Networking in Music Before Y2K

We all know that networking, in basic terms, is the ability to spread information very rapidly amongst a certain group of people. But what about a time before social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook, when a social network had nothing to do with computers? One case I would like to highlight for this subject is Dave Matthews Band. This band wasn't like others, smearing themselves all over MTV and the radio so much that you get sick of hearing them only after a few short weeks. This band has sold out the largest stadiums, arenas, concert halls, amphitheaters and other venues all over the world. They made the top ten list for highest earning musicians in the year 2005 at somewhere around $74 million. Typically, you don't see their videos much on TV, or you don't hear their songs much on the radio. Additionally, not everyone is even a fan. Probably less than 50% of my friends would even go to a concert of theirs, never mind listen to them on a regular basis. Despite this loose consensus, their popularity has grown exponentially over the years, and continues to do so. Their latest album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 charts, which would make that five consecutive album releases at number one. The only other band that has done likewise is Metallica. So how are they so successful?

The answer is networking.

Not the type of networking you and I are used to. It took a whole different meaning before the Information Age. Their start in 1990 would only be the beginning of 20 straight summers of touring, their first summer off from touring is coming next year. They did something unique though, something that isn't heard of very often. They let fans audio record their live performances with the hopes that the music would get out there. A college student fan base was quickly established and is likely the cause of their great success. I'm sure it was a gamble because the goal was to have listeners only trade audio tapes, not sell them for a profit which would defeat the purpose of this networking idea. The band has lately been penalizing individuals for copying and selling their music for profit on a major scale. Apparently it worked, probably better than expected. Their fan base has grown each year mostly because of word of mouth. I never saw them on MTV when I used to watch music videos as a teenager; I only became a fan because of my sister, who became a fan because of my brother, who became a fan because of my older brother, who listened to them while attending college in Massachusetts. Their method of networking is never seen, in fact it's quite the opposite from the way today's hottest artists like Lady GaGa and Ke$sha have been made successful. I guess you could say they did it the hard way since music is much easier to get out there now because of mp3 files and MySpace. Copies of their live music is in such high demand that they recorded 16 performances since 1993 and made them into individual albums, the latest one being 2010 from Citi Field in Queens. For a band whose live performances I'd only describe as 'epic', I find it amazing that their success was based on a relatively primitive form of networking, compared to today's standards. To my knowledge, this is the only case where a musical artist has risen to fame in such a fashion.

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