Week 1 - Introduction

This week we are discovering the world of digital music and the evolution of labels and music makers. "The Future of the Music Business" by Steve Gordon has introduced the concept of sharing music on the internet and musicians agreeing to this. In effect, record labels are becoming a thing of the past and for good reason.

For example, as highlighted in the Preface and Introduction of the textbook, bands like Radiohead have managed to cut out the label in order to make an incredible profit. This is all due to the internet and the opportunity of having worldwide accessibility to music. This is an incredible change from years of labels being considered "The Man" that bands paid dues to.

On the other hand, there are still many issues with paying dues when it comes to owning up to originality and copyright issues. The other half of the introduction of this week's lesson is the issue of copyright and laws of the trade and the new wave of this trade. Since so much music is available via the internet it is easy to download music without paying the music makers. Musicians and record labels combined are not always getting recognition for their authentic and original work which poses a huge problem.

I recently subscribed to Emusic for as little at $10-$13 a month. With this subscription I am able to download at least 30 songs. Because it is my "first" time registering, I also receive 45 new downloadable songs of my choice. I have always wondered if I am only paying $10 a month for 30 songs, how do artists make a living anymore?

So, while I am happier paying less are artists happier being paid less and working harder to promote themselves? I think the answer to this question is easy or is it? In the next ten weeks I will try to find out how music listeners, musicians, and the music industry can all be satisfied.