Greed In The Music Industry

Guess What! In this article, about “Should Musicians Change Their Tune” Jacob Carter questions if musicians should sell their music on apps. Darrius Johnson describes up-coming artist getting signed by endorsement deal and getting distracted by not focusing on their music. And Stacia Coates states musician being advertise in commercial to promote their music. I argue the use of musician in advertisement because it helps them promote their music, and gain money.

Every music artist begins somewhere. Every artist had to do something to get their music out there. No one just automatically becomes famous. Then everyone wants to listen to your music. You start out new and anonymous and become more popular over time. Artist become famous by advertising. Every music artist should be able to advertise.

The music industry is one of the biggest industries in the world due to how music is a universal language that does not create barriers, it breaks down walls. People dream all of their life to make it as a big star to write songs and make their mark on the recording industry. For most of the recording artists out there today, music was something that saved them from any troubles. And from then on, it is something that they wanted to create and write as if it is a journal. Music is something that people want to share with each

I propose that all unsigned rising artist should target the business side of the music industry to be successful in the entertainment business because it allows the artist to be taken seriously and make solid connections that can further his/her career. Learning the works of the music industry also enables a new artist to be further successful and profitable. Recent studies show that most new artists without professional representation and a business mindset have a slimmer chance in getting signed to major or independent labels (Lowry, 2011). Overall, the specific change needed is that unsigned artists should be concentrating on their careers as professionals and not amateurs, thus focusing on the ins and outs of the music business and

The music industry is made of companies which produce and sell music. The music industry as we know it was solidified in the mid-twentieth century, where records succeeded sheet music as the primary product in the music business. Record companies were established, but did not last very long until the late 1980s when the “Big Six”, a group of multinational corporations consisting of Sony, MCA, WEA, Polygram, EMI, and BMG controlled most of the market. Initially there were five corporations (CBS and RCA (both now belonging to Sony), WEA, EMI, and Polygram) that had emerged in 1978 to own 60 per cent of the market. (Wallis and Malm, 1984, p. 81)

According to the passage, “Sources 3: The New Necessity in the Music Business” it states “the idea of “selling out” by accepting corporate sponsorships or licensing out songs was seen as a sure-fire way to lose credibility and respect in the eyes of fans.” This quote displays how choosing the right path towards earning a decent percentage of sales might not even be the smartest path to take. Successful artists are able to get themselves known by having supporting fans listening to their creative tunes and without those fans, people lose interest in the music, lowering the artist’s payment from sales. Despite the fact that, commercials may start up an artist’s career, artists making it big on their own, is an even better story to

For instance, a musician could earn between 0.5 to 0.7 cents per stream that is $5000 to $7000 per million streams, which literally adds to nothing compared to what they might earn if they were to physically sell their albums. According to him, many popular streaming companies like Pandora and sportify are believed to be worth about $2 and $3 billion respectively but yet contributed very little to annual revenue of the American recording industry. (Ben Sisario, page 3). With this I personally believe and support the fact that online streaming did improve the musical system but as a result it also hurt sales. All the three articles were focused on one main concern-how streaming has hurt sales and royalties to musicians, but each addressed it inherently different. Author James c. McKinley Jr. showed how these days the internet taken over music video that were used to be aired on MTV which was the main platform for many musicians and producers to promote and advertise their new albums. He added that due to this, musicians need to be extra creative with a comic idea, has to be telling a story or showing sexually fabricated images in order to attract much audience to repeatedly watch the video. One of the most significant impacts that the Internet had on the music industry conveyed by these articles is the ability of musicians to be creative

Music has become a center piece of life; however it comes with a vigorous price unknown to most of the public. The music industry is littered with corruption. My proposed research problem focuses on the manipulation and control the music industry has upon its artists through an unescapable 360 deal, which in and of itself is not only reducing an artist to almost indentured servitude, but also cripples record labels themselves. The 360 deal is a common mandatory contract record labels utilize to financially support an artist. This includes advances and funds for promotion, touring, and marketing, all which the artist has to pay back to the label. I believe this problem is significant and warrants further research because the record labels are unconstitutionally taking away artists rights in favor of their own greed, in turn, leaving the artist without ownership of their own songs, money, and rights to royalties.

