The A&R worker will always be important to record companies, and positions within an A&R department will always be difficult to get. The work itself will be affected greatly by the Internet in the years to come. Already, A&R workers are surfing the Web for artists marketing themselves with their own Web sites. Technological advances have allowed for quick and easy downloading of music and other forms of media from the Internet, and some artists are now using the Web to bypass record companies entirely. So, in addition to competing with other record companies for talent, A&R workers may be competing with the artists themselves for the opportunity to distribute their music.