Keep music industrial

It would be fair to say that in this century, the future of music is in dispute. In the era of illegal downloading and falling sales, it was refreshing as well as surprising to hear a positive message from the CEO of UK Music, Feargal Sharkey, who described 2011 as “an extraordinary time to be a music fan.”

For the industry to survive it is evident that it has to embrace the Internet. The Internet’s democratisation of creativity with no industry involvement has created an incomprehensible catalogue of musicians. Websites such as MySpace have failed to create major waves for the music industry because they are stiflingly bloated.

We live in a time where people do not expect to pay for music. File-sharing services such as Napster have created new expectations and people want free music, fast. Instead of fighting this, the industry needs to learn how to capitalize on it.

Slowly, change is beginning. Record labels (mostly independent labels) are experimenting with success, streaming albums for free online with appropriate advertising that leads to record and merchandise sales.

Just as the phonograph didn’t kill the sheet music industry in the 19^th century, the Internet will not kill the music industry in the 21^st.

Illustration of event by Red Imlah

Avoid copyright infringement though art!

Elliot Speight