There is no doubt that major record labels still have a lot to offer an artist that is just starting out, but more and more unsigned artists are taking their careers into their own hands. This is evident not only in the number of record stores closing, because of the decline in CD sales, but also in the surge of online music stores and online communities designed for music artists. Artists that have a strong identity and direction for their music can do very well on their own these days. Social communities enable the artist to develop a fan base simply by making friends and posting their music for everyone to hear. Then by taking advantage of sites like pangaeaa, itunes, CD baby and others the artist is able to turn that fan base into cold hard cash. Of course you have online communities like pangaeaa.com that allow you to gain free exposure through the community and also sale your music without ever having to leave the site. So majors beware there is a new player in the music industry and his name is Internet!

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