Independent Musicians and the Internet--Any Lessons for Writers?

I continue to be intrigued by all the ways the Internet, and faster Internet connections, creates possibilities that wouldn't have been there ten or twenty years ago. And since I've always wished for musical talent, stories about musicians call to me more than say, stories about stockbrokers. And there's always the hope that stories about creative people will inspire me, even if they're working in a different discipline.

Today's story in The Washington Post intrigued me because the musician built his audience by posting a song a week on his blog. He's become successful with no radio airplay--that would have been close to impossible twenty years ago. He decides which cities to visit by how many people write to him to request that he visit. He prints T-shirts and burns CDs on demand, so he's not lugging around excess inventory.

It's that song a week on the blog that hooked me. At some point, I plan to see if my acceptances have risen since I created my blog and my website. I feel like they have, but I haven't looked at my records to be sure. And I like to think that by the time of my next book publication, whenever that may be, I'll have created a wider audience by my blogging efforts. I know that I've bought books by poets who have created blogs that I enjoy.

And of you're really interested in these stories about how technology is changing the daily fabric of our lives, you might read this story while you're at The Washington Post website. It talks about the way we're watching T.V. programs, while not necessarily watching the T.V. What impact might that development have on poetry? Right now, I'd tell you not much--but then again, ten years ago, I wouldn't have conceived of all the intriguing ways we're using the Internet.