Here's midway in an internet discussion about: http://rdstreets.hubpages.com/hub/Top-10-Reasons-Why-the-Music-Industry-is-Failing

Russell Josephson Interesting. But while the music INDUSTRY is failing, there is still plenty of great music being made, and it's more available than ever.

me:

You know, that "available" thing is tricky.  People stare at their screens and use their Ipods to hear MP3s instead of sitting with their friends in front of a stereo with sound 20 times better on vinyl.  (A good stereo system helps.)  Friends used to turn each other on to music – hey, listen to this new band!  But now we find it on the internet.  Of course, on the internet the music tries to make money...they put a spin on it – “it's all available!” - and they deliver an inferior product that can hardly hold your attention because it's so compressed and miniaturized.  So, my dissenting opinion is that music is less available than ever, because the radio doesn't play what the DJ likes, the DJ plays what the station's computer tells them to.  And they’re very strict about target audiences and Types of music, keeping them separate from other kinds of music.  You used to walk by a bar, club, record store, any kind of place with a jukebox, and hear truly new things.  You would ask someone – what was that?   But the major companies are timid and conservative now.  Nothing with an "original" sound.

You see what I'm saying?   The industry creates the illusion that we are exposed to a giant variety of music, but that's always been true. Fewer than ever are those who have made it through the maze of business that is The System.  Either they are the new big thing or they are nothing. They are fresh today and gone tomorrow.  The market determines the music more than ever.  The music I like is always obscure, never "pop"  I listen to music of all eras, but the money is in pushing "new" music. They act like "fresh" is the most important thing, but fresh gets stale.  As Dylan said on one of his radio shows, "There's a lot more old music than there is new music."

I agree plenty of great music is being made, but it’s sure not discovered the same ways.  “This is a song I like from a great band” has become “This is a song that meets important criteria.”