Sunday, May 06, 2007

Lucia Iman Goes to London

Ah! The internet is a beautiful thing. If you haven't read "Critical Path" by Buckminster Fuller, get a copy and read it. Read it front to back and when you finish the last page, start at the front and read it again. One of his prognostications involves the democratization of political and artistic decisions based on a system whereby every household could vote on issues, the votes to be counted immediately and actions taken in accordance with the results. His view was that when this came about on a worldwide scale, changes could be made that advantaged the greatest number of people in the shortest amount of time.

This is precisely what is occurring every moment of every day on the internet. As it applies to the music industry, the A&R departments of record companies are now rendered obsolete. The listening public is now the worldwide A&R staff. With the technology of the internet, anyone with internet access can affect what happens in popular music to a degree never known before. The marketplace has become truly global.

Lucia Iman studies voice with me and her story is remarkable. One of her avid fans is very web-savvy and convinced her to post her music on sellaband. It seems that this site was holding a web-based competition and the recipient of the most votes would be invited to participate in a concert in London, England.

Every day began and ended with updates on the progress of Lucia's place in the competition. Emails were sent and her popularity spread like tentacles to people and places we had never heard of. Because of the technology now at our fingertips, Lucia's music could reach an audience of worldwide proportions. The audience can now make decisions free of peer pressure or the head-pounding tactics of conventional advertising and marketing departments associated with the global marketplace. The audience has spoken...Lucia is going to London!

Ah...the internet is a beautiful thing indeed. This world and everything it has to offer is open for business and pleasure. Get online and shake hands with your fellow travelers. Look them in the eye and you will find that we have much in common. The more you realize the power at your fingertips, the degree to which YOU can affect what happens in this world, the sooner we will all live in peace.

And don't get offline before you check out Lucia's site. Listen to her music and make up your own mind.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Critical Path is exquisite! It was the book that "jelled" my interest and understanding of Buckminster Fuller's work.

My favorite of Fuller's books is his "magnum opus", Synergetics. It is a difficult text to read, so I wrote an essay Reading Synergetics: Some Tips.

I hope you and your readers give it some consideration as well.

CJ Fearnley
Executive Director
Synergetics Collaborative