Rip off the Indie's

Article #20, "The Growing Threat of Rhythm and Blues," discussed how black rhythm and blues artists would create songs and they would not be mainstream, then eventually working their way up into popularity. Once the song became popular enough, the song would be covered and claimed by a new artist. The artist who covered the song would get it played all over the radio and people would love it. Often times, the cover would be more popular than the original song. This still happens today. It takes lesser known bands awhile to make a name for themselves. The Kings of Leon didn't get known until their current album, which I believe was their fourth album. The text says "most of the artists and repertoire chiefs frankly can't recognize a potential r&b hit when they hear one." It takes people awhile to realize an artist is good. A band on the rise that Bruce Springsteen has performed with in the UK is called The Gaslight Anthem. They are coming out with a 3rd album this June. Another band, Wilco I feel is big among Wilco fans, but beyond that, they are unheard of. They have out 8 albums and put on a killer live show. Also in the hip-hop world, K'naan is becoming pretty big due to his single "Wavin' Flag," which I heard on the radio for the first time a couple days ago. K'naan also rewrote "Wavin' Flag" to be one of the official songs of the World Cup coming this June. His new version is more upbeat and fits into the atmosphere of a football stadium during the World Cup. There are plenty of artists out there just waiting to be discovered. Sometimes when bigger record companies pick them up, they get big, or if they come out with a somewhat mainstream song, they get big. Most times the song that gets big is not as good as their other stuff on the albums.