24 Replies to “September 5”

  1. I can see where musical artists would get frustrated with all the legalities and technicalities of the music industry, and apparently its been happening since the 1950s. At first, artists create music for the love of the craft. But as soon as contracts and compensations are involved, everybody wants a piece of the pie.

    Hear it from a few artists themselves…RIP Chester Bennington
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fa8lJKTy0I

  2. The music industry as we know it today is totally screwing over artists themselves because they don’t get paid the money they should be paid from the digital streaming services and what not. Smaller artists who don’t sign and do their own marketing and recording are doing okay thanks to the free services Pandora and Spotify and YouTube offer for everyone to view for free. Everyone in the industry now a days in running into road blocks everywhere and not everyone is happy with how the people involved are getting around them. The system we have today needs to make some changes so everyone involved is happy, not just the ones who make all the money for doing the least work.

    https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2016/07/22/music-industry-99-problems-2/

  3. When it comes to the music industry there’s so many people/ labels to pay out it’s crazy to imagine that there’s even any money to go to the artists themselves after paying managers, songwriters, tour team, etc. I could go on and on about how Live Nation themselves are money hungry. I myself am a huge concert goer, so I have lots of experience in buying concert tickets and knowing how terrible those online fees and taxes are. As for listening to these artist’s music, the way we listen has changed so much starting from vinyl’s to cassettes to cd players to mp3 to your own phone. Reading how different companies and labels are in and out of the music business I definitely think this all falls back on us and what we want. Not only is everything in the world changing so drastically, but we often forget how quick the music industry is truly changing. We want convenient, and we want it fast. So whatever company is keeping up faster is the one we are going to go to. In most cases we have always depending on Apple, and now Apple Music is one of the biggest marketing tools for artists. I found more on how it’s one of the fastest growing services making about $3.9 billion. It was also meant to help artists make money while consumers still got to download pretty much anything and as much as they wanted with a small price to pay.
    https://seekingalpha.com/article/4062243-apple-music-successful-limited-pandora-retains-large-opening

  4. It is awesome to see how sheet music and the age of printing offered cultural diffusion among different regions and styles of music. Later when recording came about, live music was offered to more than just the wealthy, but also to the lower and middle class, making the experience more diverse and inclusive. As mentioned in the reading, “traditional lines that once divided singers….have become blurred or erased” with technology and online resources such as YouTube that offer this dream of stardom up to anybody with a computer.
    Here are a few artists you might recognize who demonstrate the power of internet success:
    http://theweek.com/articles/467023/6-musicians-who-owe-success-youtube

  5. Many artists of today don’t see a record deal as the ultimate “you made it” moment for their careers. There are so many people and legalities involved that artists don’t see much appeal and there’s always someone taking a chunk of their earnings. The traditional way of going about things in the music industry is changing.

    Chance the Rapper is a prime example of how you can be a successful musician without ever having to sign with a label.

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chance-the-rapper-grammys-record-deal-independent-artist-unsigned-213355505.html

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSgsrsTnrsk

  6. When first reading this, I wanted to know more about what is called the “360 deal.” It essentially is a relationship between an artist and their recording company in which the company supports the artist in many ways and in turn, gets percentages of each facet.
    What is more interesting is how artists now turn away from such contracts. We see the issues with recording companies having such a large hand in artists’ careers today, with Kesha being a prime example.
    Below is an article from 2013 that explains to artists how to not get ‘screwed over’ by the industry. The author specifically mentions the 360 deal and advises artists to not sign one.

    http://lateralaction.com/articles/music-business/

  7. When reading the ‘Media’ section of this page, one part really stuck out to me. They say that the people who buy the physical copy cannot legally download it digitally. That got me thinking about music piracy and how relevant it may or may not be today.
    As according to the article I attached, since we have streaming piracy has come down a lot. If the listeners stream using Spotify or other sites, the artists get paid. There is still some illegal downloads but not as much as before.
    http://www.businessinsider.com/music-piracy-streaming-chart-2017-4

  8. The recording industry is in an interesting place right now. As discussed in class, an artist today records an album in order to promote their tour while it used to be the opposite was true. This change in dynamic has made the need for an artist to sign to a record label almost obsolete and we’ve seen this with artists like Chance the Rapper and Frank Ocean who have opted to bypass labels altogether and promote artist independence.
    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/legalentertainment/2016/11/18/checkmate-frank-ocean-goes-independent/amp/

  9. It is crazy how complex the Music industry has become, from just entertainment to a complex legal/employment issue. You can tell that in order to make money out of your music you have to be extremely famous, you either make millions or make nothing.
    I really admire how hard artists work their way but but where there’s talent… there’s talent!

