TheCapitalClinic

Well said... artists now have a myriad of options open to them in the new "DIY" culture that has grown out of using the web as a distribution and marketing tool. The truth about DIY though, is that artists need to be willing to do the work themselves to create opportunities. At the outset, planting "seeds" in your vernacular, is often hard work - preparing, recording, and practice, practice, practice. THEN, on top of that, DIY marketing begins - blogging, podcasting, viral video, etc. Bands like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah ("CYHSY") and Maldroid have done a pretty awesome job of getting their music out there. Yes, at the outset, there were virtually $0 marketing costs, but it takes time to get a spark going that eventually develops into a raging fire. CYHSY did a great job with social networking at the outset, but then worked with CIMS (Coalition of Independent Music Stores) to get physical copies out on shelves. It worked because they managed to keep their indie cred and NEVER sold out to the majors. Last I heard, they've sold over 220k units of their first album...

Maldroid is doing it in a different way - they've already won the YouTube Underground Video Contest and are trying new wild ways to get their music out there... perhaps it's history in the making...

Your examples of CYHSY and Maldroid using different DIY approaches to gain market traction are instructive in many respects, including: 1. There are no limits to the ways that Artists can approach the marketplace utilizing the best "fit" for their creative persona and mode of operation, the only common element being that you largely do it yourself. 2. Creating value is hard work. There is no easy street to riches. 3. Artists still need to show their unique body of "work" that resonates with their Fans. 4. "Truth-values" [my term not yours] thrive in independent soil.