It&#x27;s an amazing time to be a hobby musician. You can record and produce your own music very cheaply and publish it to the world at the touch of a button. The problem is what happens next, which in most cases is nothing, unless you&#x27;ve got somebody spending money marketing your music or you&#x27;re willing to work very very very hard to promote it yourself.<p>The difference between now and the 60s through early 90s was that labels were willing to put their weight behind more oddball artists like Bowie. He wouldn&#x27;t have a snowball&#x27;s chance in hell of achieving the same fame if he were starting now. We&#x27;re in a weird time where mainstream music is the most timid and cynically commercial it&#x27;s ever been but the fringes are exceptionally vital.