Emerging trends in the music industry dictate that there are quite a number of changes that have taken place in the last decade. Technology and piracy have played significant roles; both positively and negatively, and one thing is sure; things are no longer the same. Initially, there was too much emphasis on recording emerging talents as, that way, recording companies made a lot of money. There were cases of exploitation as well, where these recruiting agencies raked in huge amounts of money meant for new artists. It was unfortunate that there was no other way out for these so-called ‘breaking new artists,’ as it was the only way to make a name for themselves in the bulging scene.
The Changes of the 90s
The 90s came with new technology, one that remains relevant to music in modern times. People would copy good quality music from compact disks (CDs) to their PCs for free, at the expense of struggling producers and artists. It was illegal, but it was a breakthrough in terms of quality as the previous version of cassettes was not good quality-wise. Besides, anti-piracy bodies were not faced with as many challenges during the cassette era as the equipment that would have been used to pirate music was costly, and the quality of music produced was wanting. It was not worth the effort.
Burning CDs became the in thing. You could easily obtain copies of your favorite music through copying. Alternatively, it was possible to listen to music and watch movies from the internet as the copyright bodies were not strict enough to bar you from doing so, save for the threats from the few anti-piracy bodies that never seemed to materialize. Internet was not as widespread as it is today, but the few who had access were already inflicting significant damage to the industry. Unfortunately, there was little to be done. Large scale piracy was taking root.
More free music sites were launched online. Anti-piracy bodies did not want to admit they were powerless to stop the rot, but instead, they upped their game and began tracking established download sites. Their activities only prompted more and more companies to launch with different identities, and flowing them became nearly impossible. All along there were stringent copyright laws in place, even though bringing culprits to book was the biggest challenge.
Music streaming to the rescue
The 21st century has witnessed massive changes in the music scene. Technology gave rise to innovative measures that did not curb piracy entirely but compromised the situation. With many Bluetooth devices facilitating easy share, companies felt the need to make music accessible to their fans, and at the same time rewarding. Music streaming was born.
Streaming is prevalent in a world where internet has become a basic necessity. People are capable of streaming their favorite tracks from selected sites instead of going for costly albums. The compromised fees offer attractive options for the new school of music lovers, and at the same time leave significant amounts of money for artists in terms of revenue. It seems to be the compromise that would have saved the industry big time.
