Talent. Such an amazing word but what does it mean? Webster would lead us to believe it is “a person of special ability; or a group of persons of talent in a field or activity in which they exceed”. Sure, that may be the definition, but in today’s society, talent has become synonymous with popularity, in which you must “look” talented rather than possessing the actual gift. When did our ideology become so skewed?
In the days before MTV, people relied on their ears to tell them what was good and what wasn’t. Print media went a step further and showed us what the Artist looked like, but if you were already in love with their music, it didn’t matter.
Print did, however, help the musicians who had a “look” but with little to no talent. They played on society’s twisted visual concepts. Example: “Wow, this singer is gorgeous; therefore, they MUST be really good.“ (And, yes, it works!)
The good news was, the majority of people didn’t turn to magazines to find new music, therefore it didn’t have a major impact on the musician’s chance of reaching stardom. FM frequencies had the strong hold and talented musicians still had a chance to “make it” on their abilities. Bands worked hard in hopes of hearing their names announced in the wakes of Casey Kasem.
It wasn’t until August 1st, 1981, when the music industry was changed forever with three simple initials, MTV.
The Music Industry used MTV as a great marketing tool, but they also used it for those who didn’t have talent. Music evolved quickly into an industry that became about how you looked with the knowledge that your sound could be created.
MTV was responsible for creating many artists that had been pro-tooled to stardom as well as capitalizing on pure sex appeal. Madonna is the most classic example of this. She didn’t have an amazing voice, but what she did have was a brilliant mind for marketing. Her controversial ways is what she is most noted for. She would have been hard-pressed to even have a “one-hit wonder” in the days of radio but she saw an outlet and took full advantage of the opportunity. Granted, Madonna is one of a few with great success, but who really paid the price of MTV?
After years of turning out “one-hit wonders” and highly “over-sexed” artists, we are left with a broken industry, lacking talent. MTV sent the message that talent is a look, not an exceptional ability. We accepted the definition without realizing what we were being brainwashed into. We supported it, we paid for it and now, we hurt from it.
As we fight our children to wake up to see something that took us nearly a decade to see; we must recognize the best resource that currently fights our battle with us. The source that has almost killed MTV completely; the Internet!
The internet is the tool that is bringing life back to music. We will rely on our ears yet again to hear talent, instead of being shown what talent is. No longer will talent be what corporate executives perceive it to be. Musicians will possess real talent. They will perform live in order to succeed. They will build their fan base by earning it. All genres will have the same opportunity to be heard and we will decide if we like it or not. Artists will make money for the first time in their careers because the labels will be non-existent and we will have something we have been lacking for a long time, True Talent!
Please, Support Independent Music and Remember, Music is a feeling that creates the vision. Don’t let your eyes deceive you!
True Stories of Corie Anziano 