Technologys Effect on the Music Industry - Essay Example

Technology’s Effect on the Music Industry Music as a form of artistic expression of sound in various media has evolved dramatically over the last century. The change in musical scenario was largely due to technological advancement in instrumental equipment and forms of recording, composing, listening and storing musical scores over periods to time. With contemporary music being enjoyed by the younger generation in a wider array of technological gadgets and equipments, the role of technology is closely reviewed and evaluated in terms of its being used for and against the interests of the musical recording industry in general. In this regard, the essay aims to proffer various technological factors that shaped and influenced the music industry of contemporary times. The discourse would identify the technological breakthroughs in contemporary music, particularly in the recording industry. Likewise, the research would delve into analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of technology being used either to support the recording industry or to pose a threat to its future thrusts. Finally, a personal opinion would be presented on the future of the recording industry given the various technological perspectives detailed herein. Brief History of Technology in Music According to Rick Karr (2002), the origin of technology in music is identified with the invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison in 1877. Karr averred that “New technologies make their mark on music in two basic ways: They alter the sound of pop -- what musicians can make and listeners can hear -- or they change the economics of recording and distributing music. For the past century, a new technology has changed the music industry every quarter century or so” (Karr, 2002, par. 7). What started with the phonograph developed into more sophisticated musical equipment ranging from electrical recordings in the mid-1920s to the remarkable three innovations after World War II, to wit: “tape recording; the long-playing, high fidelity record; and FM radio -- led to what Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman calls "The Big Bang": an unprecedented flowering of musical styles and sonic experimentation” (Karr, 2002, par. 9). Recently, the onset of technological growth paved the way for a revolutionary genre in musical production, recording, and dissemination to other technological equipments such as: iPods, iPhones, mobile phones, social computer websites, CD players, among a host of other new music technology equipment. The proliferation in the use of the internet assisted in hastening the pace of access to diverse musical options that can be viewed, enjoyed, recorded, played repeatedly from any location, at any point in time. In an article published by CNN Tech, it was revealed that “advances in technology have done much to change the way we live and communicate over the past quarter century, but no breakthrough has revolutionized life as much as the advent of the "wireless world," according to a panel of experts assembled by CNN” (CNN, 2005, par. 1). Technological Breakthroughs in Musical Instruments With the predominance of people using wireless technology, the future of music gives greater potentials for diverse applications of the breakthroughs available today. In Moik’s article entitled 10 Futuristic Musical Instruments, he identified the following as astounding: a K-bow with a Bluetooth interface, the Reactable, BeatBearing, Swarmatron, CrudBox, Tenori-On, Eigenharp, Continuum Keyboard, Double Slided Controller, and the Square Band (Moik, 2010). Moik (2010) averred that “the trajectory of future musical instruments is aligned within the intersections of emerging genres of contemporary music and advancements made in analog and digital technologies” (par. 1). The new designs and applications specifically aligned with technological capabilities and ease of access, reproduction and recording have tremendous impact and effect on the recording industry of today. Impact of Technology on Recording Industry The availability of easy access to an array of musical score through wireless technology poses a grave threat to the recording industry. The study by Fleming and Hughes (2002) on New Technologies and the Music Industry presented an analysis of the music industry in the light of technological advancement. It was revealed that technology both supports and poses some threats to the industry in terms of prevalence of piracy, digital rights management (DRM), secure delivery, CD “burning”, new payment models, the prevalence of credit cards, micro-payments, and subscription models, among others (Fleming & Hughes, 2002, 41 – 44). As emphasized, the status of music industry at present is geared towards selling a product (albums, CDs, DVDs). With the future trends in musical equipments and accessing and recording music, recording industry needs to evaluate the need to focus on strategies that support on-line music, in terms of either fixed line or mobile growth (Fleming & Hughes, 2002, 45 – 46). Dubner (2007) solicited the response of five smart people in his Freakonomics Column regarding the impact of technology on recording industry, to wit: Koleman Strumpf initially assessed the status of the recording industry and came up with the conclusion that sales are down due to the following reasons: (1) failure of the industry to locate musical genres that satisfy the interests of consumers; (2) cost-cutting measures of the industry, in general; (3) “recorded music has had trouble competing against other products that vie for consumers’ entertainment spending” (Dubner, 2007, par. 15); and (4) the increase in paid digital downloads (Dublin, 2007). Fredric Dannen’s response emphasized the major threat to the recording industry as the proliferation of digital audio tapes (Dublin, 2007, par. 18). On the other hand, George Drakoulias, a music producer, identified the decline in the recording industry’s sale as contributed by factors such as the inability to take advantage of updated