The Internet's Influence On The Music Industry

The internet had a huge influence on the growth of the music industry.Firstly, the move from analogue (record player, tape deck) to digital (Walkman, iPod, iPhone) media had many advantages through the internet. Digital media included:

• a larger capacity for hours and tracks.
• better sound quality.
• portabliity.
• ability to copy.
• ease of sharing.
• speed of copying and sharing.

This meant that two or more sets of technology could come together, thus forming the iPhone and iPod. You are able to consume music anywhere and have your entire music collection on one device. This impacted on institutions and audiences.

The music business now is known as Music 2.0. It is the online age of social media, sharing and user generated content. Traditional revenue from music sales can no longer be relied upon.

Web 2.0 has also had huge influences. 

• Unsigned acts are able to produce and distribute their own music without a label through  websites such as MySpace and YouTube. For example, Midnight Beast are a young London band who are a YouTube sensation, they have millions of fans, a TV series and have played numerous gigs. However they are not signed to a label.
• Indie labels can operate solely online as a form of production and distribution. This keeps the costs low, so they are able to focus more on their music and 'take more risks'.
• Majors can source bands who already have an established fanbase.
• Artists are able to advertise online and target individuals who seem interested in their genre of music.
• A wider audience can be reached.
• Synergetic links with other companies, such as Xfactor, so the songs can be downloaded immediately.

The internet has also meant that music is allowed to be illegally downloaded, which has a huge impact on revenue streams. Around the world in 2006, 5 billion songs were swapped on peer-to-peer websites, while 509 million were purchased online. That's 10 illegal downloads for every 1 legal download.

The Long Tail theory: Web 2.0 allows more people to look for, share and buy a wider variety of material and products.