Revenge of the Indies - MP3 will democratize music industry - Brief Article

Progressive, The, May, 1999 by Fred McKissack

The control that labels had as the gatekeepers of popular music is slipping away. Small labels no longer have to go hat in hand to distributors, and artists can communicate directly to their fans. It's a nightmare for an industry that used to be able to dictate who would be big and who was too radical, too different, too free-thinking to be considered.

Still don't think this is a big issue? In a world where it's conceivable that media organizations can own the entire artist-to-consumer process, MP3 is as close to free expression as we are going to get.

Fred McKissack, a writer based in Chicago, covers culture for The Progressive.