I've just released my fifth album of original music, entitled A Change of Scenery. The entire album is available to download or stream online.

Is the Internet stifling new music?

This seems like a good opportunity to comment on an article over at BBC News, where they ask the question: is the Internet stifling new music? The arguments put forth by John Taylor (bassist with Duran Duran) are distilled below:

1. Those of us who before would have been looking towards the current culture for inspiration are now often to be found in various backwaters of older music.

2. The speed and growth of new technology, which has been so heralded and so much fuss has been made of, has actually served to disguise how little real growth is taking place at the artistic level.

3. When artists today are asked to Twitter their every thought, their every action, to record on video their every breath, their every performance, I believe they're diluting their creative powers, their creative potency and the durability of their work. And in the long run I believe they're also diluting the magical power and the magnetic attraction that they can or will ever have over their audience.

I'm not sure I agree with all of this. Let me explain why...

Old classics die hard.

I don't see the problem with looking to older music for inspiration. I do see a slight problem with statements like "there's no good music nowadays", or "nobody can beat (insert popular artist name from yesteryear)". These statements were not made in the above article, but they're in common usage. Will a band ever beat The Beatles? Has Elton John had his day? Can anyone really out-Elvis Elvis? Would they be able to do so without being viewed as an impersonator? Though to be fair, they might just be one.

Listening to music shouldn't only be something we do at the time it's released. Also, for musicians, older music can be influential. I have numerous influences, ranging from classical music to electronic music, 1960s to 1990s and beyond.

While even the tiniest idea from an existing musician can realistically become a totally unique track, as time goes on, more and more music is made, which makes it harder and harder to be truly original. It's not impossible, but even if you think you're producing original music, some listeners may recognise similarities in music that the composers didn't know about.

In my view, there's so much music behind us, it would be daft to completely ignore it and only look at the music of today and tomorrow.

Rise of the robots.

I don't fully understand how the speed and growth of technology is a bad thing. There are many of examples of how existing technology has been used in creative ways.

For instance, The Beatles assembled various bits and pieces together to create Revolution 9, which to be honest I didn't like one bit, but it was - shall we say - an "interesting" listen. Mike Oldfield, multi-instrumentalist who's done a lot more than just Tubular Bells (check out Music of the Spheres, it's well worth a listen), managed to record many different parts on the same tape by covering the erase head on his tape recorder. I'm sure there are numerous other examples. Jean Michel Jarre has used numerous instruments over his career, many of which were new technology at the time he first used them. Would we be better off without these, and other, technological advances?

That's not to say that everyone is being creative or artistic with everything they do. But I see no harm in a bit of experimentation, and to be honest, exploiting technology to see what we can get out of it. The key is in knowing how to identify what works and what doesn't. The usage of new technology is not automatically a bad thing.

Technology aside, could we ever say that musicians always produce excellent material? Of course, it's all subjective - your favourite albums might not hit all the same notes with me. In the technical sense, of course they hit the same notes... just not necessarily the ones I like best!

The Twitter debate.

As for the use, or rather the over-use, of social media sites such as Twitter... it's for you to choose if you use or abuse. I believe that you can use Twitter to connect with your audience, and that not everyone overuses it.

WIth so much music out there, it's more important than ever before that musicians connect with their fanbase. New technology allows us to do that very well indeed. Perhaps some musicians would prefer to be something of an enigma, but equally, fans may prefer not to be shut out.

It's up to you to choose how much you want to put out there about yourself, and I don't agree with violating someone's privacy... but if you try to shut yourself away, you may just find that people pass you by.

Anyway, that's my view - what do you think? Is the Internet stifling new music? And have you heard my new album?

Want to read more posts like this? Subscribe!