YouTube Makes it Evident that the Market for Talented Aspiring Musicians is Saturated

Among the millions of videos that have been uploaded to YouTube are a massive collection of covers and original songs by literally thousands of amateur artists. To find one, all you have to do is type in the name of a song along with the word 'cover', and you'll find pages and pages of people singing and playing their hearts out in the comfort of their bedroom. Sometimes, you can find literally hundreds of covers of the same song if it is popular enough.

One of my favorites that I have found is a cover of 'Just Like Heaven' from 'The Cure' performed by Goh Nakamura. It is a great acoustic rendition of a timeless classic that captures the essence of the song. This is a guitar performance, but people are outgoing and you can usually find many variations of of any song with any instrument.

Most of the time you can tell which performances are going to be good by the video rating, or by how many people have watched it. It is unfortunate though that better looking people tend to get more views simply because of the way they look, but so goes the music business as well; Artists are mostly signed on the premise of marketability today and there is not the same emphasis on talent as in the old industry days. It is also unfortunate that among the crowd are some very talented individuals whose only success with music will come in the form of page views.

It is extremely hard to gain popularity even when you have the means to write and produce your own music. The simple reality is that there are just too many musicians out there all competing with the same goal, and technology has made it possible for all of them to have an outstanding demo tape. More than that, even the artists who have reached stardom are struggling to maintain a career selling and performing music.

For a anyone who wants to go to the top, it all comes down to commitment. Even then, the odds of making it big are slim. But, If you're as committed to your dream as Traci Hines, an aspiring musician on YouTube I find to be very entertaining, then there may in fact be light at the end of the tunnel. In her videos, she captures the very essence of what music is all about: an emotional escape that reminds us of the magic in life.

For most aspiring musicians however, there will come a time when it's appropriate to decide what things in life make a good hobby, and what things can make for a reliable career. Being a musician myself, I understand the the desire to want to entertain the world around me, and I've found that I can do just that even if it means sharing my gift with one person at a time.