In the Rolling Stone’s widely popular hit, “Start Me Up,” lead singer Mick Jagger states “You can start me up/ You can start me up I'll never stop/I've been running hot/You got me just about to blow my top”. When listening to this song, does one hear the ravings of a man in love with a woman, or the beginning of an ad for Microsoft Windows ’95? Recently, popular artists are releasing more music with the intent of selling out to big corporations. The Rolling Stones are an early example of this form of music production when they sold “Start Me Up” to Microsoft for $3 million. This song was exploited for the sake

Initially, protected by patents, Edison, Columbia, and Victor maintained an oligopoly in the recording market for many years. They extended their reach around the globe through alliances and partnership with smaller companies, such as the newly established Gramophone Company (which become Victor’s European representative). Afterwards, RCA/Victor, EMI, and CBS Records dominated the industry during the 1930s and 1940s. The six largest companies produced 158 of the 163 records that achieved “gold record” status between 1946 and 1952. Since the Depression, mergers and acquisitions accelerated during the 1980s and 1990s, which leads to nearly 85% of the global market for recorded music rested in BMG Entertainments, EMI, Sony Music Entertainment,

The "business side of music is struggling to generate enough revenue because of the new technology" ("How the Internet Changed Music."). "Most of the people who are part of making a record are paid in royalties, and anytime music changes hands without money being involved, those royalties can’t be paid—which is why so much has been done in recent years to try and reduce music piracy"("How The Internet Changed Music."). iTunes and Amazon has helped by offering cheap downloads for single songs, which allows the customer to only purchase songs they like rather than the entire album ("How the Internet Changed Music."). Spotify and Pandora, who offer either ad-based or paid subscription streaming of their music libraries, are Internet radio stations which have also helped with the piracy problem ("How The Internet Changed

The music industry is an oligopoly. Since the late 1800’s people like Thomas Edison have been buying up patents in communication technology, forming monopolies, leading to a non-competitive entertainment industry. With only a handful of corporations controlling all aspects of acquisition, distribution and marketing of music, harsh business principles create an exploitative industry that takes the best of what artists have to offer and leaves many of them unable to support themselves. Beginning in the 1950’s with payola and white cover music and ultimately evolving into iTunes and Spotify, the music industry has grown into a billion dollar industry with far-reaching influence and control. Contracts rarely serve the artists’ best interest and many are left out to dry when their usefulness has expired.

The internet is the one media that brings up the most controversy in bands spreading their music. Whether they promote it or not their music is downloaded for free on the internet. Most bands do not like that their music is downloaded for free, but they can’t do much to stop it. In a way downloading music for free could bring the musicians even more money. If a person likes one of the songs they downloaded off of the internet they may be inclined to buy the entire album or at least the single. After the person buys the latest album they may even buy earlier albums from the same artist if they like the music enough. The internet has

There are several ways in which art is commercialized; especially within the music industry. Classic bands such as the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan were criticized for allowing companies to use their material to sell products and services. However, this is a common avenue for a musician or an artist to profit from their works. Many companies are willing to pay a hefty premium to have their products associated with music that has broad emotional appeal to many potential consumers. However, many people feel that when an artist licenses their material it is a loss of integrity and that something is lost by the commercialization of their songs.

The music industry much like every other industry has found ways to connect their product to the people through technology. Now music is readily available to the public through many avenues ITunes, YouTube, and so much more. As music has become more available to the public the industry now faces the threat of illegal downloading and sharing of music files. Many people will purchase an album through a download site and then either post it for free download to others or distribute it to their friends; while those who do this don’t usually face consequence does that make it right?