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[solarpsychedelic]

I was vaguely aware that Britney Spears sold her music catalogue. Then “Gimme More” showed up in an ad. Then I fell into a rabbit hole and…

… I love her music, so many of the songs are iconic, but I hope someone is looking out for her personal well being.

In my memory, Britney appears in the space (in the zone, if you will) between old school show biz with its axiom that “the overnight success takes 25 years” and today’s here today, forgotten tomorrow, now have to one up it with something even more extreme viral sensation.

She’s in there with Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, PCD, Rihanna, Amanda Bynes, NSYNC, The Black Eyed Peas, Backstreet Boys, Destiny’s Child, and Lady Gaga, people and groups who got their start and a measure of fame in that zone between the old analog world and the ascent of social media as the platform that shaped pop culture. Harry Potter and Twlight live in that space, too.

(Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music” are the time machines that take me right back to that era.)

Yes, gossip blogs, MySpace, Television Without Pity, and Reddit existed then as well as niche platforms like Tribe dot net and Friendster, but even combined, these sites did not have the giant footprint that the bird site and others would have ten years later.

Back in that zone, artists and writers still depended on sales of physical product: CDs, DVDs, and print books. Regular promotions on television and radio put the information out there that was then picked up by fan clubs and fans, a good number of whom were now spreading the word with online forums.

To achieve that level fame as they did took a level of talent and effort backed up by the traditional public relations machine funded by the record companies and publishing houses (and that part doesn’t really exist anymore.)

To have that level of fame even then meant taking a heavy measure of scrutiny and harshness, especially the women. Too famous too fast too soon without the usual years of practice and training plus being under a media microscope doesn’t create a good situation.

I don’t know; I wish sometimes we could shift into a sharing culture where people express their talents, people enjoy the music, art, writing, etc that’s created without the insane pressure.