Due to the digital age it is now becoming easier to promote and distribute your music without being signed to a record label. With the making of Web 2.0 music artists are able to promote their music online, on social networking sites such as Myspace free of charge. Music programmes such as Itunes and Spotify allow you to preview your favourite artist's songs whilst also having the ability to purchase them, whether you're buying just one song or the whole album. This online revoltion has consequently transformed the whole way in which music can be sold to their audiences, one of the top reasons being the easy access in listening to the music and purchasing it.
Many music artists have benefited from the online revolution. The most successful story being the 'Arctic Monkeys'. The Arctic Monkeys were an unsigned band who uploaded and shared their music on the internet on the social networking site Myspace. They were later recognised for their talent and got signed to the independent record label Domino Records. This shows that the constant development of the digital age, brings great benefits to those artists that do not have the funds to record in a professional studio. PC/Mac software as well as the internet allows them to upload, edit and share their music for free or for a fraction of the price if they were to do it professionally. However, the this digital movement has created major concerns for the 4 conglomerate labels (Sony Music Entertainment, Universal music Group, Warner Music Group and EMI Group) as they are losing thousands of pounds from file sharing and illegal downloads. Data from 2009 showed that 98% of all music downloads were illegal. This is consequently having a major impact on the revenue that these companies and their artists are losing out on.
It is an impossible task to stop all file sharing and download sites, as there are so many and can be reproduced quickly if they were to get shut down. This is why alternatives have been developed to cut down illegal downloads. This is where the creation of Apple's iTunes, Spotify and Vevo on Youtube allow music lovers to access music at their fingertips for a small fee or have the option to listen to the files free of charge, but without having the file that will allow you to make copies of and distribute. These programmes lets the music audience to be in complete control over what they but and how much they buy. It is a more appealing way of selling and distributing music as the person does not have to leave their home to buy the product.
It is an impossible task to stop all file sharing and download sites, as there are so many and can be reproduced quickly if they were to get shut down. This is why alternatives have been developed to cut down illegal downloads. This is where the creation of Apple's iTunes, Spotify and Vevo on Youtube allow music lovers to access music at their fingertips for a small fee or have the option to listen to the files free of charge, but without having the file that will allow you to make copies of and distribute. These programmes lets the music audience to be in complete control over what they but and how much they buy. It is a more appealing way of selling and distributing music as the person does not have to leave their home to buy the product.
