Rediscovered talent using the Internet

In recent years, a huge topic of controversy has been how readily available music is online. The music industry has filed lawsuits because they've been losing money as people no longer purchase CDs and instead download the music for free. For some, the internet has served as a wake-up call as they discover their fan base online.

Vashti Bunyan is an English folk-singer who began in the 1960s. She attended an art and music school but was expelled at age 18 for spending too much time writing songs and not enough time painting. Still, she was discovered and released various singles in the 60s. Unfortunately, the singles didn't really sell. She spent 2 years in Scotland with her boyfriend and was basically isolated. Vashti wrote songs about her personal feelings and experiences in Scotland and took them to Joe Boyd, an American producer that she had crossed paths with, who recorded them. In 1970 she released her full-length album, Just Another Diamond Day, which did not sell well. Dejected, she retired from music to raise a family in Ireland and led her life as a housewife and mother.

She felt misunderstood when no one really connected with her album and felt ashamed and like a failure for the lack of popularity. She never even told her children about her music, hiding cassettes and rarely playing guitar. When she did play guitar, all the feelings of sadness from her first album returned. Her luck improved in 1997 when she bought her first computer. Out of curiousity she typed herself into a search engine and found that copies of Diamond Day were selling on eBAY for 900 pounds! The only way she realized her fan base was ONLINE! In 2000, Diamond Day was re-released on CD.

Her fan base motivated her to return to music. She released the CD Lookaftering in 2005, which was an album full of love songs to her children. The title signified the years of looking after her family and she even had artwork on the album done by her daughter. She has found her fan base and now travels on tour again to multiple countries. Vashti has even performed in New York City where the NY Times reviewed her, which is no easy feat. She's in her 60's and just now discovering her true talent and fans.

If not for the internet, Vashti Bunyan would have continued to just fade into the mix, not even realizing that her music was now popular. The internet helped her see where her fans were and realize that they even existed. While some producers find the internet a nuisance, as it can be seen as draining their profits, it can have enormous benefits for artists and fans.







Vashti in the 1970s (Left) and Current (Right)




Sites where Vashti Bunyan biography information was obtained:
http://www.filter-store.com/fms/artist/bio/0,,1046986,00.html
http://www.nme.com/artists/vashti-bunyan#biography
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Vashti-Bunyan-Biography/B1FB5CD7483476B0482570E80006DEC8
http://scaruffi.com/vol2/bunyan.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/sep/18/popandrock1

1970s picture URL
Current picture URL