Impact of New Media in Music Industry free essay sample

Ever since the invention of recorded music itself over a century ago, and together with the rise of illegal file sharing, it smashes the familiar hierarchies and materiality of musical production at practically every level. Today a growing number of consumers are using the Internet to access music. The Internet has changed the distribution systems as well as raised many legal and ethical issues in the music industry. And in the same way that the unique compositional possibilities of recording technology itself were only widely accessible and explored in the last quarter of the twentieth century in genres such as electronic music, rock amp; roll, disco and hip hop which may be decades before the uniqueness of tomorrow’s online music-making landscape is really found and put to use. Music on the Internet The introduction of the Internet into the music industry is the most influential driving force of change. We will write a custom essay sample on Impact of New Media in Music Industry or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The number of people using the Internet to access music is continually growing for a variety of reasons. Some of the main reasons are consumers are using the Internet because they can acquire free or cheaper music and may also use the Internet to get music that is not available to them on the radio or in retail stores. Before music became available via the Internet, the only way consumers could access music was through purchasing CDs at retail stores or listening to music on the radio, on television, or at concerts. Many consumers felt that buying overpriced CDs often for just one particular song was not a good option. When the Internet companies entered the music industry selling music and little or no cost, consumers were quick to react. The lower cost to access a larger variety of music will sure to attract a very large group of consumers. Traditional record labels are still effective for well-known artists who rely on extremely effective budgeting, marketing, and promotion strategies. The competitors may be subject to legal implications resulting from laws to protect copyright, intellectual property, and royalty rights due to the free sale of an artist’s work via the Internet. The traditional record labels should continue to emphasis their ability to be the best provider of marketing, distribution and promotion strategies. They also have the option of developing digital transmission products to compete with MP3 as a high quality, high technology provider in the music industry. The traditional record labels could also establish a joint venture with an Internet superstore to sell their CDs at a discounted price. They could also create their own Internet store. The traditional record labels could design web sites that offer customer services such as chat rooms, artist information, instant messaging and a variety of others. The Internet store should continue to offer a wide variety of music at a lower cost to attract the greatest number of customers. Production Product innovation and technological advancements are also driving forces of change in the music industry. For everyone who are familiar with and spotting many of them owning one of this product, is the MP3 player which MP3 was a major invention for the music industry. The MP3 compressed digital audio information to a size that made is relatively practical to send it over the Internet. A large number of web sites were able to offer MP3 files for downloading at little or no cost. The MP3 invention offered near CD quality sound and files could be downloaded at a very fast rate. The creation of Napster is another major product innovation in the music industry. Napster enabled users to locate and share media files from one convenient, easy-to-use interface. Napster offered a wide variety of songs and also provided services to the customers such as instant messaging, chat rooms, host lists, and bookmarks. Not only for just downloading music online, the well-known â€Å"You Tube† space amp; I Tunes are also considered as the major driving forces of change in the music industry. Random people have videoed themselves showing their singing or talents related to music and everyone gets to see it. If they get popularity, they will starts to promote themselves and request viewers to purchase their music in I Tunes. This may lead to some misconception between them and the artists. Due to piracy of copyrighted works and the lack of royalties paid to artists, many lawsuits have been filed. However, many are still using MP3 file downloading and I Tunes as an advantage for consuming music in a free, cheaper and faster way, despite it being an illegal file sharing system. Ethical Issues Many legal and ethical issues are raised with the entry of the Internet into the music industry. The major issue is the free sale of an artist’s work. Digital transmission and illegal file sharing firms often allow consumers to access music for little or no money. This means that the artists are not receiving royalties for their work. The protection of copyrighted work and intellectual property is covered by law. However, the needs of consumers and unsigned artists also have to be considered. The Internet makes it possible for artists to distribute and promote their own music without the assistance of record labels. Record label firms fear that this will cause artists to break away from the label or will not want to sign with a label. Unsigned artists, however, can use the Internet (You Tube) to reach a large audience that they would not otherwise have access to. Successful artists may have a problem with the use of the Internet in the music industry because it allows consumers to access their music for free and they receive no compensation in terms of royalties. Consumers feel that music is often overpriced and the CD usually only has a few good songs but regardless you pay the same price, consumers want access to a large variety of music which they can access at a low cost. Consumers feel the Internet gives them the ability to listen to music and participate in the music community. Studies have shown that these consumers just like music and will often still end up buying CDs like the traditional way. Conclusion Sadly to say, Internet had took over the tradition of consumers purchasing CDs for their favorite artists and recording company are felling financially for producing records. The development of the contemporary music industry is influenced consistently by the development of information technologies and internet, which have changed the music industry dramatically. Personally I feel, consumers have got a substantially larger access to music and, what is more, they can choose a variety of products. At the same time, often consumers tend to use internet to get the product free of charge that naturally affects owners of intellectual property rights and this trend is likely to be observed not only in the music industry but also in the movie or video industry. On analyzing the impact of the internet on music industry, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that modern music industry shifts online. Today, consumers prefer buy or order music online, instead of buying a CD. , Internet facilitates the purchase of music because customers can select specific products, such as songs, which they do want to buy. In fact, they can make their own collections and buy them online. On the other hand, the problem of the protection of copyrights arises because often consumers use internet to get music illegally, downloading new products even before their official release.