Ted Cohen: It Was the Worst of Times, It Was the Best of Times

This year's Midemnet marks our tenth anniversary, and what an amazing time we've been privileged to observe. The early pioneers: Napster, Liquid Audio, MP3.com, Rioport, Rhapsody, Soundbuzz, Musiwave, OD2, Melon, Puretracks, the next generation: Kazaa, Pandora, iTunes, and Limewire, and the newcomers: Amazon MP3, Omnifone, Nokia's Comes With Music and EchoNest. These innovative ventures have changed the face of music forever. However, as we look back at the past decade, it's clear that it hasn't been very kind to the traditional music industry. As physical formats continue their sales spiral downward, staffing and roster cuts are deep. It is painful to observe, as the labels now confront the need to rapidly evolve or become irrelevant.

It has, however, offered the independent music artist the greatest opportunity for success to date. The MP3 format, e-mail, websites, internet radio, music blogs, UGC, all these tools and more have made direct connection between artist and fan a reality. Distribution, once the Holy Grail, can be achieved instantaneously through services such as Tunecore. Marketing is key, so why not utilize the services of of ReverbNation or SonicBids?

Join us at Midemnet 2009 as we explore both the possibilities and realities of monetizing the artist-fan relationship. It's just the beginning of the revolution, arm yourself with invaluable knowledge.