audience to great, new music. When you hook up with one of these music networks, make sure you have the opportunity to reach as much of their audience as possible, so that you're not just buried deep in the bowels of a file server.
As always, remember that nobody will actually listen to your work if you don't make it good. Before you post your music online, ask yourself questions like, "Am I really comfortable having this song live in someone else's house? In their car stereo? In their pocket?" (See "Should I Sell Or Should I Go?" at http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/musi...
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