Let’s face it. We are living through a cultural change in America, a counter culture, and a cultural reset.

Years ago when I started this blog, people around me warned that big tech would turn into a monster. A behemoth ready to devour anything in its path. In 2010, artists demonized the major music labels, but big tech makes the major look like choir boys.

I could gather thousands of artists giving the finger to the music men in suits pulling the strings. Today, I can’t fill a room artists willing to protest against the 4 horsemen – Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. They’re too afraid. The biggest entertainers aren’t leaders, they’re followers. They’re parrots and puppets of big tech. They don’t stand for anything. For when they are told to sit, they sit. I won’t get into names, because I’ll get hate messages. You’ve lost all credibility, if you’re looking to barge the White House and snap a photo with a public official.

Elon Musk is a leader and doesn’t bow to the winds of change. When Coachella cancelled, Musk mocked the event. He pointed out that corporate sponsorship killed the vibe. A car salesman made more noise than the performers.

Today it’s all about the money. Eddie Vedder protesting Ticketmaster is a bygone.

The ones who changes their behaviour in front of the people in authority can’t be trusted. They have no spine. Their soul is for sale.

We are in a new season. A new generation sees things differently. It’s not just about making fans through music and makeup. They want to listen to artists that share their belief and value system. If they like your music, but not your belief, they’ll drop you.

A new generation has a better understanding of ‘influencer culture’. These fictional social media characters will post anything that generates money while manipulating the audience. Heck, they’ll fake mental illness just to climb the social ladder.

And here comes the shift. People aren’t looking at the influencer or celebrity (I say this loosely) as they once did. What they appear online is not who they are in real life. I can’t tell you how many teens I meet that will no longer listen to an artist or follow an influencer because they don’t align with their values.

After years of success, The Ellen Show collapsed after staffers came out detailing toxic environment. She built a career on being nice and cracking funnies, but people want shared values. Top tier laughs, pranks, and bloopers couldn’t save the show. The audience wanted authenticity.

Today, who you are when the camera is off, is more crucial than how you act when the camera is on. Don’t believe me? Ask Ellen. Hollywood was built on illusion and ‘access denied’. Today, people have access.

If your strategy is to coast, straddling the middle and act like nothing is going on, well, then the laugh is on you. People want follow those who risk their reputation, those that speak the truth and live the truth.

If you love the 80’s, you’ll love Heartback by Rollerblader. The band 1975 comes to mind but with a guitar player that shreds a guitar solo.

The music duo made up of Jacob Evergreen and Maxwell Flanders have toured, written and recorded with artists including Jesse McCartney, Rooney, Rachel Platten, Mormor, Echosmith and Madison Beer. If the goal was to put together an indie  rock project with songs with slick productions, then mission completed. Check out the video here and stream the song on KOAR’s Indie Invaders Playlist.

In a fall from grace ending,  Nielsen was suspended by an oversight group for falsifying the numbers of the 2020 Covid TV usage declines.

Neilsen, the once go-to TV ratings service has lost its accreditation from the Media Ratings Council. The company that once had stranglehold on TV measurement is coming to an end. Nielsen was caught in undercounting national TV household viewership during the pandemic.

Look out for Ben Provencial and the piano ballad Better Off. It it were to make it to radio, it could be a hit. Fans of Lewis Capaldi and Dean Lewis will like. Better Off comes off his forthcoming EP which will be a collection of sad songs.

“Better Off touches the subject of losing someone important & all the negativity surrounding the months following a break up. The song walks the line between wanting somebody back and knowing that you’d be Better Off without them” says Ben.

An Atlanta, Georgia native, Ben’s been backed by Music Crowns, MrSuicideSheep, & Taj Tracks has over 250k streams on Spotify. Stream it on KOAR’s indie invaders playlist.

Check out the new track our neighbors by Will Hyde. The song could have descendant from Sam Smith & Twenty One Pilots, a bizarre comparison, but accurate.

The track was written with Mike Waters (John Legend, Grace VanDerWaal) and Joel Quartermain (G-Flip, Dustin Tebbutt).

“I hope this song can comfort anyone that is feeling stuck in a relationship and lost with themselves because of it. You deserve to be happy so get out of that shit!” shares Will.

He’s garnered support from triple j, Unearthed, Amazing Radio, and Apple Music’s The Travis Mills Show. Stream it on KOAR’s Indie Invaders Playlist.