The Internet has changed my life.

Back in "the day" - I'm talking about the late 70s/ early 80s - in our innocence we presumed that we chosen ones would only have to hang in there for a short while to be discovered by a benevolent corporation that would enable us to be the next David Bowie/Phil Spector/Quincy Jones/Michael Jackson.

Then when we hit the first reality check - or maybe it was more gradual - poverty becomes less tolerable as we age - for some it may have taken hitting our thirties - or forties! - and we were still doing crummy gigs for next-to-nothing - or something like 99.999% of us were - we realised we'd have to be a bit more proactive.

What this meant to the pre-internet generation was just to spend more time on the phone calling up clubs, sending demos, hassling record companies, kissing the right butts - basically just more of the same. You can't go door to door selling your music with much success.

Basically the record companies CONTROLLED what the public heard, and nothing the individual could do would make the slightest bit of difference. Millions of wonderful musical talents zipped through their brief time on Earth without much more than their neighbors listening.

When I realized what the Internet was - or could be - my whole focus shifted. Everything that I'd always tried to do in my immediate environment could now be done on a global scale! Suddenly I could reach a MASSIVE audience - so big that if only every one in 100 liked my stuff, it would still amount to a lot.

The Internet has put the ball back into our court. The musician can now reach his audience directly; can sell his CDs and publicize his performances, and thanks to platforms like MySpace can build a network that inspires and supports him across the whole planet.

Since I live in a place that is not the nexus of the creative music scene of planet Earth, I am not in close proximity to a physical scene that can stimulate and support me. Now with the Internet I can communicate daily with people whose music I love or who love mine; with people that would like to collaborate with me, buy my CDs or commission works; and I can put up new videos or recordings of performances. I can hear the latest things coming from the real cutting edge in New York or London or Berlin - or Cape Town or Buenos Aires or Sao Paulo!

It's awesome! Every musician on the face of the planet can get their music to the attention of those to whom it will have real meaning. It may never make us rich - I think the day of the musical giant is over with the demise of the corporate musical dinosaurs - but then all I want is to be able to live reasonably well by playing the music I write.

The corporations have had their day now it's ours. I have no real idea how they will get their fingers into the pie in years to come, but at least for now they're being seriously undermined as there is an alternative to their regurgitated crap for those who own a computer and have an Internet connection.