19 Replies to “September 7 (Part II)”

  1. So, basically, there isn’t much money to be made in the music business today. Technology has made it easier to get music, but rips off the artists that make it. Even Taylor Swift pulled her music from streaming sites because it just isn’t worth it. The only money to be made is to tour with live shows and even that can sometimes not be enough. It’s just like what we talked about in class. Other ways that music is heading into trouble is in the link.
    http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2015/07/28/5-reasons-the-music-business-is-in-the-toilet/

  2. As a contrast to the previous reading, this shows us where the state of the music industry was before it saw some promising growth this past year. While bleak, it paints an accurate picture of how far the industry has fallen, how it sucks, and why it’s so complicated. I liked Laura Ballance’s quote on how units don’t mean anything anymore. It seems to perfectly encapsulate the kind of era we’ve entered now. As stated in the article, Laura Ballance is a member of the indie-punk band Superchunk and she co-founded Merge Records, who’ve released lots of great indie records over the past twenty/thirty years. To read more about it, click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merge_Records

  3. I investigated further into a further explanation of Taylor Swift taking her music off Spotify, stating that “Music is art, and art should be paid for”. I agree with the pop icon and she further explains her stance with the link below.

    http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/taylor-swift-music-is-art-and-art-should-be-paid-for-20140707

    Furthermore, I recall when U2’s free album was automatically downloaded to my iTunes account. I can see the public’s perspective of getting irate because of content being stored on their devices without their consent. Bono, a human being, apologized for this move and explains his motive for doing this in the first place.

    http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/15/tech/web/u2-bono-free-itunes/index.html

  4. I like that this article provided factual evidence of music’s decreasing value, as well as certain opinions on its perceived value. Music is a commodity, and it is only necessary to put a price tag on any kind of unit of music the industry can. The article below describes a certain way in which music is turned into a commodity.
    Personally, reading these articles have caused me to think about music in different (and much more complex) way. As an artist myself (I write and play original songs), I don’t necessarily like the idea of pricing my work. I feel as though I’d like to share it with people because music to me is beyond just a “commodity”. However, I also know that if I were to make a living out of being an artist, I’d have to establish a decent value that I believe my works should have (also, it’s nice to be able to make money out of doing something I love). I’d like to think that many people who create music because they love doing so have a similar mindset.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanpassman/2017/03/03/music-as-a-commodity-songwriting-with-artificial-intelligence/#6c5c7d63914e

  5. With streaming services and other forms of music distribution, it can be difficult for some musicians to make a living. I agree that live performances remain the best way to make a profit in the music industry. Fans will always want to see their favorite artists in person and they can’t get the same experience online. Concert promoters, such as Live Nation are producing additional revenue, mostly for themselves, from “in-seat food delivery” to merchandise at concerts. If ticket prices are high enough, artists can make bank.

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/music-industry-sees-growth-in-concert-revenue-1474250642

  6. When reading this article, I really took into consideration how artists really feel about their work being put out there for income. It’s a big question to think you know should music be something the world can make and sell for free? Can music be something that people should just be able to download for free? I was reading that the revenue income has decreased by over half then what it was 15 years ago. Where there is business there is money and the music business sadly isn’t just doing its part anymore.

    http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2015/07/how-much-money-is-music-streaming-actually-worth-infographic-draft.html

  7. I definitely see the aspect of the “celebrity economy” of the industry and the process of investing in and evolving a star rather than an artist. It seems as though the only ones who make it are the ones who make it big and the rest are left to dreaming or changing who they are in order to climb their way up. Jana Hunter’s comment mentioned in the article about money being being a “distraction” which “derails you creatively” is the challenge of artistry that makes the music industry so unique. It is hard to put a price on art and seems as though this price is ever decreasing in value. Below is one artists take on how to “make it” and what steps she took in her career:
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kellee-maize/how-i-made-it-in-the-musi_b_5024003.html

  8. With the advancement of technology, streaming services have become more available to a majority of the population. And with more people having access to streaming services like Pandora (Pandora One), Spotify, Youtube, and even on the opposite end of the spectrum, Netflix, people start buying less and less physical copies. I can definitely understand why a musician would make significantly less money over the years. A quote from the financial times stated, “Streaming revenues will rise 37 per cent to $9.1bn in 2017, PwC estimates, while sales of physical formats will drop 10 per cent to $7.7bn.” I think it’s freaking crazy; that’s a lot of money that the artist is missing out on, just because they are the first to make the music, but last to get paid.

    https://www.ft.com/content/94c5cdb0-4a26-11e7-a3f4-c742b9791d43

  9. Making money through streaming isn’t the best way for artists to capitalize on their music. I linked the payouts per streaming service here: http://music3point0.com/2017/07/26/streaming-services-per-stream-payouts/.

