The Wisconsin Union Directorate Music Committee sponsored a discussion panel that fostered a debate about the influence of social media in the world of contemporary music Wednesday at Memorial Union.

The purpose of the panel was to educate students about the inner workings of the world of music media and to show how it directly relates to pop culture, said Danielle Bade, innovative program co-leader for WUD and a UW sophomore.

“Many people try to stick their feet into music media by influencing the public opinion about certain artists. Yet, since they do not have access to print media, they write blogs to convey their perspectives,” said Bob Marshall, member of the student music publication Emmie.

While a blogger in his or her own right is somewhat influential, he or she is not prominent enough to tear down artists who are already highly popular and commercialized because the people who listen to the songs these artists produce very often do not read blogs, said Matt Gerding, co-owner of the Majestic Theatre.

Gerding said blogs affect people ages 15 to 24 the most because a large portion of this population follows whatever is most popular at the current time, but for the rest of the population, radio and print media are much more prevalent.

“Music media is relative to demographics, so college music dorks will go to blogs to find information on up-and-coming bands, while people who do not care as much about music will just listen to commercial radio,” said Joel Shanahan, writer for the A.V. Club, the pop culture section of The Onion.

While blogs and social media may serve as launch pads for up-and-coming artists, this does not negate the fact that musicians still have to write music people can connect with, Gerding said.

“The key to success is simply the production of great music,” Gerding said.

Twitter is also very useful for getting the word out about shows and other information, while MySpace still serves as a great source to discover new artists and to listen to their songs, said Emily Mills, co-editor of Madison collaborative blog Dane 101.

Even though they are vital aspects of music media, the blogosphere and Twitter accounts have become double-edged swords because, on one hand, they are personalized tools an artist can use to connect to his or her audience, yet, on the other, they are outlets for viral marketing, Mills said.

“When bands and artists virally market themselves by tweeting crazy things or by performing acts such as Kayne West’s recent stunt, they actually very often make themselves more interesting and attractive to the general public,” Marshall said.

On the other hand, artists who exist within a realm of mystery like Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince may be hurt by tweeting, because their comments would subtract from their iconic personas, according to Gerding.

Campus culture is very much influenced by the music media because the way we book entertainment and find music groups to play at local venues is through the local and statewide music media, said Brigid Hogan, innovative program co-leader for WUD and a UW sophomore.