Is it possible that with the state of the record industry it will cause an interest in local music?

yes, internet radio(pandora) and satellite radio help smaller local bands too..depending on where you live there might not be much of a local music scene but those two sources help you find local bands from all over the world...just recently i stumbled upon 2 or 3 bands thati loved what i heard but cant find on itunes..thankfully had a myspace page where you could sample some more...record company deserves to go downhill-they've been selling us crap for years