    What’s interesting to note is that artists such as Jay Z, Kanye, Beyonce, and Rihanna release exclusive timed exclusives of their albums on platforms such as TIDAL. Where Apple music adds incentives with artists to publish on their platform first. The good news is the consumer wins when it comes to price point and ease of use on these platforms. The competition will always be there pitting each platform against each other, the bad news is that we now have entered a age were some platforms will have artist new releases we like as opposed to other platforms. This then puts pressure on the consumer to sign-up for multiple streaming services. This is why I stick to YouTube when it comes to music.

  10. I agree with Rudy, because of his comment about Taylor Swift and how she felt about her music being on certain platforms. After reading the article, it gave a good perspective on how the music industry was and how it has had some roller coaster rides up until now. I believe that back then it was about making money on certain “units” and now in our time it is more about the artist. We are all worried about money no matter what occupation, but the artists in the music industry are who are losing out. Technology is a leading factor in our time and the more it progresses, the more or less the artist loses as well. In my opinion this is one of those roller coaster rides that repeat throughout history, but once they are able to clarify how the music will be accessed and the prices for the accessibility I think the industry will bounce back. However, Taylor Swift among other artist do make good points on why they don’t want their music accessible on certain platforms since they lose money. These artists take the time to craft their art (music), and with that deserve more.

    With this in mind after reading and researching a bit I wanted to know how easy it was to become an artist and to make money. The link below talks more about how you can make money in just a few steps. Therefore, since there are so many people that can be artists and it’s so easy to put music together, that is why these artist want to make sure they are getting what they deserve. Besides, we have all seen those random YouTube stars go from the bottom to the top with just one tune/cover.

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/07/07/how-to-make-money-on-internet-as-an-artist/103009474/

  11. With the music industry now changing from physical to digital, most musicians do not make as much money from apps Spotify as the prices for albums keeps dropping significantly from what it was before. Most musicians make money from the live shows and performances instead of the albums they produce. It is interesting to see that money in the past was made in the records, so musicians would host live shows to promote the record. However, now the musicians release the records to promote the live shows.
    Here’s an interesting read about how bands make money on tours.
    https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2014/11/25/band-just-finished-28-day-tour-made-much/

  12. So in today’s date, the best options for artists to make money is by performing shows and concerts because it is made almost impossible to make money from streaming. Artists make a tiny amount of money from that. An example in this case was Taylor Swift, the professor discussed in class that she makes smart moves such as making the fans buy a product from her in order to qualify to purchase a ticket which is a way smarter move than streaming. http://www.newsweek.com/how-much-music-worth-102909

  13. I believe I should’ve read this article first LOL. It would’ve been good to see the negative outlook on the industry, before reading about the “come-up”. Having these two perspectives on the state of the industry helps keeps things in perspective. I particularly enjoyed the charts displaying the fluctuation of price in singles and albums. This is all very interesting because I’ve always felt weird when trying to put a price on my own music. Like Danelle, I write original music and make beats. I’ve made a decent amount of income from this but I don’t always have set prices because it seems all music isn’t equal. I feel more comfortable about royalties and monetization than direct physical and digital album sales. I’m still trying to figure out why that is. I don’t think it should be free but it’s hard to put an actual amount on it. Here’s an interesting article on streaming being monetized. https://heroic.academy/monetized-streaming-future/

  14. I personally feel artist should get more financial backing and support for their successful musical efforts and successes. I also very much dislike paying large quantities of money for this universal drug we call music . Some artist realize that they can still make a living and not charge a great deal of money for their music such as Miley Cyrus and Chance the Rapper.
    https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/may/13/chance-the-rapper-chicago-music-coloring-book-hip-hop

  15. Ok so this is an interesting topic because my views as an artist are a little different so when Taylor swift took her music off Spotify it’s because she felt as if “art” should be purchased. While you have other artist like Beyoncé who don’t really care much about the sells as she does about delivering the overall message of her music. Me as an upcoming artist tries to lift up others with my music and tell a story so this article kind of pulls and rugs and me in a way.

    http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/taylor-swift-music-is-art-and-art-should-be-paid-for-20140707

  16. I feel that the artist should more of the support for their musical efforts and while it is more mainstream generic songs that artist sings instead of what comes from within. However with the money that is coming from the live concerts and performances instead of physical sales. Me as a newbie singer-songwriter the lyrics and music I write comes from my experiences and actual feelings from life even wanting to make a story from the songs itself.

  17. Thinking about Taylor Swift‘s response to Art been paid for always is a hard subject to touch up on. I believe there can be times when “free” art is okay. I posted a link going more in depth with this argument

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