In 2004, Henry Jenkins
predicted that “a micro-payment system
would allow media producers (recording artists, independent game designers, web comics artists, authors) to sell their
content directly to the consumers, cutting out
many layers of middle folk, adjusting prices for the
lowered costs of production and distribution in the digital environment”
(pp34). Jenkins (2004) went on to say that “although long predicted, a viable
micropayment system has yet to emerge, although there are new signs of life in
this area”. This prediction has come to fruition and had great impacts on the
music industry. Instead of buying complete albums, online music retailers such
as iTunes and Amazon allow people to select and download individual tracks for
next to nothing. This trend, coupled with digital piracy, has caused global
recorded music sales to fall by almost $1.5bn (£930m) last year (Sweney, M
2011). It has also led to a huge decrease in physical CD sales. While both
physical and digital music purchases are on the decline due to varying factors
(Melanson, M 2010), it is predicted that by 2012, digital sales will surpass CD
sales. I personally thought this would have already happened. Although this new
way of purchasing music is effecting sales, it does give new artists a greater
chance of being discovered due to online recommendations based on previous
purchases. It is also nearly impossible to download these new artists illegally
(believe me, I’ve tried). It seems that these new trends in the music entry
mostly effect major recording labels and artists. Personally, I think they’re
not going to starve. South Park covers this in a very clever episode. Please
enjoy the clip below.
Jenkins, H. (2004) The Cultural Logic of Media Convergence, International Journal of Cultural Studies, 7/1, 33-43.
Sweney, M. 2011, “Global recorded music sales fall almost $1.5bn amid increased piracy”, The Guardian, 28 March, accessed: 26/09/2011, http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/mar/28/global-recorded-music-sales-fall
Melanson, M. 2010, “Report: Digital Music Sales Will Surpass CDs in 2012”, Read Write Web, 14 January, accessed: 26/09/2011, http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/report_digital_music_sales_will_surpass_cds_in_201.php
Video sourced from: http://www.videosurf.com/video/south-park-not-a-big-deal-10791435
This was a great post dude. I really liked the use of the clip from south park, i couldn't help but think of it when I was in week 7's lecture. I think the internet has both destroyed and built up the music industry, for the same reasons you pointed out. We can buy one song at a time and we rarely buy CDs anymore, this obviously can see a negative effect on sales. But also the rise in smaller artists in "the long tail" who are getting recognition. I was surprised also to hear that CD sales are still above online sales, i too thought this would have already happened. By the way if you find a smaller band on youtube that you cant download illegally from anywhere you can always use a program that rips mp3s from youtube URLs. Just google it, may help you get some of those bands onto your itunes. Good stuff man, cheers.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I am shocked to hear that CD sales still surpass those of online downloads. Personally every time I walk past a CD store I wonder how long it will be till it closes down, or rather why that is yet to happen. Additionally, it does seem as if the growth of the online marketplace in regards to the music industry is very much a double-edged sword. While many artists may have noticed a decrease in their album sales, many new artists may have not been discovered were it not for the internet and sites such as myspace and youtube. And if it results in artists having to tour more to earn money, im not against that at all.
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