"The internet has entirely been a force of good in the transformation of audience's music consumption habits."
The internet has had a very large effect on the music industry over the years and I for one believe the music industry would not be where it is today if it weren't for the internet. Years ago you would have to go out and buy the hardcopy of the music if you wished to consume it but thanks to the advancement of technology we have the access to millions of songs with just one click of a button. In some ways the internet has been the best thing to happen to the music industry and in other ways it's the complete opposite. No one would dispute the fact that the Internet has changed the music industry drastically over the past couple of decades. Some of these changes have aided the music industry tremendously, others not so much. In fact, things continue to change at a rapid rate, and the music business is still struggling to keep up. From early issues like illegal downloading and music sharing sites to current disputes over music streaming services and how much the artists/labels should be paid in royalties, the Internet still seems to be raising more questions than it is answering.
However, in other ways, the internet has aided the music industry in more ways than one. For one, the Internet has made music more accessible to the public, and it has also been an incredible tool that enables independent musicians to find a global audience without the help and backing of a major label. In short, the Internet has changed the music industry in both positive and negative ways.
Due to the internet artists can spread their sound and their brand across social media to gain thousands of followers and fans. An upcoming artist from America can spread their influence to the UK through a quick Instagram or tweet, gaining fans from across the pond almost instantly; whereas without the internet it would take new artists years to get their name spread around the world. In cases like this, the internet has been a great addition to the music industry. An example of this would be the world famous boy band, One Direction. One Direction was born on the UK X Factor in 2010, yet by January 2012, they were on a sell out tour travelling across Europe, where they played 24 shows, Oceania, where they played 5 shows, and North America, where they played 25 shows. How could one band gain so much attention and fame from all around the world when they were created on a TV show that only aired in the UK and Ireland? The answer? The internet. The internet essentially made one direction into the A-list multi-millionaire celebrities that we know today. In cases like this, the internet is a massive aid to the music industry.
As well as this, apps such as Spotify make listening to music so much easier and make certain songs and albums a lot more accessible to people all over the world. If a highly anticipated CD was finally released, chances are it will sell out very quickly, meaning you would have to wait another week or so for it to finally come back in stock. Apps such as Spotify allow us to listen to music immediately and essentially take us right to the front of the que. Certain albums or songs may only be available in certain parts of the world and so yet again this makes listening to music so much easier and accessible. A feature often used on Spotify is 'discover weekly' where we can discover new music and artists every week, which is handy for both producers and consumers.
The Internet allows people to connect with others all around the world. This enables certain smart musicians who are otherwise unknown to find their own audience without the aid or backing of a major label, virtually eliminating the need to be “discovered” by talent scouts or A&R reps. In some cases, this can result in attention from the labels themselves. Justin Beiber is an example of this. Justin beiber began his career by sitting at home, recording himself singing and posting the videos online. It just so happened that he was discovered by Scooter Braun, and later Usher. Justin Beiber is now a hugely successful star, and this is purely down to the Internet. In other cases, it simply means they can market and sell their own music to their audience without the need for label or radio promotion. The audience might not be as large as it would be otherwise but this also means that the artist does not have to share profits with the record label. The result is that music fans now have access to a lot of music they’d never hear otherwise, and many new musicians have used the Internet to carve out nice incomes for themselves without ever courting a record label.
Purchasing music online is so much cheaper than buying the hard copy in a shop. For example; Spotify will cost you £10 every month, granting you access to thousands of songs and artists, whereas you could walk into Tesco and spend £10 simply on a album holding just 12 tracks. This makes people more inclined to use apps such as Spotify, because it's such great value. The Internet is what draws us towards Spotify, without the constant adds and pop ups, how would we ever discover the app itself? And if we didn't discover Spotify, would we still of discovered half of the songs we know and love? In this sense, the Internet is a very good thing in regarding music, as I'm sure most people would agree. However, while there are many positives to the Internet, there are of course a few negatives. One of them being illegally downloading music, meaning artists don't get paid for our consumption. Due to the advancement of technology, illegally downloading music is becoming easier and more common every day. Why pay for music when you have it for free?
The down side to the public having the ability to essentially steal music is that the business side of music is struggling to generate enough revenue because of the new technology. Most of the people who are part of making a record are paid in royalties, and anytime music changes hands without money being involved, those royalties can’t be paid which is why so much has been done in recent years to try and reduce music piracy. Some progress has been made to curb this trend by offering easy, cheap downloads through outlets like iTunes; this has helped because consumers can now purchase and download specific songs they like, rather than buy the whole album for just one song. A more recent development has been the emergence of Internet radio and streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, who offer either ad-based or paid subscription streaming of their music libraries. However, this new solution is currently still disputed by artists and labels because the current pay structures are still far less than if a consumer buys the music outright. These issues are far from being resolved.
In this perspective, the Internet has been a bad thing for the music industry, as there is so much work that goes into each track, not just on the artists part but the team working behind the scenes also, is it really morally right to essentially be stealing money straight out of people's pockets? We wouldn't get away with picking various items from a shop and walking away without paying for them, so why do people think its ok to do this with music?
These are just a few of the many ways the Internet has contributed to the music industry, both negatively and positively. One thing is for certain: the Internet isn’t going away anytime soon, so the music industry will have to find a way to adapt to it, rather than to fight it. All in all I would say the Internet has been a good thing for the music industry we the music industry wouldn't be half as big as it is today if it weren't for the Internet.
