Omigod, it is N’Sync!! I love you guys; I have all your albums! Can I have your autographs?” This is the beginning of a conversation overheard almost everyday, in any part of the world. The rock-star image is one that society holds dear to its hearts. They are the type of person most people wish they could become, or wish they already were. They are superhuman enigmas that provide great pleasure to any subhuman that should happen to come into contact with them. Yet imagine how different the world would be if this were not the case. This time is approaching. Mp3’s are CD quality music files that anybody with a computer is able to download, absolutely free of charge. Consumers can sample every album or any song that they can think of now, without having to go buy the album first. Napster is the leading software that aids in connecting people together to trade these types of files with each other. However, even if the record companies manage to bring down this revolutionary company, the Mp3 technology will not go away. It will exist, as will peoples desire to obtain free music, for as long as there are computers. And, as Mp3’s become an even more popular way for people to find the music they want, there will be a social dethroning of the rock-star figure that will help bridge the gap between the producers of the music and the consumers of the music.

As consumers move to the day when they will be able to pick and choose exactly which CD’s they wish to purchase, there will be less money accumulated by the artists. Suddenly, these artists won’t be the multimillionaires to which society has grown accustomed. A large portion of an artist’s income is derived from catalogue sales. This is the percentage each artist receives from every album the consumers purchase at a music store. The only way an artist will be able to make a substantial amount of money will if they tour more often and increase the cost of each concert. However, this is something only a minority of artists will be able to afford to do. When this finally occurs, the artists will be in the same salary range as the average consumer.

Secondly, with the great economic ease to distribute music all over the globe, the artists that the consumers are listening to could, quite possibly, be one of their neighbors. The average working person will be able to write music in their free time, up load the Mp3 version of the song to the Internet, and have it freely available to anyone that wishes to download it.  In fact, as this begins to happen more often, the artists could actually become unknown by the consumers completely. Without a CD for the consumer to take home, or a music video to be viewed, the ability to distinguish the rock-star from the average person will be lost. With this giant step there are no sides of the spectrum to be bridge at all. The rock star is then an average

Lastly, if there is no distinguishing between a rock-star and an average person, there will be fewer stars featured in the media. Without the ability to grace every magazine cover and music station airwaves, the artists people idolize will no longer play such an influential role in pop culture. When this occurs, what an artist says or does won’t be captured in print and leave a lasting impression on the people that listen to the music.  All of a sudden, when they speak, not everyone will listen. Society has a bad habit of believing what they see and hear because it happens to be printed in a magazine or newspaper, or because it was said on TV last night. Therefore, this step will force people to start thinking for themselves, and making up their own minds on political issues. Trends will develop on it’s own, without media assistance. Fashion will not be dictated by which star wore what dress to what awards show. Instead, it will finally be about each individual’s own tastes and interests. It is only then that the gap has been successfully closed between these two worlds.

By robbing the producers of the platform that they use to stand upon and look down on all the average working people will be the end of the star status in our society. Without this ability, a rock-star becomes nothing more than an average artist, working to make ends meet. Just like painters or writers, they will be producers that can make a living at doing what they love, but can go throughout society unrecognized or have their every move documented. Let us hope that this will be the first step towards bringing down all of the star levels of in our society, from movie stars to sports stars. Let everyone be a star, and let everyone realize that all jobs and all profession are of equal importance. Perhaps one day we will be able to overhear some one say: “ Omigod, it is Dr. John Doe! I love you; you delivered all my families children! Can I have your autograph?”
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