1. Is Media Technology Always a Good Thing for the Music Industry?
Digital technology is usually a good thing for the music industry as it gets new musicians out quicker
and helps artists who are already known become more successful. However, there are some
problems as the rise of digital media is affecting the sales of traditional copies – less CDs are being
sold and many record stores have to close down. Also, there is a disadvantage for digital media itself
thanks to the internet. Music fans can either download a song off ITunes for sixty-nine pence or they
can illegally download it off YouTube. Which one is happening more often? Illegal downloading.
Whilst many of the public feel that illegal downloading isn’t a crime and it doesn’t affect artists who
are already successful that much, it does affect newer artists and unsigned acts. It creates less
money for businesses and means that certain artists don’t have the funds to do their jobs properly.
Furthermore, there are major problems if the artist is disenfranchised as they will be less likely to get
signed than an artist who is online. Social networking is key in this day of age if a musician or anyone
in any media related job wants to get noticed.
For example, one musician who used digital technology to his advantage is Ed Sheeran. The British
singer-songwriter started writing and recording at a young age and used social networking to get his
music across. He released his own recordings and played gigs across the country. Once his YouTube
got more viewers, the fanbase started growing and even certain celebrities thought that his work
was great. His last EP that he recorded himself got his major break – it became the first EP of an
unsigned artist to get to number 2 on ITunes. Once he got this big break, he then signed up to
Asylum/Atlantic Records and released his first single, which got to number 3. He released his
critically acclaimed debut album ‘+’ on 12th September 2012, which debuted at number one and sold
over 102000 copies in its first week. This shows how successful Sheeran had go – all he had done
was wrote, recorded and sold his own records, played a few gigs and put videos up on YouTube. The
digital access of YouTube and ITunes made him into the success he is today.
Furthermore, other musicians have used digital media as a way of breaking into the industry. For
example, Justin Bieber, Sandi Thom, Conor Maynard, Rebecca Black, Carly Rae Jepsen, the Artic
Monkeys and many more. They have all used digital media to their advantage. However, there are a
number of artists out there who either are online but have not been recognised or are
disenfranchised so are not likely to be recognised in today’s digital age. Not everyone is going to get
into the music industry. Another problem is what will happen to the record shops of yesteryear.
Whilst some still survive, many have to shut. This is due to online selling fastly increasing. This is
incredibly sad for yesteryears generation and is a haunting image for the future. In conclusion, the
music industry will always have advantages and disadvantages, even if new ways of media starts to
be created. We still need to keep those record shops open though and at least make sure that less
illegal downloading happens on a daily basis.