In a previous column, I noted that
it's possible to tune into radio
stations from around the world, but that is only the tip
of the Internet
iceberg. In fact, there is so much music on offer it would
be impossible to
describe it all in an 18-inch column.
The Internet has become a wonderful distribution network
for musical
groups, recording companies, bootleggers or just
about anyone who wants to
hawk a CD.
It's especially useful if you're looking for
new music outside the
mainstream - popular groups stick largely with traditional
retail networks or if
you're living in a country like Thailand where there
is a dearth of shops
selling alternative tunes.
Theoretically, you can just use the Internet to order CDs,
but most
people naturally want to listen to a sampling first.
So the first step is to
download RealAudio 3.0 from http://www.realaudio.com/
.
Then it's time to sound out the World Wide Web. In Thailand,
the
Bakery music label seems to be the most active on
the Internet. Indeed, it claims
to be the first record company in Thailand with
its own Internet radio station.
Check out its website at http://www.bakery.ksc.net
.
Unfortunately, the radio station is down at the moment,
but generally
it offers rock, soul and easy listening selections.
In the meantime you can
listen to clips from Boyd Kosiyabong, Soul After
Six, the Yokee Playboys and
Pause, find out about Boyd's new album or book tickets
for the Joey Boy concert.
Surprisingly, I couldn't find much on the web from Grammy
Entertainment,
Thailand's biggest music producer. There is a feature
page on Grammy
per former Jason Young at http://ksc.goldsite.com/music/Grammy
, containing a
big picture of the handsome young star, some information
about him and an audio
interview, but no musical clips. Perhaps they
just revolve profiles of different
Grammy performers through the website. If there's
more out there, please let
me know.
For Western music, there are plenty of choices. You can
start by
checking out the websites of major recording companies
such as Warner, Sony, CBS,
EMI, Island and so on. Many offer sound clips and
a chance to order CDs
direct.
But don't forget to check out the alternative pages, such
as the Artist
Underground website at http://www.aumusic.com/ . It displays
various
types of music including such esoteric categories
as Americana and
Post-Modern on a pseudo-subway map.
Click on the 20th Century Ltd line, for instance, and you
can board
the ''train for change, with punk from New York,
grunge from Seattle and
everything in between". I listened to a sample from
a release called Bad Sci-Fi,
which featured remixes of scores from 1950s B-grade
movies such as Monster
from Green Hell, The Navy vs the Night Monster and
Killers From Space.
Click on another line and you can board the Transworld
Express, with
world music selections from celtic to reggae, including
a musician named
Jeffrey Sick who plays an electric six-string violin
described as ''Jean-Luc
Ponty meets Godzilla in downtown Beirut".
There are plenty of other musical sites around. N2K Entertainment
short for ''Need To Know" can be found at
http://www.n2k.com/ . It claims to
be a pioneer in the realm of ''enhanced CDs",
which merge on-line
technology with original music. It also has a Music
Boulevard a kind of multimedia
catalogue featuring Rocktropolis, Jazz Central Station
and Classical Insites
with even lengthier samples than Artist Underground.
There is of course a danger in all this for recording companies
and
performers. While the Internet is a wonderful
way to find an audience, it is also
possible to record straight off the Net. If the
quality of music net-casting
continues to improve, look out for pirates.