The Impact Of Internet On The United States Of America

During the time period under discussion from the Regan Revolution to our current President Obama, one major historical turning point was the creation of the Internet. This vast network of linked computers that allowed information to be shared easily and instantly, propelled the information technology of personal computers and cell phones forward at high speed. (Schultz, 2011) The ways that the Internet has changed life in the United States over the past two decades is vast. The economy has widely changed in this new age of technology, American companies reached overseas

With the advances in technology and increase in internet broadband availability (The Broadband Commision, 2014), record labels are being forces to innovate and update their business models (M.Coz & Torres, 2013) to keep up with the latest technology (Solis, 2015). Of these technologies, the move away from physical sales (of music) to Digital sales is the most significant. Digital sales have increased over the last 6 years (as shown in Table 1) in terms of revenues, and this is set to carry on this way in the future (Solis, 2015).

The ever-changing landscape of music distribution, due to constant advancements in technology, is sometimes hard to keep up with for artist, producer, and consumer alike. New editions of textbooks in Music Business classes are issued each year, and changes are made in the industry before the semester is even over. Because of this, it is vital for the industry to not only not only be aware of what is currently going happening, but also be able to foresee the direction that the music business is heading in. In this aspect, it seems that we are at a turning point where consumers and artists are taking

The Internet has transformed the music industry. Sales of CDs in retail music stores have been declining while sales of songs downloaded through the Internet to iPods and other portable music players are skyrocketing.

The music industry is very sensitive to changes in technology. Since the recording and playing back of audio was made possible in 1877 by Thomas Edison’s wax cylinder phonograph the industry has gone through numerous changes due to the evolution of technology. Multi-track recording was one of the earlier advancements in the music industry and is essential to all styles of music today. The digitization of music is one of the biggest changes in the music industry and has informed the direction of the music industry ever since. Finally, the shift to streaming as a business model has fundamentally changed the way in which users consume music. The music industry is often at the forefront of technology and artist’s are always pushing boundaries.

The dawn of the internet brought forth a revolution that, by now, has seeped its way in the the very fibers of almost every human experience. Education has changed. Communication has changed. Entertainment has changed. Business has changed. Entire industries have been built, and destroyed, by the information age. The music industry, in particular, has felt both. With precursors of the Compact Disc (CD) and digital music formats, Shawn Fanning single handedly eviscerated the music industry. Napster, his peer to peer mass file sharing service, is what landed the fatal blow, and the industry has been bleeding out since.

The changes in the music industry were directly related to that of the Internet. The record industry was hit hard when its sale of compact discs were directly affected. This was seen by the Internet commercializing digital files. After the Internet's creation, the sale of physical record sales of major companies had seen the biggest decline it had seen in decades. Although major physical record companies were suffering, the sale of CD's had risen quite nicely for some time.

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 been greatly affected by the rising interest in the internet. People can instantly listen to songs by a single search, even entire albums. Digital downloading has allowed people to have constant access to any and all music. Deciding whether it is affecting the music industry positively or negatively is its own question, but there is absolutely no question that the entire industry is affected.

Steve Jones in the article "Music and the Internet" suggests that popular music as well as academic articles relating to popular music were created and distributed by people who didn’t completely understand the idea of the "music industry." He ultimately suggests that today compared to the introduction of popular music, a growing number of consumers are using the Internet to attain music. The internet has drastically changed the distribution systems also creating many ethical problems that weren't found in the music industry before the internet. Because the internet started making a presence in almost every single business, it was almost no question that the internet is bringing about some changes in the music industry; a billion dollar

Over the past decade, the use of CDs has been replaced with online streaming and retailing. This has eliminated much of the record companies revenues as they were used to making most of their profit off of distribution and promotion of physical copies of artists albums (Niemen). This has caused for a major shift and remodeling of major players in the music industries business models. Companies such Sony, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group have started to completely rethink the way they conduct business (Forbes). In the past record labels were not only responsible for production, distribution and promotion of an artist and his/her music, but they also acted as a bank (Forbes), funding the artists tours and recording sessions. Recently, these music giants have been moving towards becoming more of a modular network organization. What this means is that they are less occupied with the nitty gritty, and more focused on what they do best which is distribution and promotion. This also allows for more freedom of creativity for the artist as well as fairer split of profits (Forbes). This adaption of new business models clearly shows the versatility of the music industry in adapting to new times and technologies.

The recorded music business has always led the way for creative industries in the digital world. That leadership continues today as the music industry’s digital revolution continues through new phases, driven by the consumer’s desire for access to, rather than ownership of, music (Frances Moore 2014).

The music industry is one of the few industries that have enjoyed complete dominance in their particular segment from their very beginnings all the way up to the late 1990s. Once the internet began to take hold, and become available in every home, the music industry began losing ground in their market segment. Digital downloading through the internet became so popular that record labels began losing money at a significant rate. Their reaction to illegal downloading has been controversial, as well as desperate at times. An analysis on the history of the music industry, the advent of the internet as it applies to the recording industry, and the legal and ethical implications of their reaction may offer some clarity in how the record labels may move forward and still maintain a profit.

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.