Is There Really An Industry Anymore?

I know, I know, I'm starting to sound like a bitter old parent reminiscing about the 'good ole days' but I'm starting to see a shift that is quite alarming. The industry, as we know it today, isn't the exclusive, 'pay your dues' mindset of recent years. I would never knock someone's hustle but it's too easy for people to 'think' they are part of the entertainment industry these days.

Even when I worked at The Source 4 years ago, these interns had the attitude that they didn't need to do anything to 'earn their stripes'. You can't go into a company and declare yourself a CEO when you're applying for an internship. People think they are the next Diddy, Puff, Puff Daddy, Sean Combs or whatever his moniker is today. Yes, Diddy stared as an intern and is now a mogul but even if you ask him, he will tell you that there are certain protocols and unwritten rules that must be followed in order to 'get ahead'. Some of these interns act as if they are doing you a favor by becoming an intern. I can guarantee that if Puff had that attitude 22 years ago, he wouldn't have gotten too far!



And let's talk about what we used to call journalism. Nowadays, anyone with internet access can obtain a FREE blog, go to other sites/blogs, copy content from these sites, place it in their blog and now they're in the industry! What da fuck!?!?! No, just because you grab an embedded code from Vlad TV, or grab a story from All Hip Hop, doesn't make you a part of this industry! And whatever happened to originality, doing something different, creating your own niche? NETWORKING, building up REAL contacts and actually knowing what you are talking about when you might write or knowing the 'rules' about giving credit when you swipe content from another source?

And how can you call yourself industry when you can't call anyone to get anything?!? When you can't get an interview or a quote because you know no one in the industry and you HAVE to wait for another site to post something so this way you can post it in your blog. What part of the game is that?

I had a conversation this summer with a 'blogger' who was complaining that he doesn't get invited to industry events. No listening parties, no screenings, no exclusive interviews, etc. I'm looking at him like he has 3 eyes. I asked him if he knew any publicists, he says no. I ask, who does he know at the labels? He knew a mailroom guy and the cousin of a neighbor who works as a receptionist. I then asked him how does he get his content and of course, he names the more popular sites he gets it from. So, I look at him and then ask him, why would ANYONE invite him anywhere for anything with that great resume he has! The audacity that no one invites him to anything!

It's that attitude that is making this not an industry anymore because anyone with a blog, a camcorder, a voice recorder and a studio, can declare themselves industry, just because....