Kids are the new stars.

No, I’m not talking about those twits on "American Idol".  I’m just talking about everybody who’s not being purveyed by the major labels, movie studios and "National Enquirer"/"Us".

Used to be people felt powerless.  That they didn’t have a voice.  Now everything’s completely topsy-turvy.  Kids think THEY have the voice.  They decide what’s cool.  They comprise a jury of tens of millions and THEY get to decide thumbs-up or thumbs-down.  But, they’ve stopped looking at what the usual suspects are purveying and are starting to judge THEIR OWN works.

Takes talent to be a musician.

Oh, that’s why kids don’t respect Ashlee or Jessica.  Or Lindsey.  All those auto-tuned buffed up and polished icons dirty old men are foisting upon them.  Kids have seen the man behind the curtain.   And they laugh.  Because they can pull the levers better than he can.  Because when it comes to technology, THEY rule.

It’s all about tools.

It USED to be about marketing.

But now kids control that too.  There’s a marketing bonanza taking place every day at 2:30.  When kids come home from school.  They plop their asses down in front of their computers and COMMUNICATE!  Forge bonds and arbitrate what’s cool.  They trust each other with a passion that no multinational corporation can generate.  And, they know TONS of their brethren.  Kids today know EVERYBODY in their hometown, never mind elsewhere.  That’s what IM and blogging has done.  It’s just like putting Duran Duran on MTV twenty-odd years ago.

Kids still like music.  And they like movies and TV too.  But they only respect quality and talent.  And you should know this and sell your wares with this in mind.  But the new story, the EMERGING story, is how kids are now creating their own art form.  Via VIDEO!

You don’t want to hear the musical works of the kid next door.  But, you never know, he could put together an hilarious video.  Or certainly turn you ON to a funny or interesting video.

The sale of video productions on the Web…  That’s not the big story.  The exchange of information about and the watching of homegrown videos on the Web, now THAT’S the story.

Every kid has access to a digital camera.  If you don’t doubt me, you’ve never heard of Flickr, or Photobucket.

But now, many kids have access to digicams.  Digital video cameras.  And, having watched a billion hours of television, and video requiring A LOT less talent to create than music, they’re rolling their own.

Go to http://www.youtube.com.  Or http://video.google.com.  You’ll start to get the idea.

Youtube doesn’t seem to have enough server power.  It’s a lot more glitch-prone than Google.  But it’s got a renegade feel.  Like the service is owned by its constituents, kids, not the thirtysomething techies of Google.  Google ain’t perfect, but with a broadband connection (necessary for both, and an illustration how technological advancements beget creative opportunities), you can watch, as the kids say, pretty good.

What should you watch?

On Youtube, start with the featured videos, on the homepage.

On Google, skip past the pay fare, with the ridiculous proprietary DRM, and go directly to "Popular".  Or search on "Mastercard".  And watch the banned commercials.  Most specifically, the one at: Mastercard  This is a Web legend.  E-mailed around EONS ago.  But now it’s being hosted somewhere.  Where EVERYBODY can have access.  Almost instantly.

And you wonder why MTV features its audience on TV.  That’s what kids want to SEE!  THEMSELVES!

This is the new MTV.  And, like the original MTV, its heyday ain’t gonna last forever.  It’s a fad.  But with legs of at least a year, if not THREE years.

Want to blow up a band?

Release all the footage from a video shoot on its Website.  Along with a free copy of the song.  Shit, SHOOT some video, put up some promotional videos, just for kids to employ.  IN CREATING THEIR OWN VIDEOS!  Trent Reznor did this with his last album.  Allowed those with GarageBand to remix tracks.  But, you needed GarageBand, and the idea had limited appeal.  Shoot your own video, maybe containing you lip-synching along with a star?  THAT people would grab on to.  (This is one of the most viewed videos on Youtube:  what i’ve been looking for  Search on "lip-synch" for tons more.)

The major labels have it all wrong.  Music blows up when you release it.  When you allow people to play with it.  To get INVOLVED with the act.  The sale of an inert disc is so last century.

You can’t stop it, you can only throw in with it.