The Grammy Awards show makes great television. There’s outrageous fashion, star performances and plenty of drama.
Almost 40 million people watched the 2013 Grammy Awards. In 2012, it was the biggest social media event in history, drawing a record-breaking 160,341 tweets per minute during the show.
The musicians at this award show deserve recognition, without a doubt. They work hard to make music the public will enjoy. However, we should be doing more to promote a variety of music.
The show is typically dominated by a handful of the musical elite. Kanye West has won 21 Grammy awards. Taylor Swift has won seven awards in only three years. Beyoncé has won 17 awards. Whether or not you like their music, they are talented musicians.
However, this is all music that most people know. While it isn’t bad for a particular song or artist to be well known, there is so much more music in the world than the music by the few artists recognized at the Grammy Awards.
Butler has its own hidden talents attending classes.  On Jan. 31, the program board’s Coffeehouse put on a showcase to display upcoming artists from Butler University in Starbucks.
Performers included Josh Turner, Allie and Grey, Brendon Holl, Josh Burton and Adam Hutchinson.
Students can find new music everywhere on campus. The upcoming shows at the Coffeehouse is the best place on campus to start searching for hidden talent..
Music is constantly evolving. New genres, new artists and new types of sounds are developing all the time. Instead of simply listening to the eight to 10 songs played every hour on the radio, we should be looking to see what music is around.
Listening to more diverse music has quite a few benefits. First, before musicians accumulate their fame and wealth, they have to make ends meet on the road. Attending shows at smaller, local venues can help promote talented bands to popularity.
Music can also help you connect with emotions you didn’t know you had. Everyone has different life experiences, so we shouldn’t all be listening to the same few artists. Finding bands in a genre you don’t normally listen to or bands that don’t have the pressure of a record label to change their music can give you new emotional connections.
It’s not too hard to find music off the beaten path. Twitter accounts like @Its_All_Indie promote promising, up-and-coming bands.
Stores like Indy CD & Vinyl often advertise concerts for local bands and even have in-store performances on occasion.
Music is all about expressing yourself. Liking the music on the radio isn’t a bad thing. There is just so much more music in the world to discover.
Branch out the next time you’re craving new music, and you just might find some hidden surprises waiting to be enjoyed.