Issues and Trends in the music industry

THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF MUSIC DISCOVERY

By Aisha, Sameenah and

Jenny

The Issue…

The 2007 Digital Media Survey explains that social networking sites like MySpace and Bebo allows more

people to discover music online rather than via television or the radio.

Recently, there has become an increase in consumer power which has led to a change in the way audiences

access music. The CEO of Entertainment Media Research explains that:

“Social networks are fundamentally changing the way we discover, purchase and use music”.

How does this affect audiences?

ADVANTAGES:• Word of mouth is increasing greatly as people are sharing

music through social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter. This is allowing music to be more accessible.

• These mass of options allow audiences to become interactive with music, and can independently search for new genres, tracks, artists and influences universally.

DISADVANTAGES:• However, some companies such as Apple have restrictions

and so audiences have to go through iTunes in order to access music.

How is this affecting music institutions?

ADVANTAGES:• People share music on social networking sites like Facebook

and Twitter. Therefore, word of mouth is increasing and record labels can use this to their advantage to get ‘free publicity’.

DISADVANTAGES:• Music institutions make less profit as audiences are finding

different ways to discover music.• Unsigned artists are no longer dependent on record labels to

be discovered as they can now set up pages on music sharing sites such as Bandcamp which has allowed them to share their talent and even create a fan base.

Music production process

• The issue of music discovery doesn’t affect the production process as it focuses on the access and distribution of music. However, this issue does affect the post- production process.

• Record label companies make deals with radio stations to promote their artist’s track in exchange for an interview. This means that audiences are more likely to hear the music via the radio and so the record label will receive profit.

Marketing

• This issue mainly affects music institutions and has a knock-on effect throughout the music industry. There are some artists such as Ed Sheeran who have made it without the use of a record label.

• However, it is harder for artists to market themselves effectively on a mass scale. This means that the artist needs the record label to promote them as they have wider contacts.

Distribution

• VEVO have a partnership with Sony Music Entertainment as well as Universal Music Group and EMI. Music videos on YouTube have adverts at the start and this generates revenue. Music companies can benefit from this as they can regulate the online distribution and make a profit from it.

• Therefore, audiences can find out about music from all around the world through the easy access of the Internet.

Exchange

• iTunes became the biggest music seller in 2008. Audiences give money in order to own music legally and also so they can download it to their phones.

• Sony invested in VEVO due to their increasing popularity as they allow easy access via the internet, apps and smartphones. VEVO makes their profit by their major links to advertising companies. As Sony have many artists with large fan bases, they can offer VEVO lots of website ‘hits’.

Cross media synergy

• Cross media synergy is when different media conglomerates work together to promote linked products across different media.

• Companies like Sony and Nintendo can form a symbiotic relationship by having an artist from Sony e.g. One Direction appear in a Nintendo advert. This targets both fan groups and increases profit for both companies.

• Therefore, audiences might find out about artists through another media platform such as the TV.

Roll the VT!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uC7HRu6HZE

References

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2012/feb/02/behind-music-record-labels

http://www.reprisemedia.com/searchviews/2007/07/social-media-sites-speeding-democratization-of-music-industry/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-price/the-democratization-of-th_b_93065.html

http://www.music-production-guide.com/writing-a-song.html