People listen to music for a variety of reasons. Some listen to music to relax in which it serves as a sort of escape from everyday life, some because they are a fan and follow a certain artist, and others because they can relate the lyrics to their own personal experiences. Whichever the case may be, music has and continues to serve an important role in people’s lives.
Music has been circulating the air across many cultures for centuries; however, in the last 50 years, the music industry has become an important global industry and an vital area for economic activity on many geographic scales (comp. 45). Over the years, music consumption has grown and spread across many areas. Music consumption has become “more of less.” This contradictory idea alludes to the fact that individuals are listening to music of many different artists rather than to an entire album by a singular artist. This causes people’s music collection to become more diversified.
Likewise, more people are listening to music because it has become so accessible. Technology has undoubtedly changed the music industry and is perhaps the main reason why individuals no longer consume an entire album. Previously, people were required to buy an entire album or CD even if they only wanted a few specific songs. With new technological advancements, music consumption has become more fragmented. Individuals can instead purchase their favorite song by each artist while eliminating all others from their collection. Due to technological advancements such as the Internet, there is now a wider variety of music because a greater diversity is more accessible. An individual no longer has to leave his house and drive down the street to a store to purchase music. Instea...
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...mething more. This is evident through a rise in concert attendance and prices. The prices of a tickets have increased dramatically over the past decade and fans continue to pay the cost of admission. Listening to an album no longer is the experience it once was, but fans crave the concerts which fill that void.
As a CEO in charge of a record label, I would mainly focus my attention on concert promotion and production, as well as innovation. With the rapid development of technology, it is difficult to see too far into the future of the music industry. It seems that the best option is to focus on what works in the present, but being ever aware of change in the industry. It is impossible to tell what is far down the road, but taking advantage of the present while constantly adapting to changing times is what it takes to survive in such a tumultuous industry.
If there is no individuality, then there is no costumer choice. When costumer choice is eliminated, then the problem of exploitation arrives from how these popular music products are commercialized. Raprehab reports, “[...] major record companies are paying radio stations thousands of dollars to play their records!” This contributes to the already established monopoly because when the radio, one of the most effective promotion and mass communication devices, circles around certain products attributed to certain labels exclusively, competition is lowered to a minimum, again. Alternative and independent labels are rarely ever, if lucky, played on the radio, leaving the only way for the consumer to discover alternatives to popular products through extensive research, that is unless the consumer is “not lazy” and willing to expand their horizons and turn their radius of view away from the popular world and dictated products into the underground, “struggling” music
The music industry can trace its roots to the 18th century when classical composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart sought commissions from the church or aristocracies by touring to promote their music (Boerner). By the early 20th century, recorded collections of songs were available for purchase for home listening. Towards the middle of the century, record album production had become the norm for getting new music to the masses and album sales had replaced sheet-music sales as a measure of popularity, with the first gold-recor...
Artists and fans alike have been at the forefront of the music-scene revolution, and both have benefited in a number of ways. While major record labels try to find new ways to return to the years of massive profit, many artists have found new ways to connect with fans on a more personal level as well as new ways to get their music heard. Fans are discovering the perks of following artists that aren't controlled by four-record deals and corporate input. The music landscape is changing. This is a good thing.
Ramsay, D. (2012). The Rise of EDM | Music Business Journal | Berklee College of Music. [online] Thembj.org. Available at: http://www.thembj.org/2012/10/the-rise-of-edm/ (Accessed: 20 May 2014).
The most significant down side to technology is the loss in revenue from album sales. Illegal downloading of music has become prevalent in today’s society, and many artists—major or independent—receive little to no profit from album sales. Many companies, such as Apple, have tried combating the issue with protected file formats, but a loophole has always been found to bypass the protection. Unsigned and independently signed artists hurt the most, as they pay almost everything out-of-pocket to produce their music. The only feasible response to the loss in revenue, artists have found, is to increase tour dates. In today’s age, it is not rare to find artists who tour more than eight months out of each year. Touring has become one of, if not the only, reliable source of income for many
This music helps to shape and influence cultural identities and becomes that person’s musical DNA. Once that person is old enough to access the world beyond the confines of their home, such as the internet, that can change. The internet allows a person to discover music like hip-hop, blues, and 70s rock and roll. Surprisingly a split from the traditional music of their home does not erase their social identity, but allows him/her to break defined musical boundaries according to race. The music industry is lacking when it comes to breaking racial musical boundaries. According to research conducted by (Henry 2015), many inequalities and injustices were within the music industry itself. Radio, record labels, and television networks like MTV continuously shut out various groups of minorities within the music industry. She states that some of the boundaries that musicians and
Thirdly, while China has an affinity for live music with 57% of fans attending concerts compared to US’s 51%, it mostly the affluent who attend the concerts compared to the low income households (Savage, 2016). On record, 72% of the Chinese population listen to music per week although it trails behind the US where 91% of the population listens to music weekly and the UK where 85.5% of the population listens to music (Savage, 2016). Although China’s percentage on concert attendance is high compared to other countries, the bottom-line is that it does not reflect the whole society but rather a small portion. The high figures can be partly attributed to China’s approximately 1.3 billion inhabitants, but who showcase high levels of income disparity (McGregor, 2011). The high disparity between affluent consumers and those from lower income households is restrictive in terms o...
