Frank Kogan

I think complaints about fragmentation are at least superficial. Possibly even reactionary. Compare fragmentation to the alternative - homogeneity. It seems to me that the complaint that artists are fragmented laments the loss of control that labels are having over same artists. It's hard to enforce standards of genre when the industry is in a tailspin. So where Brooks might wish that all artists still had a cohesive sound (and the same 4 influences: Beatles, Stones, Dylan + whoever) it's much more positive to have a diverse community.

Also, another definition of fragmentation is alienation. And it seems to me that artists are far less alienated from their work and from the music scene than they've ever been. Certainly in certain genres they are less aliented from their fans.