AMBER - The state of the music industry

Things are changing in the music industry in today's age. Due to the increase of new technologies such as the internet and social networking, it has become much easier for the public to access music illegally.   The music companies are not making as much money as they used to due to the increase of illegal downloading because the consumers are finding ways to access the songs with out paying for them. This is a huge problem as it means the artists themselves are not making as much money as they deserve because they have worked hard for it and their fans are finding many different ways to avoid paying.

There are some platforms such as vevo and iTunes which help the artists to get more money, however this is not enough as there are far more illegal downloading websites which the public can access at just a click away on their computers.

Many artists sign to the 360 deal which is the name of the business relationship between the company and the artist. This is where the company agrees to provide financial support for the artist, including direct advances as well as funds for marketing, promotion and touring. This allows the artist to use great promotion in order to sell themselves to attract the intended target audience. However, the artist signs to give the company a fraction of what they earn. These 360 deals are good for the artist and for the company too so they each get a good profit.

Social networking can also be a good way of promotion for the artist as on sites such as Facebook it is one click away to post the song and then millions of people will see it. If one person shares a video then all their Friends will see it, and then if one of their Friends decides to share it too then more people will see it, it is a never ending cycle of many people viewing the videos which is excellent promotion and opens up for a wider audience and many types of people will see it even if they don't particularly like that genre.

Therefore the state of the music industry is effected a lot by the new media and it has it's positive and negative affects too. It may be excellent for promotion, however it puts a huge financial profit strain on the companies when there are not able to make enough money because of illegal downloads.