  10. The music industry’s top revenue has evolved from music printing, sheet music, phonograph records, Vinyl’s, tapes, to the current top revenue in sales from digital downloads and streaming. New technology always forces the record industry to change and adapt. I agree that Spotify and other streaming services are beneficial to the record industry because they allow for consumers to subscribe to a pay-per-stream service instead of illegally downloading songs which was hurting the industry. It also allows for more people to hear songs on their phones instead of buying CDs and records. However, it is hurting artists whose songs are not well known since they are only making $0.006 cents per stream. Luckily, artists are still making money from t-shirt sales and live concerts. Streaming will continue to be a part of the music industry thanks to the Internet and artists have to find a way to navigate through it.

    http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/music-industry-rebounds-in-2016-thanks-to-streaming-w474394

  12. There’s so much opportunity in the music industry to make loads of money, the sad reality is that you either make loads of money or you barely make ends meet. The risk of being in the industry has its rewards but statistically speaking “making it” rarely happens. The music industry doesn’t just stop at music however, march and promotional appearances and in a sense being a “celebrity” can pay more than your music itself. This video goes into more of the financial aspect of why artists tend not to make money in the music industry.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUAgfy-fILk

  13. I agree with Cassie Flores on the music industry moving in so many ways. I personally am a big fan of Apple Music, so after reading this article I looked a little deeper. The numbers are right on the money in what Cassie said above, but I wanted to know how easy it was to get your music on Apple Music, and also what it does for the artist. On the link below, you will see an overview of what Apple Music/ Connect does for the artist and how to sign up. In all reality you need your own material such as music, lyrics, or whatever media you will be uploading and an Apple ID. It all seems so simple and it is free to get your music on there unless going into very specific agreements with label companies and such. I was amazed to see that I myself could put my own music up of course after filling out the application and being approved, but it’s pretty simple. Therefore, although the music industry is changing it is getting somewhat easier for upcoming artists that don’t necessarily have a record company or record deal behind them. In spite of all the changes within the music industry, I believe personally that Apple Music and I am sure others are also following along, are making it easier for an artist to not only get their music out to the public, but also promote and spread the word about their music all in one place. So, for me it is almost like a universal place for an artist to put their music and any information about them and their concerts, tours, etc…

    https://www.apple.com/itunes/working-itunes/connect/

  14. I am very curious to see what the future of the music industry looks like. As stated before artist are becoming more independent and finding ways to promote themselves without the need of a label. Media is becoming so much more accessible and artist are able to promote themselves on platforms such as Soundcloud and Beatport. As discussed in class, we now see a lot of profit from gained from sales and merchandise making these free music streaming platforms great choices for rising artist. Being a signed artist should not be over looked though. Signed artist have a lot of expenses taken care of. Expenses such as studio time, distribution fees, and the costs of touring.

  16. This article really brings life to the reality of how life goes when it comes to money. Many artist talk about the struggle of being financially sound and educated about the not being mislead by record labels and the music industry. This article brings a blunt and truthful light to music creators and supporters to maybe help inform and educate.

  17. The invention of the phonogram and the radio have made sheet music less popular now. It is interesting to see how you had to be talented and capable of not only reading sheet music but actually playing yourself. If you did not know how to read it, then you would have to rely on your friends to preform music for you. It is crazy to see how musicians can make most of their money on just merchandise and not music.

    The link I have attached is a documentary trailer on how the music industry works. I found it to be pretty interesting.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fa8lJKTy0I

  19. This is pretty interesting to know for someone like me who loves tidal and Apple Music. I think this is cool how many numbers actually go into this kinda stuff and how it effects what the artist makes money and ranking wise!! Reading what my classmates had to say about this really made me see we are all on the same page when it comes to what we like I think it’s more af this generation that likes the evolution of Apple Music considering most of us are I phone users.

    https://www.apple.com/itunes/working-itunes/connect/

  20. I believe that tides are turning in the music industry. No longer are labels as powerful as they once were thanks to the decline off CD popularity an the rise off streaming. Now the rise of social media platforms and music streaming services artist now have the power to create music they want and self promote it instead of a label telling them what to record and there also being a chance that the recording might just end up being shelved. This also means that artist who do go Independent retain the rights to IP. Here’s a link to an interesting article about the future of the Music Industry https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/music-industry-2026-technology-trends-changing-future-cami-r-

  21. Ah, The Music Industry. A whole view of how the ” Industry” works. The music industry is being explained from the point of view on how it runs as a business and got started and where it is headed. it is very unpredictable and the music industry has a revolutionary pattern, Like now with Streaming, Before it was The Digital Market, CD’s Cassettes Ect.
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2017/05/03/how-the-music-industry-is-putting-itself-out-of-business/#295e5465e57a

  22. I still find it very interesting that the music industry has changed drastically right before our eyes. There are so many new ways to create music, listen to music, and make money from music. A lot of roles have switched, for instance, a singer used to just sing and maybe co-write so some songs. Now, most singers have their hands in production, doing some PR (managing their own social media), and also own several other businesses or participate in many other industries to make up for the lack of revenue made in CD sales.

  23. I always thought the music industry was a simple trio of artist, managers and producers. The amount of components and small pieces that go into a successful career as an artist were shocking to me. Talent goes a long way but, the knowledge of the business and the process behind it is really what makes the difference between success and failure.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B_fBJxkH6Y

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