resources and the consistent turn out of bad music. He opined that the future of the industry remains at the mercy of the consumers’ tastes and preferences which could change and adapt to renewing demands of the global environment. Peter Rojas, the founder of a free on-line music label, was optimistic as he averred that “the Internet, combined with low-cost (or even no-cost) digital tools, has led to an explosion of creativity, with millions of amateurs making music for every conceivable genre, sub-genre, and microgenre, and then sharing their creations online” (Dublin, 2007, par. 41). In fact, there have been numerous testimonials of artists being discovered through social sites such the YouTube, Facebook and Bebo, among others. With the technology provide by the Internet, even amateur talents are given the opportunity to share their creativity and “invite the world to see” (ibid). Practically, there have been stories where aspiring singers record their craft and show their talent through YouTube. Lo and behold! They become famous. They get to be invited by celebrities to flaunt their creative skills and even to join professional groups and bands. An example of this is: Arnel Pineda, a Filipino, who uploaded his singing skills through YouTube was eventually “discovered” by the famous singing group, Journey. He was then officially hired as the group’s lead singer. Other artists made famous through YouTube are Justin Bieber, Esmee Denters, Terra Naomi, Lisa Lavie and Mia Rose (Musicans Discovered on YouTube, 2009). The danger of conveying self expression through the internet is its effect in traditional culture. According to Pareles (2006), “folk cultures often work incrementally, adding bits of individuality to a well-established tradition, with time and memory determining what will last. In the user-generated realm, tradition is anything prerecorded, and all existing works seem to be there for the taking, copyrights aside.” In addition, with the voluminous pile of self expression available through websites, an aspiring amateur is faced with statistically high percentage of lack to be recognized. Finally, Steve Gottlieb, the president of a recording company, emphasized that the trend in the recording industry for the past several years was already predictable given the pace of technological growth. He stressed that “the technology that has wreaked havoc on the industry was developed 8 or 9 years ago, and, while certain features of it have improved, the individual elements that comprise it — an institutionalized standard for non-protected music files like MP3s, music search and swapping protocols, and rip/burn hardware — are not new” (Dublin, 2007, par. 43). In this regard, he acknowledged the need to revise the industry’s strategy to accommodate “a new, secure file format that offers audio, meta-data, and other digital features superior to those of MP3s. This should be an easy task, and will give the industry access to both ad-supported free “iPod quality” MP3s, and higher-quality digital products that can be sold directly” (Dublin, 2007, par. 47). The Future of the Recording Industry The review of various studies made on technology and the music industry, particularly its impact on the recording industry, per se, has led one to believe that its future would be shaped indeed by the preferences of the consumers and its ability to adapt to their needs. Any endeavor, be it a product or a service, is designed, produced and marketed with the end goal of satisfying the customers. It has always been the preferences, likes, needs, and values of the consumers that dictate the success of a product or service. The breakthroughs in sound design and music starting from the origins in late 1800s created the foundations for contemporary technological advancement on music technology with the aim of bringing creative musical compositions to the satisfaction of various listeners. The capacities to edit and mix sounds changed the whole spectrum of sound and musical design as a result of technological breakthroughs. With it, the future of musical design in line with technological applications is still optimistic. Conclusion Various facets of technological developments have made remarkable changes in trends in the musical and recording industry. Society is now faced with advancement in technology which pervades and dominates all facets of a person’s life. The Internet was proven to have a tremendous impact on the traditional forms of accessing musical scores and forms. But needless to say, the old forms are not totally replaced nor eradicated by this electronic medium. Our culture has adapted to the utilization of both the old and new forms of technological breakthroughs in music, simultaneously. Being aware of both the positive and negative effects of technology on the recording industry would enable the individual to decide a balancing of time and effort spent browsing or surfing this electronic source to serve one’s purpose. Computers create risks of intrusion and abuse of power simply by making large amounts of information available quickly and at very low cost. In the end, the benefits one would derive from this technological medium should always be weighed against the costs associated with utilizing it to achieve one’s goals. Works Cited CNN Tech. Top 25: Technological Breakthroughs. 2005. Web. 29 September 2010. Dublin, Stephen J. What’s the Future of the Music Industry? A Freakonomics Quorum. 20 September 2007. Web. 30 September 2010. Fleming, Richard G. & Hughes, Edward G. New Technologies and the Music Industry. What will be the next dominant business model? Retrieved 29 September 2010. Karr, R. TechnoPop: The Secret History of Technology and Popular Music. 2002. Web. 29 September 2010. Moik, Yofred. 10 Futuristic Musical Instruments. 15 July 2010. Web. 29 September 2010. Musicians Discovered through YouTube. 2009. Web. 29 September 2010. < http://977music.com/blog/2010/03/musicians-discovered-on-youtube/> Pareles, Jon. “2006, Brought to You, by You”. The New York Times. December 10, 2006. Web. 29 September 2010. Read More