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# Relevance
- URL: https://www.philsimon.com/relevance/
- Published: 2011-07-12T11:06:24.000Z
- Updated: 2025-07-01T20:36:58.000Z
- Description: A look at the revolution taking place right now. Are you a part of it?
- Author: Phil Simon
- Tags: Publishing, Amazon, Apple, iPhone

Many traditional powers-that-be are under attack. Consider the following:

- Until the late 1990s, releasing an album meant selling your soul to one of very few record companies with the power to reach the masses.
- Independent filmmakers faced enormous uphill battles in getting their movies made–and seen. Although Kevin Smith of [*Clerks*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerks?ref=philsimon.com)fame charged nearly $28,000 on credit cards to get the film out, countless other writers and creative types played the waiting game.
- Many aspiring authors waited for publishers and/or agents to choose them. There just was no other choice.

Now, video-editing software and devices make it easy to bypass the gatekeepers. A Korean filmmaker [made a movie with an iPhone 4](https://iphone.tmcnet.com/topics/iphone/articles/134021-south-korean-director-shoots-horror-movie-iphone-4.htm?ref=philsimon.com). Self-published rock stars like [Amanda Hocking](https://amandahocking.blogspot.com/?ref=philsimon.com) are selling hundreds of thousands of books via Amazon.com. Established musicians like Prince are [striking creative deals](https://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jun/29/business.pop?ref=philsimon.com) to get their music to the masses, bypassing record companies. Many other bands use other innovative and non-traditional means to reach their audiences, all without a proper record deal.

[Phil Simon: Now Available: Two New Notion TemplatesA detailed travel/packing tracker and a better notifications mousetrap are my latest creations.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/icon/cropped-newlogo-132.png)Phil Simon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/thumbnail/new-1.png)](https://www.philsimon.com/blog/technology/new-notion-templates/)

## Simon Says

There are those that wish that things would return to a more "normal" time. That's not happening anytime soon.

Are you a part of the future or the past?