Back in the days of vinyl, that's the only way you had to listen to music. It evolved to 8-tracks, to cassettes, to CDs and now digital files to be placed on MP3 players such as the popular iPod. Over the years, the music industry has seen a dramatic shift in how we buy music and a shift in sales.
Earlier this decade, the RIAA shut down Napster in a lawsuit for piracy. Since then, they have tried to go after individuals for illegally downloading music. However, in a recent case, a judge threw away the case stating there's no proof the defendant was sharing all the files as it's not illegal to own the files. That was a slap in the face to the RIAA and the record labels. .
So what's the fuss about and why are record labels losing so much money? It's not because we are stealing music from peer-to-peer networks. It's for several reasons. One is because of the money loss, record companies are recycling songwriter formulas and shying away from singers wanting to write their own material (research Kelly Clarkson vs. Clive Davis for her album My December to see an example of power the record label has in how successful an album is). No one wants to hear the same song over and over again. Songs are more popular because of who produced the song versus the actual artist. .
The other reason is because with the digital era, it is no longer necessary to buy a complete album. Consumers have the choice of which song they want to download after purchasing it for usually only $1. Consumers used to have to buy an album with only 2 good songs and the rest were fillers. This has put pressure on the labels to record at least 5 radio friendly formula hits per album. As a result, album sales have been down and single sales have been high. Labels ride high on a handful of songs before moving on to the next, and sometimes the next act.
American Idol is a great example of that practice. Only a handful of the contestants have actually gone from TV star to a superstar.
The music industries are at a low. ... ("Music and the Internet" 321). ... Because the copyright laws can not be applied over the Internet, it causes a domino effect. First, the music industries loose out. ... To put this madness to an end for all Internet cheaters the law needs to start taking into the effect. ...
Before the Internet was invented, music was similar to shoes. ... In order for an artist to generate demand for their music they first had to land a record contract with the music industry because the music industry controlled the distribution of all music available to the public. ... On this account, the commercial music industry is watching the Internet very closely and trying to use their influential voice to target and destroy the exchange of digital music files commonly known as MP3 files. ... Combined with the Internet, MP3s have become the easiest and most popular way to distribute mu...
One pairing of technological advancements that has recently been causing controversy in the music industry is the collaboration of MP3 and the Internet. ... The latest wave of technology to effect music has caused record labels and artists to rethink the whole structure of the music industry. ... This technology, along with the Internet and CD burners, has dramatically decreased the amount of sales for the record industry. ... Napster, the first Internet site to allow users to share MP3 files with each other for free, started an immediate battle between the record industry, artists, and consu...
Shawn Fanning (the founder of Napster), found out how to make downloading music easy without having to spend endless hours searching the internet. ... RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is a trade organization that represents the recording industry in the United States, and was formed in 1952 in Washington D.C. ... The founders of Napster saw that getting music off the internet was very difficult and very time consuming. ... A few findings of the study conducted by the European Commission Joint Research Centre, illegal music downloads had no effect on legal music downloads, but i...
Millions of people in their own homes are using the internet to illegally download everything from music to movies. ... While millions of people are perfectly happy with getting these thing for free, the recording industries are worried about how this newest rage will effect the music industry in the future. ... Napster, an MP3 program shut down because the music industries felt it violated copyright laws, was only the beginning. ... Is the music industry to blame for trend of file-swapping? ... People will be more likely to continue downloading music if they are being name called by a mas...
COMPACT DISCS SINGLES MARKET At the beginning of the 21st century there has been a major change in technology, concerning the music industry. ... Mid 90's the technology of CD-burners, and internet free downloading music became available to the public. ... The music industry CD single sales plummet over the last three years as illegal music file sharing exploded. The biggest effect was shown in 2001. ... This is shown by sales of CD singles falling by 39% in 2000 according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)....
The Technology savvy, computer literate, youth of the world have struck back at the monopoly that is the recording industry. ... Downloading unsanctioned copywrited music from the internet is infact Illegal. The federal copyright law states that a person who is caught illegally downloading music on the web could face penalties of up to $150,000 per song, but the Recording Industry Association of America or RIAA has already settled some cases for as little as $3000 (foxnews.com). Another problem Illegal downloading causes is the effect it has on our favorite musical artists. ... Downloading mu...
Music downloaders all hold different opinions on how what they do affects the music industry. ... Perhaps this proves that file sharing programs and websites do not hold a big effect on the number of CD sales according to Adams (27). The music industry and major record companies do not perceive it this way. ... The music industry has already taken many websites and their owners to court to try and get their sites shut down, and have started to succeed. ... A small solution has been talked about, and the music industry could become worried with the results. ...
Another statement made in defense of Manson, KDFDM, and the recording industry was by Hillary Rosen, President/CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). ... It's too easy to make music a scapegoat" (The Music/Violence Connection 4). ... Both the stores and the radio have changed because of the effect music has on people. ... Because of this effect, a field of medicine, called music therapy, is now available. ... Through the help of music and a mus...
