As the sales of iPods increase more than ever, as is the number of people illegally downloading music.
Everyone’s at it. We want music on command and for free. For the past few years with the seemingly continual expansion of the internet, the music industry has been affected in a number of ways, mainly by constant illegal downloading of music as well as file sharing, and mass artist promotion and advertising on websites such as PureVolume and MySpace.
With the sales of iPods and MP3 players rocketing sky high recently, with Apple selling 22,727,000 iPods in just three months and gaining a handsome of profit of $10.17 billion last year[1], music has never been so accessible.
The History of the Music Industry:
When music was first released, it was in the form of vinyl, (incredibly large CD type objects) which was back in 1948 by Columbia Records. The internet, however, has made many things easier and faster; shopping, socialising and listening to and downloading music. It has made watching and sharing music free, but also downloading it. ‘...music piracy is having a dangerous effect on...music...rich and successful artists like...Radiohead don’t seem to think so’[2], Lily Allen stated on her blog. She has a point. Bands such as Radiohead sell out arenas in seconds; do they really need much income? But for struggling bands and new talent, it’s a different story. File sharing and illegal downloading is making it more and more difficult for new music to emerge profitably.
Consider how music was prior to the internet. Remember the cassette tape, or, in the fact, the prehistoric CD? Remember selecting just one CD and slot it into your Discman for the week? Now there are thousands of ways to get music, but in terms of promotion, new artists are simple making little or no profit. Although the internet helps a great deal with promotion and advertising, it does not bring in any revenue. When MP3 format was publically established in 2000, the concrete methods of the music industry were overturned and the world went music downloading crazy!
The Social-Networking Effect:
Nonetheless, bands and artists are currently becoming prominent in the music industry by the public promoting them, which, in my opinion, is how it should be, as opposed to a record company listening to countless demos and endorsing new talent. Nowadays, by the time ‘new’ talent is officially advertised, a well-established fan base is already in place. Thanks to social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace, the public can chose to support an artist by joining fan groups and posting videos. MySpace displays tour dates, photographs and artist profiles for fans to observe. Twitter allows discussion and eventual promotion, which the public is in full control of. YouTube is fuelled by the watching of endless videos, and even be recommended associated videos, enabling many an artist into the limelight. Although many artists may state that money means nothing as long as their music is ‘out there’, everyone needs to eat.
The teenage market; the most targeted market there is, chooses illegal downloading, which is a major concern for music. But as the internet is constantly evolving, so is the music industry. People tend to think in terms of individual tracks as opposed to an entire album, yet there are still those who might purchase an album after growing fond of one track by the same band or artist. But surely it is better to actually purchase, even a single track than download a complete album illegally?
Music and the Internet:
Conversely, websites where the public have unlimited access to music downloading are tarnishing the music industry. Although file sharing is just a drop in the ocean, in excess, bands are struggling to make money whilst bosses of billion dollar record companies notice little or no difference in their bank balances. Record companies exist to make money. Illegal downloading and file sharing is a critical problem, and will only deteriorate in the future. Last year, physical album sales were down 46% and digital downloads increased by 43%, from 17.6 million single sales, to a colossal 23.4 million.[3]
Some artists chose to give their music away for free or allow fans to pledge as little as a penny towards it. But there are other ways for musicians to gain income other than directly through their music, such as merchandise and fan clubs. But other, less widely known bands, such as The Blackout have been forced to permit fans to donate to the promotional costs of their text album, through ‘once in a lifetime experiences, for instance an acoustic gig in your very own home for £500 and exclusive merchandise. This was due to illegal copying of previous tracks from the band’s MySpace page, which brought very little takings for the band.
The cost of legally downloading an album from a site such as ITunes is generally cheaper than heading out and buying a physical copy. Perhaps in the near future the world will adapt further and CDs will be no more, but if there is a worldwide refusal to actually buy music, the industry will also be no more. On the other hand, purchasing a physical CD allows the consumer to obtain original album artwork, photographs, song lyrics (not googled), as well as the artists’ acknowledgements. According to the Recording Industry Association in America total music sales demised by $4 million from the year 2000.[4]
Music is very easily manipulated and accessible, and as the world becomes more convenience obsessed, this can only decline. We all know what it’s like when a little-known band you’ve loved for years suddenly becomes popular, and you die a little inside. So do your favourite band a favour and support them if or when they do ‘make it’, or continue to do so. Tear yourself apart from that £8 and buy the album, rather than downloading a dodgy illegal copy. Use the internet for artist promotion.
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