The Revenge of the Programmer!

After I had decided to attend last week’s event, I had made an attempt to enter the beat-battle taking place after the Black History Month Cotton Club experience.  I made a valiant effort to get in contact with the head of the Producers Guild only to find out that I have to wait until next month’s battle. Still in high hopes I had an opportunity to enjoy the show and see just what would lye in store for me once I enter the ring! The excitement of these battles has become almost, if not as popular as the modern day rap battle. Battles like Soundtrackbeatbattle.com show us just what I mean. Although some have named the beat-maker a programmer rather than a successor, these programmers have also set out to claim equal value in the Hip-Hop realm. It’s the revenge of the programmers!

You might say now that technology has allowed everyone the ability to become and artist or beat maker, the playing field has become more accessible. With the industry in bad shape according to the old business model, today’s crowd only trusts the best craftsmanship. Our minds have accepted the greats of the past through the normal means of media consumption. This is based on a time when social media networks, peer-to-peer networks, and CD burners weren’t all in the same roof in most homes in the country. Now as we look forward we find that promotion is still key to great sales, but the best innovative craftsmanship can’t be challenged if you can get it heard! In todays digital market you don’t have to contact a mainstream label producer or certified audio professional to get a new sound for an audio project. You can visit websites like Buyabeat.com and simply buy the beats you need straight off the Internet in high quality audio formats. Once again, this takeover has saturated the market making it difficult to market your instrumentals beyond a few dollars profit. The masters of this digital instrument age will stand to claim vengeance upon the need for any other entity in the remaining entertainment industry. Thus leaving the human talent and the programmer standing hand in hand. What do you think?