The music industry has changed in more ways than we could imagine. At first we started with artists just selling singles, then it transformed over to people buying albums, and forn then on iTunes started to sell songs for just cents. In the year 2005, Pandora was launched on the Internet and later they created a mobile app. Most of the artist’s music can be found on YouTube. Free downloads has affected this industry as well. The music industry has found many ways to let the fans listen to the music they love. Internet streaming radios like Pandora are having to pay artist for copyright reasons. The music industry had two significant changes in the 21st century: the physical albums have dropped but streaming music has increased, even though artist get little to nothing in return.
If one were to look back into the world’s history, one would find that an important and consistent element is the world of music. Music has presented itself in various forms throughout its spread and through our identification of its magical realm, people have been fortunate enough to come across a means of relation. Whether it is blues and reggae or rap and pop rock, there is music out there for everyone. Music can serve as a stabilizer for some, a relaxant to others, and to many a form of inspiration.
In today’s evolving and changing society, many people do not appreciate how extraordinary music truly is. Since the birth of the vinyl record, there are less people who own and are interested in them. Even though vinyl records have recently been making a comeback, they are still not as popular as they once were. People take for granted how easily accessible music is today though in the past it was not as simple. Even though vinyl records may be costly and may not have a large quantity of songs, as time progresses and technology continues to develop, the way that people listen to music degrades their appreciation for music due to easier accessibility, weaker sound in terms of quality, and decaying genres.
In the past, music has been a costly business, where only people with a lot of money could enter and be successful in the industry. Changes in the music industry coupled with new computer technology have made it much easier for people without a lot of money to compose, produce, and distribute their creation. In order to get a better understanding of the music industry in comparison to 2014, one has to look at its history. There were many things that happened from the 1980’s onward, and they brought on a significant impact towards the music industry. Development in computer technology has also made a big impression on music. Many things within these fields have enabled artists to connect with their fans in a way they couldn’t before, and on a lower budget. In this paper, the discussion will be about all of these topics, and about the factors that help transform the music industry into something altogether easier for new people to contribute.
“Music Producer: Job Duties, Career Outlook, and Education Prerequisites.” Degree Directory. DegreeDirectory.org. Web. 5 December 2013.
Music has been a part of human culture since the beginning of time, and it continues to transcend language barriers, belief systems, and remains completely open to interpretation. Music has changed drastically in the last 20 years. The main barrier breaker is credited to the Internet, which has opened an entire new world for music. Music will continue to evolve over time as the industry finds new ways to use the Internet. Major labels have found that adapting to the new ways of the industry has provided continual change for them. Musicians and labels have to continue to be open to accept the changes as time goes on to benefit the consumers as well as themselves.
When it comes to the music industry, an artist makes a song, the label sells the song and then the listener buys it? In the world today, the music industry is knowledgeable of digital downloads, music videos, file sharing, and now social media. Social media is the voice of an individual and captures joy, emotions or thoughts in pictures, tweets or status updates. It is a reachable space that is used to keep in touch and to reach out. Social media allows listeners to shares their favorite artists, post their favorite songs and really created a genuine connection with the artists. The music industry has changed because social media is a tool needed to connecting with the listeners. Social media is necessary to maintain a career in the music business.
Musicians have many options when it comes to gaining an audience of listeners to buy their latest album. Many different types of media can be used to promote their music. The main reason a musician puts out an album is to get money by having as many people buy the album as possible. So, musicians usually focus on three areas when promoting their music. They use the traditional way of radio, the visual way of television, and the combination of both on the internet. In the end they hope to have sold as many albums as possible.