Shift in Paradigm - The Music Industry

From the emergence of music in the 1930’s until today there has been a big shift and change in the access of music as a listener, as well as musicians using digital studios. The invention of the internet and the advancement of software/hardware has provided and opened new opportunities for musicians to share and create their music without the record labels. The role of file sharing/streaming and the emergence of technology has created a unique stage for artists achieving their own independent label and making money from their creations. This change had its own concerns and issues in the music industry regarding file sharing such as unchecked streaming services as well as worry over recording/sound quality. New technology such as the iPhone/iPad (Apple’s first iPhone released June 2009) as well as software advances of Logic Pro/FLStudio were a stepping stone for change in the music industry - with the recording quality sounding and working the same as a studio, listeners can’t tell the difference. This in effect has decreased the use of studio booths, cut back on big production costs and having to hire anyone or purchase expensive equipment. However, many artists who worked as a musician solely in studios with no digital advancements or technology - don’t value or see these new-age tech artists -who only use digital studios - as a quality music.

The streaming services like iTunes, Spotify, and Pandora are example of those who've maintained the music businesses guidelines regarding music copyright as well as recognizing independent labels/artists. At first there wasn’t any oversight into streaming and many songs where illegally distributed/pirated. This lead to a lot of artists not getting paid for their song as well as copyright infringement. Napster (streaming service that started in 1999 and ended in 2002) was the company that brought attention to the illegal file sharing from peer-to peer without payment and was immediately shut down. This brought about alot of new rules regarding file sharing and streaming mainly the Privacy and Piracy act (October 2011).This bill was introduced to preserve the economic, artistic and cultural integrity of the industry. File sharing has attributed to the decline in record sales (Example: CD/Tapes) and rise in copyright infringement. Digital technology has the capability to stream music to any listener anywhere in the world and after the fall of Napstar many companies changed their regulations.  This brought about streaming services with memberships costs/fees through iTunes, Spotify and other streaming services that follow the Privacy and Piracy Act. This allows the ability to record clear audio and stream it for multiple online listeners all over the world.