by Michael “Doc” Studard – Kickin Kountry 101
📧 doc@morningswithdoc.blog
The Renaissance Life
I miss the days of MySpace. I know that makes me sound old, but I do.
There was something real about it — something personal. You could write, post, create, connect, and exist all in one place. I loved the writing feature most of all, how you could have a blog there, pour out your thoughts, and let people come along for the ride. It wasn’t about algorithms or metrics — it was about expression.
These days, I’m lucky enough to live what I call a renaissance life: musician, on-air personality at Kickin Kountry 101, true-crime author, and creator in the digital world. It’s wild that I get to do all these things in the same lifetime — from writing songs and broadcasting to publishing a book next year — but still, part of me misses when it all felt simpler.
When Everything Was in One Place
Back then, MySpace gave artists everything. You could post your music, throw up flyers for shows, host your blog, and invite your friends — all under one roof. Fans could comment, share, or call you out if you didn’t add them to your “Top 8.” You could make people laugh, cry, or discover a new band all in one scroll.
It was messy, sure, but it was alive.
And it made being an indie musician feel like community, not competition.
The Modern Trade-Off
Fast-forward to now, and it feels like every tool that once lived on one platform got broken into a dozen new ones. Instead of MySpace, we’ve got:
Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal, Amazon, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, Bandcamp, Bandsintown, Groover, SubmitHub, Playlist Push, and more — all promising to help indie artists “get heard” while quietly emptying our wallets.
You pay to upload your songs.
You pay to submit them.
You pay to promote them.
You pay to see who listened.
And after all that, you’re lucky if you make enough streams to buy lunch.
That’s the new deal with the devil — and the devil this time wears a streaming logo instead of horns.
The Devil We Know
There’s always been a trade-off in music. The myth goes all the way back to Robert Johnson at the crossroads — the man who sold his soul to the devil to play the blues like no one else. He got what he wanted, sure… but only after he was gone.
That’s the deal: fame for a price.
And today’s version of that bargain is every platform we depend on to share our art.
As a musician, you’re expected to be everywhere — every app, every site, every feed. But all most of us really want is to break even and be heard.
Imagine if there was one place you could post your songs, your merch, your tour dates, your videos, and your stories — one subscription, one hub, one community. Something like Patreon for musicians meets old-school MySpace, where fans could buy your music, print your flyers, comment on your lyrics, and connect directly with you.
That’s the dream.
And honestly, that’s the kind of place music still deserves.
Why It Still Matters
For all the platforms in the world, nothing replaces that connection — the real, human part of it. That’s what MySpace gave us. That’s what I still chase every day on the air, online, or in a song. Because music isn’t supposed to be cold and calculated; it’s supposed to be lived in, laughed in, cried in, and shared.
So yeah — I miss MySpace.
But I’m grateful I got to live through both eras: the one that taught me to write from the heart, and the one that lets me share it with the world.
Mornings With Doc 
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