::: bisonium.com :::

The entertainment world is in for a rude awakening. The Internet, combined with the dramatically reduced cost of audio & video editing hardware and software over the past few years, has given rise to a new breed of indie artist. Gone are the days where you needed a major network and big money to back your idea.

Today's indie artists are taking their content and paving the path to their own futures. For those of us in the tech industry, there wasn't much of a choice when it came down to super geek tv shows. With the acquisition of Tech TV by G4, our choices have all but disappeared. G4 has obliterated what was once a thriving and popular television network, and turned it into utter uselessness. Most of my friends, and myself, have stopped watching due to the poor quality of programming and content on G4. So what's a geek to do in order to get their propeller-head fix? Internet TV.

Several websites have begun to appear over the past year which are leading the way towards a new trend in entertainment. Two websites in particular (Systm and From the Shadows) strictly cater to the geek crowd. What makes these two sites great is that the majority of the content and talent is from people we have grown accustomed to seeing on Tech TV. Many of us had some serious withdrawal when Tech TV went dark. These guys have stepped in and are doing a great job. As a matter of fact, they are doing so well, that I seriously wonder how long it will be before a new network springs up out of this indie movement. I would argue that the content on these sites actually RIVALS what was on Tech TV. No longer are we limited to what the bean counters and clueless want to put into the program, this is all about the tech. These guys get down and dirty and cover the stuff we always wanted to see, but the "suits" would never air. And the best part: NO COMMERCIALS.

Not to be left behind are the new breed of radio broadcasters. Last week we covered the announcement of iTunes 4.9 and it's Podcasting capabilities. In the past week alone, Apple has publicly released figures that over 1 MILLION podcasts have been served to date. That number is absolutely astonishing, considering that only a fraction of what is out there is listed in the iTunes Music Store directory of podcasts. There are literally thousands more podcasts listed via ipodder.org. Among my favorite is This Week in Tech (TWiT). Yet again, here are the former cast members of Tech TV's various shows, taking their talent public and for FREE. No need to subscribe to cable, no need for DirecTV, no need for anything but a broadband internet connection. One would think that the quality is the first thing that will suffer, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Most of these shows are being produced by professionals that have been doing this for a very long time and are adamant about making sure they provide a quality experience. Shows like "From the Shadows" even provide you multiple formats in which you can download their content, including Apple's new Quicktime with H.264 codec. Leo Laporte spends countless hours editing his show to perfection. These folks use pro gear and pro talent behind their content.

So you might ask yourself, what does the future hold for these guys? Surely they can't go on for ever providing this stuff for free? Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that. As the movement grows and the top players in the field start to distinguish themselves, subscribers (which could donate to the cause) and advertisers will come knocking. This doesn't mean that the advertising will be injected into the show, it just means that these advertisers will pay big money for a plug in the show, or for some banner ads on the site. I can live with that. After all, what better way for a company to target their audience than to do it through a captive audience of the EXACT demographic they are looking for? Even Tech TV couldn't do that. Tech TV had to appeal to the masses which included everything from beginner to the advanced uber geek. With this new format, advertisers can pick and choose exactly who they are targeting and get the most bang for their buck. This is a win win for content providers, advertisers and consumers. The key thing here will be for the indie artists to keep their shows "real" and not sell out to "the man". By that I mean not reviewing bogus products or giving favorable recommendation to products they wouldn't use themselves, just in the name of money. I really believe this new trend will become the norm as long as consumers know they can trust the show to give them the real dirt on products and they keep it real. Only time will tell.

One thing is for certain, the face of television and radio is changing. This time the power is going back to and in favor of the consumer. Now WE can dictate what we will watch and when we will watch it, without regulation or fear of reprisals from the network or FCC. These are exciting times indeed. I would say the Internet is about to hit phase 2 and the next boom is just around the corner. Maybe this time I can be in the right place at the right time. :-)