There have been two great examples in 2005 -- alas, only two -- of how the Internet has signalled a change in how things work in the music business: The Arctic Monkeys and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Both rose to prominance, relatively speaking, through Internet-created, MP3-downloading grassroots campaigns.

In "Click Your Mouse, Say Yeah!" The Guardian's Alexis Petridis takes a look at both bands and how their situations reflect upon the changes underway. Though there are rumors that the Monkeys built buzz in such old fasioned ways as online street teams sent into other bands' chat rooms, "the notion of the Internet has a hotbed of new talent" is deepened by these two bands. NME editor Conor McNicholas laid out the timeline:

"A generation of music fans came through that had never known the world without the Internet. [File-sharing website] Napster, in its first incarnation, introduced the notion of music as a free commodity. When the clampdown came that shut the free Napster down, people were still interested in filling that free-music fix, but unsigned bands were the only way to do it. Then the Libertines came along, and they were really interested in breaking down the boundaries between the band and their fans. The habits and practices that grew up around the Libertines involved giving away lots and lots of music for free. ... The Arctic Monkeys were the first band to really develop that and match it with genuine inspirational talent. The Internet has become much more important for finding new bands."

He also attempted to find undiscovered gems on MySpace.com and found it to be difficult. That and more after the jump.

(Photo from The Guardian)

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