The Music Industry Has Experienced A Difficult Period For The Past Decade

Digitalisation is the process of converting information from traditional mediums into a digital platform. According to Mathew (2013) digitalization has created the new access to markets, helped facilitate better feedback for products and services, improve collaboration between businesses and has reduced entry barriers into the music industry. Myrthianos et al noted that the music industry has gone through ‘servitazation’ resulting in dramatic structural changes because of the rise of digital power (2016:182). Programs such as peer to peer file sharing and the internet, alongside the rise in social media, has significantly transformed the way the music industry conducts its operations. This essay will critically evaluate the impact digitalisation has had on the music industry. The argument has been laid out via the music industry model suggested by Leyshon (2001:60), this consists of; the creativity and reproduction of music, the distribution of music and the overall consumption of music. These three sections help highlight the functional interaction which overlaps between the artists, the recording company and music customers and consumers. There is no denying that the introduction of online platforms has greatly affected the music industry as shown from the data gathered by IFPI 2016 report that the global recorded music market has grown by 5.9% although this is nothing compared with the 40% of revenue decrease in the last 15 years. Wikström (2009:5) suggests that in

Ask anyone how they listen to music the answer will likely be through any means of easy access at an affordable cost. A study conducted by news outlet Nielsen 's Music 360 claimed, “Americans streamed 164 billion on-demand tracks across audio and video platforms in 2014”. The rapid increase in popularity music streaming platforms are experiencing leaves people wondering what that means for the music industry. When more consumers utilize the on-demand method of entertainment access, how does that translate to the artist being accessed? Astra Taylor contributes to this discussion in her book, “The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age”. She lays criticism upon the idea of a more digitized

When wanting to listen to a song today, one no longer has to buy or download a physical copy. In today’s world, streaming has become one of the top ways of retrieving music content. This major change has led to a profound shift for the music industry and its artists. It has developed a continuous conflict that affects the way music is distributed and how artists make a living. Listeners stream music electronically through their computers, phones, cars, and more. Most of these streaming platforms allow for the content to be free, which directs to the question of whether music should be free or not. Streaming is a topic that has presented itself to be a valid issue on whether it ultimately hurts or helps artists and their careers. Streaming has both pros and cons, but in order to aim to figure a possible solution there needs to an examination of the history of the issue, a proper analysis of both sides, and evaluating its importance.

The current music industry is a hard business for all musicians, whether they are a new artist or even a popular radio artist. Modern times have radically changed the way that musicians now make money. Past musicians used to be able to make a living simply by selling their music and playing a few major concerts to survive and even lives some luxurious lives and not really have to focus on anything except the art that they were creating. The music industry has transformed from being an art to becoming a challenging business job for anyone involved. Today, most musicians have to also be able to handle managerial business to get anywhere and make money or find someone to help them. Current musicians need to do more than just sell music

I believed the basic aim of these websites were to digitally respond reasonable to the technological changes of how music was conveyed to drive sales In a positive manner but musician ended up getting a small fraction of the income receive from streaming videos and audio songs as royalties. I can personally testify to this with my personal attitude towards many popular songs I downloaded for free online that I heard for the first time on radio. In his article published in the New York Times on January 2013, Ben Sisario commented on how online streaming has hurt the industry and partially reduced sales. According to him, Many consumers has greatly welcomed this system citing them as a smart way to save money since streaming saves them more money than buying the physical album. This will virtually hurt the artist survival unless they are engaged in an important side business for survival. ( Hartwig Masuch, chief executive officer of BMG rights

Since music streaming on the cloud has begun, it has changed the way people listen to music and also the way that artists share and promote their music. The music industry started out sharing its products by selling hard copies like vinyl record and tapes. People who purchased this music who wanted to listen to it on the go or share it with friends had to physically transport

“Back when I was a teenager, we would have to buy an entire album just to have one song,” Brittni’s father explained, to her utter disbelief. Brittni shook her head, thinking of the thousands of songs in her iTunes library, and she wondered how people could afford to buy dozens of albums just for a handful of favorite singles. Buying music over the internet may seem commonplace today, but in the 1990’s, audio on the internet was merely experimental. In 2000, computer programmer Shawn Fanning introduced an internet site called Napster that irrevocably changed the internet, the music industry, and the complex relationship between the two.

3-4). While these statistics provide a look into the numerical growth of the streaming industry, it is also important to discuss the power that these streaming services have generated—over both the music industry and over established/aspiring artists. Subscriptions are on the rise, having increased significantly over the past ten years, but as is the amount of users streaming music on a free-trial or ad-supported basis—ultimately undercutting the music industry and artists alike. Blewett and Gollogly (2017) elaborate on this point, stating that, by the end of 2016, paid music streaming subscriptions drove a revenue growth of 60.4%—this growth more than offsetting a “20.5% decline in downloads” and a “7.6% decline in physical revenue” (Blewett & Gollogly, 2017, para. 4). Moreover, Borja and Dieringer (2016) explore the concept of streaming even further in their academic article, positing that the decline in paid digital downloads may be a direct result of streaming—as, music streaming can be perceived as a “complement” for music piracy, in which listeners can freely sample music to pirate later on (Borja & Dieringer, 2016, p. 1). The authors also suggest that streaming can provide a “venue for discovering and listening to new releases”; and after completing their 1052 surveys, conclude that streaming increased the likelihood of piracy by

For rap music to reach the consumer, it is the responsibility of a recording label. (Dannenfeldt, 2008) The recording label is responsible for promoting the recording artist and for distribution of the recording artist’s music to retailers. (Dannenfeldt, 2008) With the increase of digital music being downloaded online there are now digital music distributors that are responsible for promoting recording artists music to companies like iTunes, Rhapsody, etc. (Dannenfeldt, 2008) CD sales have been down since 2008 because of the introduction of digital music. (Dannenfeldt, 2008) iTunes has also seen a decrease in sales, and this is because of illegal downloads and also because many people prefer to stream music rather than download. (Dannenfeldt, 2008) Being able to stream music provides an opportunity to people all over the world to listen to the newest artists because it’s free of charge and only requires WIFI access. IHeartRadio an internet radio station allows listeners to hear the newest American artists and songs. Worldwide radio allows users to hear radio stations from over 60 different countries. (Live radio stations from around the world) Recording artists are unhappy with music streaming because they only receive a fraction of money compared to if a listener purchased a CD. (Thompson, 2015) However, I believe that music streaming is a great opportunity in places where they cannot afford CDs or to

Live streaming media is the transmission over the Internet of video of an event as it happens. Streaming is a form of online video in which the site sends video footage to a user’s machine “on the fly” rather than as a complete file. It’s akin to the difference between watching a TV show as it airs and watching a DVD.

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.

“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.

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.

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.