Will the music industry die? My parents, my friends, and
many others think that the music industry will eventually die out. They believe
that music will become a mere hobby for those who love it, but the
professional/business aspects of the music industry will be no more. Many
skeptics think that because of file
sharing and illegal downloads that the music industry will never be the
powerhouse that it once was, I disagree. After researching the industry,
because I am concerned about its future, I realized that this is not the first
time the industry was on the decline and the reasons for this decline is very
similar to the reasons in the past. I
came across an article titled, “Who
Killed The Music Industry,” by Stephen Deusner, and he
explains that this has happened before. Record companies were furious when the
radio was created. All of there music was being played for free and the
industry was on the decline. The music industry turned a negative into a
positive. They used copyright
laws so that the music that was played on the radio was limited so you would
still have to purchase the music to hear everything. And they also turned the
radio into the biggest marketing tool for them to advertise their music. And it
seems that every time a new technology is introduced to the music industry
there is a pattern of decline and regulation that will get the music industry
back on its feet.
History repeats itself. In today’s society, technology has
allowed us to share files and download music illegally. We are very capable of
catching people who download music illegally but the problem is that there are
so many people doing it that it is hard to regulate. In the near future there
will be new legislation that controls file sharing and illegal downloads. When
the government and music industry get control on file
sharing, you will see a huge increase in record sales across the board.
Music has been here since the beginning of times and will be here forever. It
influences us, it effects our moods, and for lots of people determines how they
will live their lives. The music industry will never die because it is to
powerful.
I can't imagine a world without music. Music is almost as necessary as the air I breathe, and I don't think I'm alone in feeling that way. Artists will always find a way to share their creations with their audience, so I highly doubt that the music industry will ever die. I agree that it is a cyclical thing, as every new technology brings with it the challenge of a new business model. An article I recently read (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/aug/13/music-industry-harvey-goldsmith) quoted Harvey Goldsmith as saying, "People don't wake up thinking, 'What music can I steal today?' They do it just because they can and it is there. Even young fans don't mind paying, if they get value." I think there is a lot of truth to that. Those of us who are invested in the music industry must adjust to the new technology and create proactive solutions to marketing and promoting artists. Apple gave us a good start with iTunes, but we need to take it further. I fully believe that the sheer passion that exists in those of us in the music industry will propel us to create these solutions. The music industry will never die. It may be a little confused and out of sorts right now, but there are BRILLIANT minds within our industry. These brilliant minds (including many of our Full Sail family) will find a way, just like we've done in the past. And the music will live on. You concluded your post by saying, "The music industry will never die because it is too powerful." I agree with that statement with one small change; it's the MUSIC that is powerful. It's the music that drives all of us. The industry is just the vehicle that gets us there. I guess we're just going to have to upgrade our vehicles.
ReplyDeleteNice post, DeVon! I look forward to reading more from you.
Amy Dawn
The music industry has been through a lot of hardships in the past and this generation of issues is just a way for the music industry to evolve. I agree with you that file sharing is an increasing problem with record sales due to piracy. I just don’t look at that as the excuse why record sales decreased as much as they have. Based on an article I read by Nick Ross states that music sales increased from the 70’s until the early 2000’s where sales begin to steadily drop. While the appearance of Napster in the early 90’s started a trend with piracy, album record sales were still increasing. We all know that the quality of music has decreased this past decade due to the trend of looks becoming more appealing than the quality of music. This new trend to me is one of the reasons album record sales have decreased. However the digital age to me is another huge culprit in industry revenue decreasing. Their use to be a need for massive studios to get an album recorded, now we can use DAW’s to get this accomplished with little investment of income.
ReplyDeleteDigital publishing is becoming a better resource than the old physical outcome. Even though this new age is hurting the music industry by allowing anyone to distribute their album with websites such as Tunecore. I find it more beneficial for independents that can’t get heard to have more outlets available to them to get their music heard. This does benefit the music industry as well; there is no longer a need to have those huge publishing facilities. Due to the digital age being so easy to manage when it comes to music this will cut back on those huge expense cost for publishing that was used in the past. The music industry has made up for the loss of revenue due to the digital age by initiating 360 deals also called multiple rights deals. This kind of deals for the music industry has made it possible to recoup moneys from artist that wasn’t available to them in the past, such as concert revenue, merchandise sales and endorsement deals. So as I stated before there is many factors at fault for the decrease in record sales. The music industry does seem to find a way to evolve past its shortcomings.