There have been other changes too, of course: "In terms of what the A&R department does, I would say yes, sites like myspace are a good way to look for new music, to listen to it before you see it live, and to find out what people are enjoying, what groups are listening to. For record companies to ignore that would be stupid."
Dedicated followers of music
For some bands it is not just about the Internet -- Wakefield upstarts the Cribs have secured a dedicated following by touring their hearts out. Signed to Wichita in 2003, they did not have the budget for advertising or videos and so played as many gigs as possible to get themselves known, often just for beer. It was a wily tactic: a fantastic live band, the Cribs swiftly found themselves an enviable reputation.
"When (the single) Scenesters came out, if the charts were just on downloads we would have gone in at number 13," said Ryan Jarman, their singer and guitarist. "In the end we went in at 25."
It was still a triumphant moment for the Cribs and he believes, two fingers to the labels' way of operating.
"It showed it wasn't about adverts," he said. "Labels think you throw enough mud and some'll stick. But having a hardcore fanbase is worth far more than a backpage ad on the NME."
"We've had people flying over from Japan (and back on the same night)," said Jarman with disbelief. "I never buy clothes and so we have fans who bring me T-shirts. They nick them too, but I think easy come, easy go."
And the band are happy to mingle with their T-shirt-snaffling devotees. "I love hanging out with people after gigs, that's part of it," Jarman said.
And maybe this is part of it. Weary of stadium rockers with their "let them eat cake" and "where are the groupies?" attitudes who have populated music over the past three decades, fans are pushing their own heroes.
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