The relationship between creativity and commerce is key within the creative industries. Finding a balance between the exploration of artistic freedom while remaining a viable means of income is proving to be a crucial challenge in all of the emerging creative industries. Specifically, the music industries face these challenges. More than ever artists are being forced to question whether they must compromise their artistic integrity in order to make money. This notion is in large part influenced by major record labels, who have been dominant for the better part of the past century. Due to the perpetually changing landscape of the music industries, however, it is no longer necessary for emerging artists to follow the traditional path of signing to a major label while surrendering true creativity along the way. In fact, greater success can be achieved independently while maintaining total creative control.
Foremost, it is necessary to define define “music industries.” In a 2007 edition of Popular Music, John Williamson and Martin Cloonan make a fitting distinction:
“We see two main problems with the term ‘the music industry’. First, it suggests a homogenous industry, whereas the reality is of disparate industries with some common interests. Secondly, the term is frequently used synonymously with the recording industry. Thus the term ‘the music industry’ is often used in ways that lead to misrepresentation and confusion” (Williamson, Cloonan 307).
Music as an industry
Starting a career in the music industry is a difficult task. There are many important steps that you need to take along the way, and the path is often long and confusing. The people that you meet along the way will guide you along this path, and hopefully help you become a music industry success story. The goal is to not let your message get jumbled and distorted beyond your control and lead you to disaster.
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
Hip hop is now commercial, started by 1990s. He suggested that popularity is due to the sampling of well known songs.
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)
Many people have dreams of being a part of the music industry and becoming successful musicians, but do not seem to do the research necessary to make the dream come true. The music industry is a branch of the entertainment industry and is where music, whether it is recordings or performances, is distributed and sold to the public. One of the problems is that people do not realize the risks that come with being a part of the music industry and being a musician. There are many factors that come into play when deciding to pursue a career in the music industry. Factors would include having noteworthy knowledge of music, originality, publicity, and business entitlement.
Questioning the correlation of commercial success and true artistry began in the light of mainstream music. Mainstream music has been given a negative connotation due to the supposed lack of originality of the artists. Repetitive chord progressions and meaningless lyrics compose the majority of “mainstream music,” making each song sound like the next . Despite these patterns in music, artists still ventured outside of what was societally normal and created music that was unheard of. Despite the potential risks in being an individual in the music industry, several groups achieved high success and maintain the popularity in the present. Creativity and commercial success can definitely exist alongside one another, and this paper will prove that through the music of the Beatles, the performance styles of David Bowie, and the grunge movement in Seattle which was fueled by Nirvana.
Back in the 1990s, music ruled the entertainment world and it was led by five legendary record labels. As the saying goes, "they don't make 'em like they used to" - a statement that holds true to the way record labels were run in the 1990s and early 2000s. These five record labels were at the top of their games, and their artists became household names and some of the biggest entertainers in the world. These labels operated more like a family, and most artists would have done anything to be a part of the movement.
The popular music industry in the late 1990s was dominated by a small number of integrated corporations with headquarters in Europe, the United States and Japan. This music market starts simply with an artist and moves along through many steps to the consumer. Everything has its start when a musician presents his music to a music manager, and if he/she finds the music promising, a contract is signed between the two, recordings are made and a marketing plan is drafted for the
Nothing is more enjoyable than listening to your favorite song. All over the world, people listen to music on a daily basis. Music plays a major part in a tremendous number of people’s lives. While they are enjoying the music, they do not think about how the song came about. Music is not just the sound you hear or the voices in the background. People do not think about what is behind the scenes of where music comes from. Before the song is completed, someone has to make it happen. In music, there are different careers which are the song writer, the manager, the marketing executive, and the produced. Each of these careers play a huge role in how music is brought to the public.
Music has played a vital role in human culture and evidence based on archaeological sites can date it back to prehistoric times. It can be traced through almost all civilizations in one form or another. As time has progressed so has the music and the influences it has on people. Music is an important part of popular culture throughout the world, but it is especially popular in the United States. The music industry here is, and has been, a multi-million dollar business that continues to play an important role in American popular culture. This is also a art form and business that is forever changing as the times and more importantly, technology changes. Technology has changed the way music is made as well as how it is produced,
In this article, Peterson and Berger show how the organization of the popular music industry affects the music that America hears.
“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.
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 music industry has been around for over two centuries (PBS). Its volatility can be measured by its ability to shift and change according to its time period, the technologies that arise through the ages and the public’s shift in musical taste. The music industry is comprised of many different components, organizations and individuals that operate within it. Some of these components include the artists who compose the music themselves, the producers that engineer the sounds created by the artists, the companies that handle distribution and promotion of the recorded music, the broadcasters of the music such as radio
The objectives of this research are to determine whether independent artist can earn the equivalent to the National average salary through the independent distribution of their works. This paper will analyze some of the changes in the ways in which independent artist can now distribute music in an attempt to answer the above question. It is necessary here to clarify exactly what is meant by national average salary. When speaking of the national average salary this essay trying to determine whether an artist can make the national average salary, which is according to office of national statistics, was £27,600 For the year ending 5 April 2015 for full-time employees. . Using my 2014 EPs consumption and sales data, BPI 2014 monthly reports, results from a online survey conducted by myself and a number of journals and other academic literature this paper will then compare the benefits of independent artist taking advantage of the a direct to fan business model. The second section of this essay will look at the data gathered through my 2014 release. The third section of this essay shall move on to look at the results of a survey of music consumers to find out how they are accessing the music they listening to these result will help us understand how unsigned artist can reach their audience.