ok thats it, enough laziness. time for a BIG topic.

EVERYTHING!

Wayy back when, (think around 40-50 years) There were lots of things in place to stop people who felt creative from expressing themselves, and moreover getting their expression-stuff to people who dont realize they wanna find it. This meant that a small number of people actually did it (writers, artists, musicians). This used to be thought of as a filter process: that is, the most talented just happen to also be the most dedicated, and the most creatively inspiring, all at once. You were all three; or you were none. An easy way to separate the inspirers and the inspirees.
Turns out, we were wrong. Talent turned out to be based on enthusiasm, love, and a sense of spirituality with whatever inspires a "Talented" person to create, not some sort of built-in aspect. "Dedication" is an unfair term because wealthy people can spend more time "Dedicating" themselves to their creative craft; people born poor must spend more time making their lives possible (work, food, money-stress etc); not everyone CAN dedicate themselves, due only to their circumstances, not their own choice. Being creatively inspiring back then wasnt about how well your art/music was, it was about ADVERTISEMENT! If 1,000,000 people hear your song, you get 100,000 fans. (Holy shit! 100,000 people like me! Im Rich/Popular!) If 1000 people hear your song and you get 500 fans, was your music more inspiring? It wouldnt feel like it, but you affected HALF your audience, while someone with a media engine and money to burn gets a lot more people, even if only 10% of listeners like him/her. So, the famous/rich/"Best" artists are NOT more dedicated, more talented, or even more inspiring to their audience. This is the way things have been going for a long time.

Now, EVERYTHING Is changing.

The ratio of successful musicians to fans overall, averaged across the board, was at least 1:10,000.
This is due to the reasons I explained previously. Our definitions are changing, and the barriers are disappearing. "successful" to me, means happy enough with life to continue writing new material. Its a lot easier to be a successful musician today.

Its a snowball effect. First off, thanks to the Internet and general technology, more and more musicians can express whatever they want, whenever they want. "Getting it out there" is easier than ever. Shit, i mean, look at this blog, LOL. I type at home, and these words instantly become online forever, waiting patiently until the end of time for anyone to read them. I didnt pay anyone so that I can write this; It costs me next to nothing, and nobody tells me what to write. I am Independant, and I dont need anyone's help in the steps between Ideas forming in my head, and this blog'o'words filling up. Dont ever forget how mind blowing that seems to someone, like, 20 years ago. So, more musicians are online. Inevitably, people start listening to more and more different bands. Listening to these bands inspires people to be musicians. They then put their stuff online. Which is then found.

Look, its like this.

More MUSICIANS can express themselves cheaper and easier=more varied and unique IDEAS about every topic are available to the audience. More IDEAS=more INSPIRATION since fans have better odds of finding an IDEA that helps them feel self-actualized (inspired). More INSPIRATION=More kids wanting to start a Band to express Ideas, greater confidence in devoting life to INSPIRATION, and less fear of spending time/money on it. Less fear coupled with less time/money needed to express inspiration due to things like the Internet and technology, gives us more MUSICIANS.

MUSICIANS MAKE IDEAS,
IDEAS MAKE INSPIRATION,
INSPIRATION MAKES MUSICIANS.

Thats the snowball effect.

This leads to a question.

If more and more people are being drawn into creating music, what happens to the traditional role of Audience?

Suddenly that 1:10000 ratio I mentioned earlier looks more like 1:1.
Do you realize how fucking incredible that is?