How the Internet Has Changed the Music Industry for Artists - Coursework Example

Music Development Task: Music Development The music industry has been heavily influenced by technology in all aspects especially its production. The theory and instruments involved in the production of music have been revolutionized over the years with each technological advent. Musical instruments and its forms of production have moved from the customary forms that mainly relied upon some mechanical basis to electric and digitally oriented forms of music production contrivances. This dynamism in the manner of production has highly revolutionized the music industry and effectively changed the production of the various music forms (Fenlon 2009, p. 132). This impact brought to music production as a result of technological advancements has continually changed the way that artists and music producers relate in the field of music production. This is as shown by the way that the present forms of music differ from the earlier arrangements. The most diversified aspect is that in the production, as it is from the production line that music is derived. Music production has been highly modernized in respect to technological advancements. This is especially since the first forms of music production were an easy task that involved neither a lot of people nor any forms of complex instruments or mechanisms. The pioneering music production mechanisms involved quick processes that took only a couple of days and the music would have been produced. These early forms of recording, such as acoustical recording mechanisms, involved live and direct recording of the music on a medium. Through this, music was passed through some medium to finally reach the audience. However, this was not true recording, and the first landmark recording instrument in the music production was the phonautograph that was invented by Edouard Martinsville in the mid-19th century (Inglis 2006, p. 176). This invention formed the first true revolution in the production of music as it was the first instrument with the ability to capture and retain sound. However, it had the limitation of not being able to provide audio playback as it was only used in the analysis of the recording aspect. Nonetheless, it provided a firm foundation for the production and recording of music. Later on in the century, other modifications had to be fixed to the mechanism to enable audio playback for the sounds captured by the device (Inglis 2006, p. 111). This was essentially in the form of a phonograph, which was pioneered by Thomas Edison. The phonograph enabled for the reproduction of the recorded music as opposed to the phonautograph that only enabled recording but no playback. An advancement of the phonograph led to the invention of the world renowned gramophone, which then set a new bar in the production of, and recording of musical pieces. Emile Berliner held the patent for the gramophone, thereby cementing her name in the music production history. It also brought the onset of disks as a medium for storing sound pieces and later on allowing for their playback through a form of rotational mechanism. However, all these advancements in the production of music still relied on mechanical mechanisms, as their periods of invention fell within the time that could not allow for integration with electricity (Fenlon 2009, p. 243). The onset of electronic recording was in the early 20th century, and this greatly improved the recording and production of music. This was especially with the advent of the microphone, which replaced the initial mechanical means of recording sound. After the introduction of the electric forms of music recording, most of the music production processes adopted the microphone as the chief equipment for recording music (Goetschius & Tapper 2001, p. 211). This was still reliant upon discs where the electronic recording would be applied either on a single side or on both sides of the disc. Furthermore, another breakthrough in the line of music recording came with the invention of magnetic form of music recording. This was through an electric signal with a frequency similar to that of the music being recorded (McClellan 2000, p. 187). The recording would be done through the magnetization of the magnetic tape, and replaying was done through the conversion of these magnetic impulses back to electrical signal. Moreover, electronic augmentation, introduced by Curt Stille, further enhanced the way in which electronic recording was revolutionizing music production. Mainstream music production through electrical recording means followed in the subsequent years, and this was further augmented through integration with analogue magnetic recording (Inglis 2006, p. 231). Key figures in the advent of magnetic recording included audio engineer John Mullin. His constant upgrades and modifications to the magnetic tape form of recording are highly accredited among the highlights in the development of sound production (Inglis 2006, p. 201). Further developments involved the introduction of 4-track recording that enhanced how music was produced. Through this, music and sound productions enjoyed greater flexibility as opposed to the earlier forms of music production. The concept of 4-track recording was achieved through editing of a magnetic tape record then forming multitrack recording through sound tracking multiple tracks on the tape (Goetschius & Tapper 2001, p. 99). This concept later on led to the development of quadrophonic sounds which subsequently developed into surround sound. The revolution in the music recording and production then took a transformational turn through the introduction of digital forms of recording in the 1970s. The pioneering efforts were through the introduction of analog laser video discs that enable further dynamism in the recording while allowing for longer tracks to be recorded (Fenlon 2009, p. 199). With further advent in the development of the media, tapes were eventually replaced by compact disks (CDs) that then initiated the era of full digital recording without incorporating any analog aspects. In addition, this period also saw the increased usage of computers in music production due to the ability of computer disks to store digital forms of sound (McClellan 2000, p. 99). Furthermore, other forms of media such as MP3s saw their initiation through the use of computers in music production and recording. This increased use of computer production and recording was as a result of the rapid increase in CPU speeds and computer hard disk capacities. However, despite introduction of the compact disks in early 1980s, it took over a decade for the discs to become mainstream means of recording and producing music (Goetschius & Tapper 2001, p. 298). Moreover, the onset of digital forms of recording enabled the development of software that enable analog to digital conversions. The CD completely revolutionized the recording and production of music in various fronts, as it was of a compact design apart from enabling higher storage capacities than compact cassettes. Likewise, it allowed for better quality of the music recorded