Where MTV Fears to Tread
By Jacob Ward

Originally published in Wired 6.02, February 1998

In 1993, the music video for Wu-Tang Clan's "Protect Ya Neck," an earsplitting single off its début album, became an endlessly repeated hip hop anthem on The Box, a New York phone-in music channel. Apart from a few appearances on Yo! MTV Raps and BET, the video received no other exposure, and yet the album was incredibly successful. It was a landmark event in a music world where success depends on heavy rotation.

Now, another landmark is in sight. On November 15, SonicNet, an Internet music site, premiered Streamland ( www.streamland.com/ ), an online database of more than 100 streaming music videos from artists who have been long ignored by mainstream media. Although more established labels are represented, indie labels such as Loud Records, Ninja Tune, and Matador Records have flocked to the service. SonicNet president Nicholas Butterworth admits the company is taking a gamble with its lineup - the programming and format place Streamland outside the scope of established consumer research - but that's the beauty of the service. "Digital interactive media is about choice, and so we're matching innovative media with innovative content," says Butterworth.

Streamland has its challenges laid out for it. Not all browsers are compatible with the version of RealPlayer necessary to use the service, and once bigger labels agree to release videos, licensing agreements are sure to be a major headache. But after a half century of new talent trickling into the market through selective playlists, it's going where no VJ has gone before.