Wednesday 31 May 2017

I’m running out of greetings to start off with so this week it’ll be a simple “Hi, hello.” So, 7th blogpost. This week I want to talk about my own opinions on what this blogpost is themed on. The internet and music. I don’t think I’ve really touched on my own feelings on the subject directly.

So, generally speaking 3.2 billion people have access to the internet with 1/3 of the entire earth’s population on social media. Yeah, a lot of people. So, imagine the opportunity this presents to a young budding artist that wants to be the next big thing. I think this all stems from the Internet’s nature of accessibility. I say nature because currently having access to the Internet is considered a human right in society, especially when it comes to education. But if we talk specifics then the Internet provides a myriad of platforms that can enable a new artists career. I’m talking about Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Spotify, iTunes, YouTube the list could go on.

For the past dozen weeks, I’ve been conducting research on the effects of the internet on music promotion and the results of said research have basically reinforced my original opinions. Digital revenue accounts for 50% of Global sales for music in 2016 and its forecast to go even higher in 2017. Now when you think about it, this really isn’t surprising. Streaming services have popped up out of nowhere and are being used globally in the millions. YouTube is being used by some of the biggest labels as launch platforms for songs as well as Twitter for announcements. The entire music industry is evolving into a digital market.

But the ones who benefit off this movement the most is the ones who aren’t making money of their music career… yet. It’s like I mentioned, artists have all these opportunities to get noticed. In the past the ways of marketing yourself was through physical means of playing live shows and handing out mixtapes. While those methods are still present the Internet turns those past methods on their head by making it possible for artists to generate their own spotlight as opposed to looking for an already existing one to stand in. It all became independent. Take Chance The Rapper for example. He’s won three Grammys without selling a single album. He makes all his revenue from touring, merchandise and streaming and he hasn’t signed to any labels in a feat to have total control over his music. His is a success story that large executives are keeping an eye on and what is inspiring a new generation of artists.

If Chance can do it then why can’t anyone else. Artists are now able to organically build their audience entirely on their own and then further create a management team for themselves without ever being bound by any contracts. For me it’s a whole new barrel of fish where the fish are starting to jump of the barrel and land in the ocean. As long as the Internet remains free and accessible then the possibilities of progression are endless. If Vine can create a community of content creators who all live in the same apartment complex why can’t music?


Until Next time, stay tuned

2 comments:

  1. Will there be a next time? Do you plan to keep writing your blog? And have you enjoyed writing it for the project?

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  2. I've enjoyed writing the blog for the project. I got to write about something I've been subconsciously studying for years. But no, i dont think ill be writing another.

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