How Has Technology Changed In The Digital Era Of Music?

Most successful musicians know a hidden art carried out by the work of a good sound engineer; it is essential for a magnificent album. For the rest of us novice listeners and fans, we believe what we hear through our speakers or played over the radio are the true skilled professional musicians, soaring at their craft. Most contemporary music, from pop to R&B and acid jazz to the sophisticated realm of orchestral film scores, has been modernized by several inventions encased within the studio. The art of audio engineering has taken on new forms, from the nuts and bolts, "plug it in, and see if it works" era into the digital world, because of these wonderfully tragic solutions to a

Is important for anyone who has created any intellectual property to protect it. In the music industry, in order for someone to protect their work, they must obtain a copyright. Music has been around before anyone could obtain a copyright and when the invention of the computer came along it made it easier for someone to steal another artist's intellectual property with the help of the internet. This paper will cover what events have taken a big role in copyright protection for artist, the consequences if someone was to break the rules of a copyright which is called copyright infringement, and how will a copyright hold in the future. Were copyrights enacted without the thought of life changing technology, and how can some music companies

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

Music is everywhere. Ever since the history of early human, music has been a powerful companion even till today. From an economic perspective, music can be conducted and sold in different forms such as tapes, CDs, orchestras, concerts, street performances, and so on. Starting in recent decades, along with the dramatic growth of Internet usage and with the diffusion of fast Internet connections in home computing (Peitz and Waelbroeck, 2005), the United States digital music industry is experiencing a rapid increase. Contrary to traditional formats, digital music files that can be found on file sharing networks can be separated from their physical support. They can be compressed and exchanged on the Internet in a relatively small amount of time (Peitz and Waelbroeck, 2005). In such advantages, people have more freedom and access to variety of music from all the locations around the world.

In 2000 the digital music was the next big thing in how consumers listen to music. The technological shift in music changed how the relationship is between the artists, recording companies, promoters and music stores on how they operate today. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks allowed free exchange of music files with companies like Napster and Kazaa was a big step that allowed consumers to store large libraries of music. With the cost of hard drive space going down; it allowed for pocket-sized computers to store more information in a smaller space that open the door for apple to step in with the unveiling of the iPod and iTunes. These systems made it possible for storage and playback that gave consumers the

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.

Technology has had a profound effect on our civilisation and culture, and this has been reflected in the changing state of the music industry. This includes the development of virtual instruments, the accessibility to digital audio workstation technology, file sharing, online music streaming, the growth and development of social media platforms, and digital instruments. We live in an age where it is becoming increasingly easier to produce, obtain, share and discover music. This paper will explore some of the ways in which technology has influenced the music industry, with a focus on the diminishing need for musical talent.

“Before the days of YouTube and the Internet, a band 's chances of striking it big depended on record companies. If a band was lucky enough to get a record deal, it gained access to a label 's vast resources and connections. The company paid for the band 's studio time, … and got its music played on the radio, reaching millions of record buying Americans” (Majerol, 1). Now, anyone with talent can post a video of themselves and become an internet sensation, only to then receive a deal with a label to continue growing their career. The issue is, with the Internet came digital downloading, and with the growing popularity of digital downloading came illegal downloading, known as Digital Piracy, which has affected the music industry greatly. This issue affects everyone involved in the Music Industry. From the small CD store owner to the Artist on stage, everyone has and continues to be affected by the growing popularity of digital downloading services. Artists, producers, and songwriters lose an estimated 12.5 Billion USD every year to illegal digital music services. Further, the economic impact from [digital downloading] is an estimated loss of 2+ Billion USD (Storrs, 1). This money affects the “little guys” in the industry and the average worker within the industry.

Nowadays, teenagers are living constantly surrounded by technology. Even if the younger generation may not see it, technology has had an impact on different factors. The widespread use of digital technology in the music industry has allowed consumers to reproduce digital versions of copyrighted songs inexpensively, with the help of many software and websites. There has been an increase in digital copying activities and those are most of the time claimed responsible for producers’ loss in revenues. While some people claim that the increase of digital technology has killed the music industry, in fact it has lead to innovation and new ways of consuming and sharing music, such as

Introduction: Setting the trend for the future, the distribution and consumption of recorded music transformed dramatically with the launching of Apple’s iTunes in 2001. The proliferation of online music subscription services and other music sharing services exerted a great pressure on the conventional music distribution business model. Combined with this transformation, piracy of digital music had a profound impact on the whole industry. These worsening conditions in the market place for recorded music forced both established and upcoming new artists to experiment with new ways of selling their music.

However, modern technology has made it possible to package many of the features of large recording studios into small digital recording consoles, which amateur musicians can afford.  The price of one of these consoles, the Tascam Digital Portastudio 788, at Musiciansfriend.com, is $899.99 [1].  This console, although seemingly expensive, is much more cost-effective than paying for an entire studio, and can achieve nearly the same results.  The real benefit of a digital recording console, however, is the creative control it bestows upon musicians.  Instead of having a producer who dictates how the recording should sound, the musician becomes the producer, giving him complete control over all aspects of the composition.  Additionally, because of the cost of studio recording, a musician's time in the studio is usually limited.  However, with a personal digital recording console, one can freely experiment with new ideas without time constraints.  While this unmediated recording environment theoretically provides an artist with unlimited creative flexibility, it also allows for detrimental misuse in the form of non-original composition, which can negate the creative possibilities of this new artistic process.

The increasing popularity of web songs has helped to improve the music business. In contrast, the previous mode has been laggard because of the monopolization by a few major elite music companies (Zhang, 2006). Every music fan is currently fascinated with the dissemination of musical industry digital interface (MIDI) in producing his or her own music. In addition, if we say the MP3 player represents a revolution in terms of music dissemination, in that way, MIDI can be considered to be the delegate of a music revolution in music production (Kennedy, 2006). In the past, producing a song needs to be helped by other musicians and musical instruments costing at least 10,000 Yuan in China. Nowadays, depend on the advances of technology, the computer can uses musical industry digital interface to simulate all musical instruments almost at around 300 to 500 Yuan (Zhang, 2006), thus, a huge reducing cost in producing 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.

The creation of musical works has always been culminated by several different processes and usually involves many people. The process takes a lot of time delaying the release of music. Advancement in technology has played a significant role in the music production by lowering the length of time it takes to produce recorded material. Artists usually sign a contract with a recording company that markets their music products. The internet and low-cost recording technologies have created a “do-it-yourself” music movement. New artists have gained worldwide recognition without landing a recording contract with a major record label.

Ever since 18-year-old Shawn Fanning created Napster in his Northeastern University dorm room in 1999, downloading and sharing music online has become one of the most popular things to do on the Internet today. But why wouldn't it? Getting all your favorite songs from all your favorite artists for free, who wouldn't want to start sharing music? The answer to that question are the people who feel that stealing from the music industry is not morally right, because that is exactly what every person who shares music is doing. People who download music think it's something they can get away with but now it might be payback time to a lot of those people.