in comparison to the earlier forms of music recording and production. The production process was even made easier through the ability of the music to be altered at any particular point by the sound engineers and music producers. References. Inglis, I. 2006, Performance and Popular Music: History, Place and Time, Ashgate Publishing Limited, California. McClellan, R. 2000, The Healing Forces of Music: History, Theory and Practice, iUniverse, Nevada. Fenlon, L. 2009, Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Music, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Goetschius, P. & Tapper, T. 2001, Essentials in Music History, The Minerva Group, Inc, Philadelphia. Internet and the Music Industry. With the onset of advancements in computer technology, as occasioned by such technological advancements as MP3 music formats, the true turnaround for music recording and production was realized. Moreover, this PC computer revolution was further enhanced by the arrival of internet based forms of music sharing (Mewton 2001, p. 154). The manner in which the internet integrated people on a global platform, coupled with the ease of sharing music through such formats as MP3 files highlighted another transformation in the evolutionary journey of music development (Dean 2009, p. 187). One of the most significant effects that the internet and the web have impacted on the music industry is the way in which sharing of music files has become easy. Through the internet, artists and music producers have been able to easily get the right audience for their music as they can easily post their music on the web platform where anybody can easily access it (Mewton 2001, p. 117). Before the web and the internet, it was a daunting task for artists and music producers to get the right audience for their music. Similarly, music lovers could not easily access the musical forms that they enthused, but the onset of the internet has streamlined the process for both artists and music lovers. Moreover, the way that music is produced has also been highly revolutionized through the internet. This is due to the numerous music production software that one can easily retrieve form the internet and use to make music that would be as much as any other produced at an uptown recording studio. This ease in music making has resulted in a wider variety of music that music lovers can choose from (Wikstorm 2010, p. 165). Prior to this, the process of producing music involved a lot and could not be easily achieved at a poorly equipped studio or production house. To augment further the ease of music production as occasioned by the internet, the produced music can then again be easily advertised through the internet to increase its popularity (Sparrow 2006, p. 177). This shows how the internet technology has highly streamlined the music production process through enabling easy music production as well as popularizing (Wikstorm 2010, p. 198). Indeed, most music produced nowadays is first presented to the public through the online platform, as this is the most widely accessed platform as occasioned by the large numbers of internet users who easily access the web thereby increasing the fan base for artists and producers. The effect of the music recording and production technology, especially the arrival of the internet, has highly affected artists and music producers both positively and negatively in other aspects. One of the most significant revolutions occasioned by the internet and proper music production techniques is the manner in which artists can easily make a living from the musical compositions that they make (Mewton 2001, p. 188). This is achieved through the sale of music units either through albums or as single units. Prior to this, artists could only make a living from their music through live performances, which were not easy to come by unless on was a highly established music celebrity. As such, musicians relatively found it hard to make a living from music. However, the arrival of the internet and other technological advancements in music productions has eased the manner in which artists can easily gain from their musical productions (Sparrow 2006, p. 112). Despite this apparent ease in gaining from music, the internet has also come with some undesirable consequences to the music industry. The most evident is the way in which piracy has negatively influenced the industry. The ease of accessing music has resulted in artists and music producers losing out on the overall gain they could gain from their music. This side of the internet is highly to blame for the way in which musicians fail to gain much from the music sales despite working hard to produce and record their works (Dean 2009, p. 241). The internet is open source, and as such, anybody with access to it can replicate music and download files without necessarily having to obtain copyright permission from the original composer. This has somehow reversed the original way through which musicians were helped by the internet. This reduction in sales to piracy is highly connected to the internet, hence showing how the web can also act in disfavor of the music industry. Despite the above highlighted hurdle brought by the internet in music production, web based technological advancements have otherwise led to more highlights in the industry. The production process prior to internet arrival was technical and cumbersome; hence it took days, even weeks to actually produce music (Wikstorm 2010, p. 113). The internet has revolutionized this through the availability of software that is used to easily simulate many of the earlier processes that required original feel. However, the software still maintains the original feel while easing the production process. Furthermore, the fast sharing speeds and the ease of communication through the web has enabled artists and musicians to easily share ideas and collaborate in producing music (Dean 2009, p. 232). Moreover, upcoming artists need not be within recording studios as they can easily send their raw musical compositions to producers through the internet who then process it and give them feedback still through the internet. On a general outlook, the internet is used throughout the production of music in the contemporary world. All processes ranging from the recording to the advertising and distribution is web based and the process has been made even faster (Wikstorm 2010, p. 199). The development of music from the initial phases pioneered by Thomas Edison to the era of the internet in relation to music production has highly influenced the trends in how music has developed. All the stages have been essential in music transformation, with the internet being the most revolutionary in most perspectives (Mewton 2001, p. 223). References. Dean, R. 2009, The Oxford Handbook of Computer Music, Oxford University Press, New York. Sparrow, A. 2006, Music Distribution and The Internet, Gower Publishing Limited, Boston. Mewton, C. 2001, All You Need To Know About Music & the Internet Revolution, Sanctuary, Michigan. Wikstorm, P. 2010, The Music Industry: Music in the Cloud, Polity Press, Cambridge. Read More