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Stevie Nicks Says ‘The Internet Has Destroyed Rock.’

If I had a dollar for every time some old, 'I-live-with-my-head-under-the-sand' rock artist said something stupid about the web… I would still be a tech-blogger… But I would also have a pool of money. I’m not even sure where to begin disagreeing with what Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac has to say. I mean, come on, are her and John Mellencamp friends? Do they hang out on the weekends and yell at the kids playing on the front lawn? Does Nicks not understand that the Internet that’s 'destroying everything' is also the very means through which more musicians are gaining more opportunities than at any other moment in the entire history of recorded music. The Internet is so, so dumb.  Let’s turn this junk technology off.

image from 3.bp.blogspot.com "The Internet has destroyed rock. Children no longer develop social graces. They don't hang out anymore… I'm financially stable. I'm okay. But what about the kids trying to make it in this business? If you're not an established band, if you don't have a hit single, they're gonna drop you. There are a lot of people out there as talented as we were, but they can't sustain being in a rock 'n' roll band for long without success. We were able to, but we're going to die out." (Read the rest.)

admin on 08/24/2010 in Uncategorized | Permalink | Comments (24)
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  2. But she is totally correct. The bloated world of Rock opulence is dying off, Major (and minor) labels can’t just release any old tripe, and making music into a business as an end goal is tired. It is not a sad day.

  3. Let’s face it the old idea of rock music is dead. And there is some validity to what Nicks is saying about music. I can’t recall the era Nicks is speaking about but if it was anything like the movies version then it is no longer relevant.

  4. I agree with Stevie that a by-gone era of Rock isn’t coming back but I also agree with Kyle. Due to web 2.0 technology and all sort of other modernities it is now possible for a kid growing up in rural Nebraska to get his music into the hands of top industry professionals, labels and music supervisors. When I was a Nebraskan kid in the 80’s I don’t think my family know anyone who knew anyone on either coast. I didn’t have a shot. Today there are a lot more players on the field, that’s true. But the playing field has leveled.
    Thanks to the web it’s less about who you know, where you live and a lucky break and more about talent, hard work and drive.

  5. You guys just love disagreeing with these posts. Considering myself to be still a ‘kid’ in some sense, I completely disagree with your comments and Nicks. I’m hanging out way more than I did say 10 years ago, because there is more awareness of things to do due to the internet. I know of 20+ things each night going on in my neighborhood (which isn’t relatively active).
    As far as the music, rock in a label-driven world is dying (not dead). But rock as a very vague musical concept is far from kicking the bucket – communities of musicians are gathering and networking more than ever. The idea of “if Fleetwood was around today, they wouldn’t make it,” isn’t a reflection of the internet – it’s a reflection of the monumental growth of independent artists getting in the garage and trying to get ‘signed’ (idk why the hell they would want that, but I digress).

  6. Nick –
    it’s not that all people like to be contrary (certainly some do), it’s that they’re reacting to Hypebot’s criticism of everything that they disagree with.
    Fundamentally Stevie Nick’s is right. The internet has destroyed a lot of historical & social context. But nowhere in the article did she say “The Internet is so, so dumb. Let’s turn this junk technology off.”, that was Hypebot’s knee jerk reaction to the article to which people are disagreeing with. If she had say let’s turn on off the internet, then she’d be wrong.

  7. I am amused when I see such disconnected from reality statements as “the internet allows musicians to get to music supervisors” as if that was really a business model that was the norm. It happens, but very rarely and I know I get placement for my acts all the time. It is hard and I am in LA and not Nebraska.
    Indie musicians are having a tough time out there and fewer types of acts are getting signed and being promoted to the public. This leaves a lot of content that is awful online and a lot of highly promoted and often time generic content that is visible and able to do world tours. And the internet could shut even the new avenues down if it become non neutral.
    I agree with Nick…
    Maybe Hypebot should focus on the solutions rather than touting the hype that all is well out there. Its not.

  9. I can’t really disagree with this statement. She’s not saying the internet destroyed music, simply that it is eliminating a lot of opportunities for young artists to get signed and developed. Just an opinion and I don’t think she’s too far off.
    Yes, we have all said a million times that the internet has opened up many possibilities for a musical “middle class” of artists and bands. But we also know that a hell of a lot of bands are getting dropped by their labels before they’ve even had a chance to grow. Fact.

  10. The only thing that has changed is there is no longer the big money advances for the acts that don’t make it. If your music is good enough it is now far easier to find an audience than before. Anyone moaning about it just isn’t writing good enough music.
    Why should artists be entitled to a big advance any way – you should be paid on what you earn. Record Labels where just an investment bank who got lucky 5% of the time. No wonder the business imploded with that success rate. Artists please quit fucking crying and go work in Macdonalds in you can’t handle it.

  11. Maybe her comments are out of touch with modern times, but her point is still valid. Please name 5-10 indie bands from the last five years or so (employing these wonderful web 2.0 technologies) making six figure income without ever having any label support…
    (Five figure income won’t cut it for a multi-member band looking to build a serious career in music. You have to account for individual incomes, recording & touring expenses, management/booking fees, etc., etc.)
    These music industry bloggers crack me up.

  13. I hate to say it, but she has a point. In the heyday of classic rock, labels made multi-album deals with artists that allowed them to hone their craft full time while still getting paid, even if their first 2 albums were flops. Can an artist truly devote the necessary time to their music if he/she has to work a day job?
    Look at much of today’s popular music. Yes it’s catchy, and yes it’s polished, but does it express truths about the human condition like the music of Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, or Miles Davis did?
    My aim is not to knock current genres or musicians. I am suggesting, rather, that true art comes only from absolute dedication, and it seems that today’s music business may not reward this kind of sacrifice.

  14. 2 questions for Kool Kyle
    1) are you or have you ever been a musician? In other words have you actually practiced what you preach?
    2) Do you have children?
    Nuff said

  17. Anyone who’s spent years in a van cultivating innovative musical ideas whilst attempting to earn a living will understand how eerily prophetic Stevie Nicks’ commentary comes across.
    Bloody fame-seeking blaggers, self-righteous bloggers and anonymous message board posts have been fueling an addiction to disposable free entertainment for at least a decade now.
    The internet isn’t killing music – human beings are.

  19. What ? Where are all these opportunities that musicians are gaining thanks to the internet ? Do you mean opportunities to be exploited ?

  22. People destroy rock and continue to do so. Rock itself is about destruction of old forms. If this genre can’t handle the heat then it’s time to go and let the rest of us to get on with making good music. The internet is an extension of the human mind. It always amuses me to read high profile artists scream and whine when they can’t deal with 50 years of heavy industrialisation of an art form and blame technology when grasping at the vast mind numbing totality of it all. I agree that people have inappropriately profited from this new form of communication but it cuts both ways. Stevie has profited handsomely from “rock” back in the day and continues to do so everytime we play her song. Her feeling of dislocation and helplessness is understandable but not logical.

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