The Internet has 'liberated' music from the hegemony of record labels, millions around the world feel. Freefalling record sales and astronomical download figures are proof of that.
Now, it seems amateur reality show contestants are giving established music stars a run for their eyeballs.
The 48th Annual Grammy Awards were the least-watched in the United States since the beginning of recorded viewership history in 1970, according to a Nielsen research.
The reason: For an hour, the Grammy Awards ran parallel to American Idol on television. And, the Nielsen study says, twice as many people preferred the talent hunt show to the U2s and Madonnas of the world strutting their stuff at what is billed as the music industry's biggest night.
An Associated Press report said, 'Some humbling news for professional musicians like Madonna and U2: By a wide margin, TV viewers prefer the amateurs.'
Washington Post columnist Lisa de Moraes wrote: 'For the first time in 12 years, the Grammys did not win its night in the ratings. From 8 to 9 p.m. nearly 29 million people decided they'd rather watch the lousy performances and histrionics of wannabe pop stars in Hollywood than be entertained by Madonna, Coldplay, John Legend and U2 at the [Office Supply Retailer]
'Sadly, only about 15 million people went with the pros in that hour.'
The Los Angeles Times report was a little less damning on the Grammies: 'Partly to avoid competing with Sunday's Super Bowl XL on ABC, CBS made the fateful decision to switch the telecast back to a Wednesday, its perch from 1995 to 2002. But that put the Grammy in its first head-to-head competition with the smash Idol at the 8 pm hour. It was thus a TV contest between the singing hopefuls and the music pros -- and both ended up taking a hit.'
To put things is perspective: 26 million people in the US watched The Grammy Awards 2004. This year, that slumped to 17 million, less than the 17.2 million previous lowest in 1995.
When asked about how home recording software and the Internet had revolutionised the music business, percussion virtuoso Trilok Gurtu had told rediff.com: "Anyone can cook from recipe books. But you would still go to eat at a restaurant run by a good chef, wouldn't you?"
But if the Grammy night was any indication, it seems the global music audience is now ready for amateur chefs who cook the food of love.