Brilliance springs from a spirit of exuberance and experimentation

‘This I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected’

JOHN STEINBECK

Take a walk back through time to your younger days. Think of the first time you heard a song or piece of music that inspired you and lifted you above yourself. What was it that opened your heart and gave you that sense of deep understanding, as if the songwriter had reached into your soul and understood you like nobody else? If you’re less of a music lover, think of a book that had the same effect. Or perhaps a film you saw that thrilled you and made you think: ‘Yes, this is what it is to feel alive!’

Entertainment at your fingertips

In the 20th century, popular culture became easily accessible. Today, thanks to the internet, it’s even more so. A hundred years ago, you had to go to the cinema to watch a film. In the 1980s and 90s, you could also visit a video store. These days, you can watch a multimillion-pound blockbuster with a scroll of your thumb. As the availability’s exploded, so has the number of works being created. In the US, the estimate of books published per year – both traditionally and self-published – is around 3 million, compared with 282,500 in 2005.

In other words, if you’ve made a song, film or book, it’s easy to make it widely available. You, too, can thrill someone, just as that long-ago bit of culture did you. And with the possibility of circumnavigating gatekeepers – record labels, film studios, publishing firms – the freedom to communicate directly with your audience is there for the taking.