How The Mp3 Murdered The Music Industry

The bigger companies like Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, Song BMG Music Entertainment, etc., have the big dollars to promote all of their artists. Because the Internet has caught on, all of the music companies can promote everyone. Even the little companies can do this. Hopefully, the music industry will look at this as a blessing in disguise for the underground labels. Looking at this in the short-term of things, downloading music could hurt the music industry and their profits. However, later down the line, it will eventually benefit them. In a study done by Ipsos-Reid, it shows that 81% of the public that download music, often spend at least the same on records or even more than they did before downloading music from the Internet. The record industry must concentrate on offering value to the user and adapt to the publics needs (Vives, 2004). The music industry should try to realize that the ideas behind free downloads can benefit them. They should do what they can to market more from it, rather than turning their noses up at the technology behind it. They should realize that they waste more money on fighting the sites that offer free downloads and lobbing Congress to stop the downloading, they should build a system in which all music is readily available free. Making sites with easy to follow links to other online music store so that the people can buy music from the same place that they listen to it.

When thinking about music downloading and streaming we must not only consider legal mediums (which only exist because the practice was illegal after Napster’s failure) such as iTunes and Spotify, we must consider the overwhelming presence of illegitimate or illegal streams and downloading mediums such as FrostWire or YouTube2MP3. The music industry revenue streams have been changed, molded, and affected by the music downloading and streaming world in many ways. The music industry makes money through three ways: album/single sales, royalties, and concert revenues. All three of those streams have been effected in various ways some negative and some positive. Musician, and record label founder, Isaac Hanson said it perfectly; “I think downloading is both saving and killing the music industry at the same time”. His quote is confirmed by the data as well as my This partially confirms my theory that the music downloading has completely destroyed the music

For over a decade now music piracy has threatened the music industry by costing it money, and stealing from it. Peer-to-peer file sharing has been somewhat of a red flag for the music industry ever since Napster, a once highly used file swapping network, came into the picture. Napster and the websites similar to it made it possible for people to trade files downloaded onto their computer through the internet for free. What that means is that someone who had downloaded the new NSYNC album could give it away to however many people could access it and no one had to pay a penny. The big deal about that is the fact that the artists who worked for months to make that album did not get paid. The only money they saw was from the people who actually went out and physically paid for the CD.

“Hundreds of Internet users are suspected of illegally trading music using file-swapping services” (www.joelcomm.com, year). This surge in the illegal trading of music is having a major impact on the music industry this is why we should have harsher punishment of the illegal download of music .Many smaller and lesser known artists are suffering because they are not making any money form the downloading and illegal trading off their songs. The illegal download of copy righted music and the easy access to free songs from is affect many local businesses, many cd and music stores are closing down because off the illegal file trading and down loading of music. This calls for harsher punishment for the illegal down load of copy righted music. We

The question then became “Just because we can get the music we want without paying for it, should we?” (Tyson, 2000, p.1). This issue of illegal downloads, which is also referred to as piracy, has been a hot topic ever since the introduction of Napster. According to Recording Industry Association of America “In the decade since peer-to-peer (p2p) file-sharing site Napster emerged in 1999, music sales in the U.S. have dropped 47 percent, from $14.6 billion to $7.7 billion” (RIAA, 2014).

Once upon a time a website provided free music through peer-to-peer file sharing. This was a new technology for the public for a several reasons. The price of home computers had declines dramatically and many people could now afford one. Because of the affordability, many people who had never used a computer suddenly found themselves enmeshed in the new media. Not only could people do their e-mail, do paperwork, play games and use all the different applications they now could also share their files with others. Of course, they wanted to share one of our most valued pleasures, our love of music. The public was not aware that this type of file sharing was illegal because it was not clear on the website disclaimer. Most people did not

The music industry has developed in a series of technological advances, from the development of vinyl to the digitization of music and the creation of formats such as compact disc (CD), digital audiotape, and minidisk (Leyshon 2001). Although the digitized music facilitates consumers, it causes the appearance of piracy and the drop of sales. The subject of piracy has occurred for a certain period. Since 1920's, music piracy has appeared into the world with the production of cassette tapes, voice recorders, and CDs, which brought a new kind of event to court. Moreover, music piracy has become a worldwide issue due to the development of downloading music via the internet.

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.

Introduction: Apple’s iTunes launched in 2001 transformed distribution and consumption of recorded music setting the trend for the future. 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.

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.

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 area of Atlanta contains millions of people, and each person owns personal electronic devices. Common electronic devices may include: laptops, phones, music players, etc. Every household contains at least one of each device. From the IFPI in a BBC article, ninety-five percent of music is downloaded online illegally (“Legal Downloads Swamped”). The population of Atlanta’s area is almost 5.5 million in 2009(“About Atlanta”). Based on the statistics given, it is calculated that 5,225,000 music files for a particular song would have been downloaded from the internet in this city alone, and each file for a song costs almost a dollar. That is more than five million dollars lost for a single song in Atlanta. The example only shows only a

The MP3 digital music format was developed in an open, non-proprietary environment an international standard, really as a basis for the development of storing and playing audio and audio in conjunction with video. It could easily be compared to the Internet-enabling Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) by its intent. These technologies, as well as others, grow out of cooperation among stakeholders for the purpose of elevating a technological field. As such, it offers no inherent protections, such as protections against the duplication of copyrighted material.

Companies like Apple, have decided that it is best to get in with the downloading business. However, an end to the illegal downloading conflict remains to be realized. The RIAA and associated artists continue to wage war against illegal downloaders while computer savvy audiences persist in sharing music files online every day. While it is undoubtedly true that downloading music is a crime, it remains to be proven that it is wrong. Without establishing this principle, most downloader's are likely to continue the activity. Even with new, inexpensive and available means of downloading files, they can still be shared for free online. The rift must be repaired between music lovers who feel that they have been taken advantage of in the past and recording companies and artists who worry about their future livelihood.