The Effect Of Digital Technology On The Music Industry

John Covach, the author of What’s That Sound, distinguishes the cultural elements of pop-culture/music within four distinct categories: social, race, business, and technology. Without a doubt, all four of these traits within pop-culture have been evolving and changing ever since the emergence of any pop-culture. The cultural themes of the always-changing society, business, and technology have indefinitely changed pop-culture and vice-versa. In my essay, I want to discuss how the technology and the evolution of technology affected the growth and modernization of popular music.

Since April 2003, iTunes Music Store has permitted the consumer to purchase music and digital books over the Internet with success. By 2005 their shares increase significantly as a result of their tremendous success. Their product became a platform for the digital music business to explode into the industry it is today. This also made digital music affordable to the consumer who may have gone to illegal downloads in the past which in turn ensured that the music industry was getting paid for their product as well. The $0.99 cents per song download provided $0.70 cents to be paid to the record companies and the remainder ($0.29 cents) was Apple profit. By August 2005, some of the larger record companies felt that their product was

In this day and age the music industry is constantly developing, especially with the new discovery of technology; changing the way the world listens and shares music. These developments, in turn, have both positive and negative effects on musicians who are desperate to make it in the music business.

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

The music industry has changed in very quickly in so many ways it almost seems impossible. Thomas Edison recorded the first voice in 1877 and now we listen to hundreds of different types of music on devices that hold more information than the computers that sent the first astronaut to the moon. People have been getting music in tons of ways for the past hundred plus years and when the internet came into the picture, the music industry sky rocketed. People could get their own music out and be heard just by clicking a few measly buttons and using the internet to stream millions of songs with high speed. But even though the internet has helped the music industry by making it easier to distribute, advertise, and produce music, it still has its disadvantages.

Since the iTunes music store was introduced on April 28, 2003, gross music sales have plummeted in the United States - from $11.8 billion in 2003 to $7.1 billion in 2012, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (Covert). Counterintuitively, during that time consumers were buying more music than ever. How is that possible? It 's because iTunes had made digital singles popular and was selling them cheap. This would change the music industry forever. In 2000, Americans bought 943 million CD albums (Covert), and digital sales didn’t even make a dent in comparison. But by 2007, those inexpensive singles overtook CDs by a wide margin, generating 819 million sales compared to just 500 million for the CD.

“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 recorded music industry is a major part of the media and entertainment industry that is responsible for creating, manufacturing, and distributing music. As technology has continued to advance rapidly, the music industry has become one of the most dynamic industries in decades, as well as the wildest among industry roller coasters. Listeners are now able to expand their music tastes and collect more music in virtual libraries than ever before, thanks to technological innovations that allow access to convenient outlets for music downloading, such as iTunes and Amazon. As music has evolved from being delivered on cassette tapes and CDs to mp3 files that can be downloaded directly onto computers and smartphones, record label companies are

Both MTV (Music Television) and BET (Black Entertainment Television) do not just play music videos. They also have interviews with musicians. This is another way for a musician to be recognized. Even if the audience doesn’t even hear a song from the musician being interviewed, they have still been introduced to the musician and the next time they are out buying CDs they may come across a CD from that musician and want to try it out. Shows dedicated to music also usually have a top ten countdown. To make it to the top ten countdown, the musician already has a lot of people listening to their music, but can still gain a lot more listeners. Just because it’s on the top ten doesn’t mean everyone has heard it, so if someone watching sees the video for the first time the musician may have gained another listener to buy the album.

The majority of college students may see music piracy as nothing but a way to retrieve the new music they want to listen to but producers see it as much more than that. The problem with this is that college students download an estimated 1 billion songs a year (317).Piracy is defined as the unauthorized use of a copyrighted work of material. Producers work hard to produce their music. They try and sell their music in order to make a living. Pirating is illegal, but in this digital age, there are so many ways around it. Producers are having to work with advertising agencies to combat this illegal act from taking place. A study done by three professors from Syracuse and Marquette University looked at how this could take place. They came up with a creative way to solve this problem.

If you’re a fan of the Eagles, Rush, Drake, or god help your soul, are passionate about the music of Nickelback, you’ve certainly received your share of barbs. As agents in what many have coined as “the age of hipsterism,” none of us are safe from the smug judgment of those who perceive their own musical tastes as a cut-above the rest of us rubes.

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.

When speaking economically, the digital music sector of the international music industry is undoubtably the most important sector in the industry. Within the last decade, music has seen cardinal changes in the way both major and independent labels distribute their products. An industry that once relied on Payola 's and mass distribution of physical records and CD 's now relies heavily on the power of the internet. The first instance of mass distribution of music through the internet was by the service Ritmoteca.com in 1998 [1]. Ritmoteca had a library of over 300,000 songs, offering individual songs for 99 cents each and albums for $9.99. After signing distribution deals with many major music labels such as Warner

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.

Digitalization, data compression, and the internet have affected the music industry significantly. These technologies have shifted the recording industries from hard-copy recordings to digital music distribution. This has made it easier for consumers to enter the music market through copying. Consumers have access to copying technology that allows them to obtain music without paying the record label. The situations clipped high in 1999 when Napster, a file-sharing service was launched. The service facilitated music file sharing on a wider scale. The consumers just download the music and transfer it to a digital music device. This has negatively affected the trade value of music sales, for instance in