The changing music industry has rewritten how records are made, paid for and heard. Music has changed enormously over the last twenty years. The format shifted in the recording studio from vinyl to 8-track, from cassette to CD, and now to streaming and downloads. The industry itself has changed further still, into something well beyond the business of selling a song.
The Changing Music Industry
For many years a handful of major labels made the records: Sony, MCA, Universal, RCA and Warner Bros. They controlled the market and decided how listeners heard their music. Most of us bought records in shops and rang the local radio station to ask a DJ for a favourite song. The recording studio played a huge role in that as well.
Labels also spent millions on music videos, which cable channels then played to promote the latest act.
Those budgets have since shrunk to a fraction of what they were. Musicians now often fund their own videos, and their own studio time with them.
Today three major labels remain — Universal, Sony and Warner — alongside a great many independents, all competing for the same listeners. The record shop has largely gone, though a few retailers still carry CDs.
Most of us stream music on a phone, or watch videos free on YouTube.
So with music available free or close to it, how does any label survive? Largely it comes down to how much money sits behind you. The majors have the cash and the marketing machine to push an artist into the marketplace. Independents lean heavily on word of mouth through social media.
Streaming and Social Media
The majors still have the bigger budgets. That matters less than it used to, though, given the sound a smaller recording studio can now deliver.
Independent artists have to think creatively about where their money goes. One of the best moves is to get a leading DJ to remix the track, which makes it instantly relevant.
Celebrity endorsement still carries enormous weight. One post from the right account can build a following overnight.
EDM and the New Sound
The format is not the only thing that has changed. The music has too. EDM, one of the newest styles, has built a strong following, with worldwide sales estimated at $6.2 billion.
Electronic music long ago stopped being treated as a passing trend.
As electronic sound becomes the norm, it is live playing that now sounds distinctive. The guitar riff in Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” stands out precisely because so little around it was played in a room.
Writing songs that cross more than one style widens a fan base considerably. More and more, pop artists write for their fans over EDM production.
That puts their music in front of people who were never listeners before.
Between the outlets giving music away and the small budgets artists have to work with, it is a wonder anyone stays in the business at all.
It is a hard business to leave, for all that. The people who stay tend to be the ones who cannot imagine doing anything else.
Where Next for the Music Industry?
So where does this place the future of the music industry? It is hard to say. Many have predicted that music will soon be free to everyone, and there is little you cannot already find for nothing. The fate of the undiscovered artist hoping to be discovered will be the one to watch.
The changing music industry has shrunk budgets and removed gatekeepers at the same time, which is bad news or good news depending on where you sit. Crash Symphony works with independent artists in our Sydney studio every week, so get in touch to talk through a release.
