production,distribution and consumption

Production :
advances in technology
user based production, produce there own music
no more reliance on record company, means they can do everything themselves
musical expertise is not needed e.g Garageband and logic > a loop based software which is evident in manufactured pop artists, they decide what stays and what goes, more in control
cost no longer an issue, everything can be done cheaply
internet is the main helper

Distribution :
internet as a primary medium, e.g youtube
no longer expensive can be free ; largely accessed as 'free' music, free downloads
not legal in most cases- filesharing through limewire
now making physical formats obsolete e.g tapes, CD's > which impacts on retail outlets, less people buying physical form, more illegal downloading and/or legal downloading
difficult to track and monitor. the internet cannot be observed
industry forced to enter new ways of marketing, in keeping with interactive nature of distribution

Consumption :
Follows trend of using new media technology e.g. "Youtube", itunes
Linked to image more explicitly through visual media
Saturated/ diluted experiences of accessing music - devalued?


The 'big' 4 record companies: Sony, Warner Bros, Universal and EMI.
The big four are very powerful, in the music industry smaller record companies take only 20% of the indstury.
The development of the music industry is linked to the development of techonology.


1980 - The compact disk emerged.
1982 - CDs able to be played on computers.
1988 - Sales of CDs over took the sales of Vinyl.
1990 - Recordable CDs became available.
1997 - MP3 players emerged.
1999 - "Napster" service was launched- revolution that led to legal battles over copyright
2000 - Broadband was introduced to the UK.
2001 - Apple launchediPod and iTunes
2003- CD sales has fallen by one third.
2005 - iPod shuffle made downloading cheaper and more access able.