Unlike bands who enjoy success on major labels, indie artists have always had good reason to laud the advent of the Internet age.

It seems that now the Internet is more vital to the success of independent music than ever before. In the past, independent artists could always rely on the huge diversity available in terms of radio stations to have their art put out somewhere. Local stations were often a viable way for an independent artist to reach more people.

Unfortunately, a trend developed in the late 1990s that seems to be getting stronger in the new millennia: radio stations everywhere are being purchased by umbrella corporations, which often have intimate connections with major labels. One of the first rules of business is, of course, to beat the competitions. And make no mistake, big labels are business. They want to make money, not promote sound music. The result? Independent artists are being squeezed off of the airwaves in greater numbers, replaced by generic rap and pop.

Fortunately, the age of acquisitions is also the age of information. Sites such as Myspace and others give independent artists a new way to reach an audience. In many cases, this audience is specifically looking for indie artists, thus the new method of reaching the masses might be even more successful than the old media methods. For the sake of diversity, we had all better hope so!