Blog Essay

Imagine the number one song of the year with the most downloads, streaming numbers and views on Youtube could not be nominated for a Grammy. Up until June 2014, artists could not be nominated for such an award unless the song was completely their own, meaning there was no sampling of past music. This may not sound like a big deal until songs like “SOS” by Rihanna or “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice became chart topping tracks, and are both derived from older songs. Mark Ronson, music producer and DJ, speaks about how sampled music has changed the way generations discover music, as well as how creative ideas flourish from sampling other artist’s music. In this TED talk “How sampling transformed music,” Ronson gives his opinion on how artists transform

Ask anyone how they listen to music the answer will likely be through any means of easy access at an affordable cost. A study conducted by news outlet Nielsen 's Music 360 claimed, “Americans streamed 164 billion on-demand tracks across audio and video platforms in 2014”. The rapid increase in popularity music streaming platforms are experiencing leaves people wondering what that means for the music industry. When more consumers utilize the on-demand method of entertainment access, how does that translate to the artist being accessed? Astra Taylor contributes to this discussion in her book, “The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age”. She lays criticism upon the idea of a more digitized

When wanting to listen to a song today, one no longer has to buy or download a physical copy. In today’s world, streaming has become one of the top ways of retrieving music content. This major change has led to a profound shift for the music industry and its artists. It has developed a continuous conflict that affects the way music is distributed and how artists make a living. Listeners stream music electronically through their computers, phones, cars, and more. Most of these streaming platforms allow for the content to be free, which directs to the question of whether music should be free or not. Streaming is a topic that has presented itself to be a valid issue on whether it ultimately hurts or helps artists and their careers. Streaming has both pros and cons, but in order to aim to figure a possible solution there needs to an examination of the history of the issue, a proper analysis of both sides, and evaluating its importance.

The purpose of this memo is to better understand how the cloud has changed the music industry for both artists and users. This is an evaluation of 5 of the most popular cloud-based music streaming applications. These applications allow people to have access to more music than ever before, wherever they are. Each app has different features that may make them appealing to different people, so it is important to evaluate them to see strengths and weaknesses.

Social media is a technology that is utilized by almost every in not only America, but all over the world. It has changed the way we lead our lives, the way we communicate, and the way information is distributed. Additionally, this technology has had a prominent influence on individuals’ opinions and how they perceive the world around them. The presence and accessibility of social media has revolutionized many industries, and the music industry is no exception. Social media is reshaping the way we consume and interact with music has changed over the years as social media technologies have evolved. Furthermore, social media has gone on to changing the way music is produced and publicized. Music lovers are not the only ones to avidly depend on social media, but the dependence is present from the sides of music creators, producers, and marketers as well.

This case study about the Spotify business model allows a broader vision of what the digital music industry is. In a short time, many companies have developed and managed marked their territory in a highly competitive industry. The start-up Spotify has undergone a remarkable evolution in a financial point of view but also in terms of its popularity. Its various competitive benefits regarding the market leader and its respect for music labels have enabled the company to be renowned and to have a reputation in the real business. Today, five years after its creation, Spotify is certainly criticized in some aspects of

Starting in the year 1999, a company called Napster opened up a whole new world to the Internet where every song ever made was instantly available to you on your computer for free. It was created by an 18-year-old Northeastern University student named Shawn Fanning. Napster transformed personal computers into servers that shared mp3 files all across the Internet (Mayer, 2008). It became popular very quickly because exchanging mp3 files freely and having any music desired right at your fingertips had never been possible before. However, this program that provided the privilege of having free instant music to download did not last long, it was shut down after just two years by

In the music industry, there are several methods of sharing content. Between playing live shows, producing physical records, and now, streaming over music streaming services, artists and musicians from around the world contribute to the entertainment industry each day; however, in light of today’s technological age, more and more content is being shared and consumed through the later. In 2015, music streaming services grew to 317 billion streams, doubling the record amount of streams from the year prior—a figure that is only projected to grow in the years to come (“Nielsen: Music Streams”, 2016). Any consumer with an Internet connection can access these services’ content with

Tidal started in the United States in 2015, creating the first artist-owned global music and entertainment platform. Tidal promise listeners the ability to hear new music before it becomes available using their services. They aspire to be leaders in providing exclusivity to artists by way of paying those more. The idea behind this is due to the small amount of percentage

No one can deny that technology is actively changing the music industry. Production, distribution and sales of music have been affected dramatically within the last 10 years along with artists, composers, and technicians. Most of the changes have been great for consumers, but vastly negative for professionals in the music industry, however a few artists have found ways to adapt to the changing atmosphere of digitally downloaded music and use it to their advantage. We’ve seen music change form from physical, tangible products like records and CD’s to electronic single tracks stored in an invisible cloud. Two major factors in this sudden revolution are online music stores (specifically iTunes) and file sharing websites that allow music to be downloaded illegally.

The accessibility and simplicity of the unmediated digital recording process enable individuals, who otherwise would not be involved in music recording, damage the reputation

Spotify was started to provide commercial music streaming services with facilities to search and browse music as well as download. Spotify has various opportunities in increasing the size of the company to a wide area. There are also opportunities in creating interactive websites and providing the customers with extra games and offers. However, there are various challenges to meet these opportunities which may include investments and customer issues. There are two recommendations for Spotify, first is to develop a mobile application for smart phones and second is to create new offers along with online gaming. This will foster growth in the Spotify’s reputation in the market.

Spotify’s mission is to connect millions of people with their favorite songs and create a service that people love to use. They believe that music should be easily accessible for everyone, as listening to music may enrich peoples lives. They want to make a win-win solution for both the people who are creating the music and the people who wish to listen to the music.

In the midst of the United States’ “dot com bubble” (years 1997-2000), there was a surge in technology that brought about file sharing and digital downloads. Threatening the survival of the music industry and introducing a unique set of challenges for the industry to overcome. To remain relevant in the new global market of digital music online, the music industry would have to evolve and change with the introduction of each new facet technology had to offer. The introduction of digitally compressed music files, so easily attainable for a small fee or downloaded legally (pirated) for free, made the music industry reevaluate how to make a profit and protect copyrights. Social media created a visible opportunity for both consumers and artists to maintain digital relationships while providing a platform for consumers to follow and discover new musicians and bands, naturally, making the internet a promotional medium for artists. As the corner record shops closed to make way for virtual storefronts and instant downloads; the internet, digital downloading, and social media made an enormous impact on the music industry that has changed the way consumers purchase, source, listen to, and produce music today.

Spotify is a product of change. Consumers today are not the same as they were fifty years ago. Businesses like Spotify know this and use it to their advantage. According to industry expert Dave Touve, “people pay more, on average, for