Sure there is. Join the communities that support the genre(s) of music you enjoy. Listen to the various internet radio programs that feature the music you enjoy -- those curators will introduce you to new music, and new-to-you music.
As many flaws as the major labels previously had, they did discover and nurture artists. Internet radio is not going to discover a random lounge cover singer in the middle of flyover US. You are not going to have an internet radio station that features random unknown artists that has widespread reach. The bar to discovery is much higher and arguably requires less on the music end and more on the promo end than it has in the past. This leads to more of the chaff rising to the top.
That's been true but there are some artist examples that are showing new artists can embrace the new dynamic and reach fans. CHVRCHES got their start on SoundCloud. Chance the Rapper still is in the "mixtape" game. Pretty much any "viral" hit that isn't actively on a Major Label at the time of the release can be considered, I think, to be a case study in how the dynamics are changing. Edit: Forgot Run The Jewels as well.
These days, the barrier to entry for discovery is lower than it's ever been. If you get your music on all of the various internet music services and some of the internet-radio programming, you are much more heavily distributed worldwide than any garage-band in the 70s or 80s could ever have been at the time.
The 'bar for discovery' has two parts: The bar for potential discovery is now very, very low. But for actual discovery it is high because the "signal-to-noise" ratio is very low: by that I mean there is so much crap (noise) to wade through before you find a great band (signal) that the work of curating has shifted from the radio stations and record labels to the consumer. The nice thing is that you can find excellent music the major labels will simply ignore. The not so nice thing: it requires work on your part to seek out and engage with the curators of content.
This is why finding the internet radio programs that feature the genre you enjoy, and following the music-programmers who curate with taste that you share, is vital to a good discovery experience.
I disagree. The ones I listen to do just that: not only flyover country, but Canada, Australia, UK, Italy and all over the rest of Europe. And the facebook groups for the genres I follow frequently post music from excellent, up and coming or obscure bands.
Widespread reach? It's the internet! How widespread do you need to be? ;)
Also, labels != radio. It's not radio's job to nuture and develop bands. But they can expose bands to greater audiences, which allows people like us to "discover" new-to-us bands.
