preview

Relationship Between Creativity And Commerce Essay

Better Essays

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

Get Access