Check out this fascinating piece from NYT magazine by Clive Thompson about the new dynamics/business models in the entertainment industry…I have to warn you that it is kinda long but its really well written…Also be sure to look at this video about “Code Monkey”, which seems like an anthem for computer programmers everywhere…

(Pic via NYT as well)

The Hold Steady’s online audience has grown so huge that Kubler, like Jonathan Coulton, is struggling to bear the load. It is the central paradox of online networking: if you’re really good at it, your audience quickly grows so big that you can no longer network with them. The Internet makes fame more quickly achievable — and more quickly unmanageable.

…

To cope with the flood, the Hold Steady has programmed a software robot to automatically approve the 100-plus “friend” requests it receives on MySpace every day. Other artists I spoke to were testing out similar tricks, including automatic e-mail macros that generate instant “thank you very much” replies to fan messages. Virtually everyone bemoaned the relentless and often boring slog of keyboarding. It is, of course, precisely the sort of administrative toil that people join rock bands to avoid.

Things sure are a changing.