Digital Age

In the midst of all the royal hoopla, i came across an interesting photo-essay about all the independent record stores that have closed their doors in recent times. The seemingly obvious cause of this down-turn could be pinned on the digital age and people turning to Itunes etc. However it made me think about a certain South African House music producers Facebook status. It read "Blogs Suck", i remember feeling somewhat guilty when i saw that post but quickly re-grouped and remembered why i started this blog.

Its all nice and easy to blame the Internet, blogs, online music stores for the lack of EPs and LPs being bought but one thing that dj's and producers seem to forget is that the Internet has made them accessible. I was fortunate enough to frequent a record store when i first discovered house music, and there really is no way of recreating the magical mood of that store . However i also recall how intimidating it was looking through stacks upon stacks of vinyl and not knowing what was what and which new producers to try out.
Fast forward to the present day, where i HOPE Johnny Fidget has become a place for people to try out new sounds, producers, sub-genre's and find out about some of Jhb's underground events.

The truth is producers need blogs, probably less than bloggers depend on producers; but bloggers all around the world are responsible for the enormous growth of house from a very niche type of market to something enjoyed by all people with decent Internet access. Let me emphasise that my reason for blogging is not to maliciously take away the food from producers mouths, but to hopefully expose them to a wider crowd that will appreciate their music and in turn continue to support their favourite producers by buying their music.
In that spirit, as a community lets try imagine a world without the music we so love and which has provided the soundtrack to many nights out, bleak right? Now lets step into the shoes of the artists and empathise. They need to eat too right? Support the artists!

Love and Disco
Johnny Fidget