The +Internet has been great for +musicians, helping them spread their name, giving them a whole new venue for +publicity. Great +Talents are less likely to go unnoticed. Sure, it takes skill to spread your name, even with the rise of the internet, but it's certainly easier than it used to be. Middlemen are being eliminated, so artists can directly promote their work.

I like a lot of it, but as a musician myself, I get worried. It's getting harder and harder for musicians to make money producing recordings, even as recording techniques are improving. It's much easier to produce a recording than it used to be, yet with the internet, anyone can hear anything they want to for free, whenever they're in the mood.

That's nice for the listener, but didn't somebody need to work hard to produce the recording? Of course. And it's getting harder and harder for musicians to find adequate compensation. That troubles me. It bothers me enough that I empty my wallet when I want to add +CDs to my collection instead of using one of the incredibly cheap sites like +Spotify.

Actually, I'm listening to Spotify as I write. It's great to be able to browse and sample, I'll admit. But I wind up worrying that the artists won't make as much if no one buys the CDs or downloads the mp3s.

Maybe I'm just guilty of paranoia. Maybe I'm oversensitive. But I still wonder.