The aim of this essay is to look into contemporary means of music distribution, and identify which is currently the most profitable and widely used, and why they are used and the effect they have on the music industry. This information will then be used to predict which method of distribution will survive the test of time, and potentially be the means of distribution that could still be in use 15 years from now. This essay will explore the profitability and popularity of three different platforms: vinyl records, digital downloads, and music streaming services.
Music piracy has been considered very problematic for the music industry since the age of vinyl records and cassette tapes (Berlatsky, 2013) (Gil, n.d.), though the problem really only …show more content…
Spotify does many things that entice music listeners to stop illegally downloading copyrighted music, and listen to it in a legal way using their streaming service. Ease of use is important for Spotify in reducing music piracy, it is now more convenient to legally stream a song, rather than download it illegally (Titcomb, 2016) (Resnikoff, 2015) (Wall, 2014). When Napster had been a huge problem for the music industry, this was a huge factor in why the problem of piracy had become so widespread, ease of use (Harris, 2016). Most artists can now easily be found on Spotify, in 2015 The Beatles were added to the Spotify catalogue (Dredge and Walker, 2015), not only did The Beatles become one of the most streamed artists on the service, but a sudden surge in sales of Beatles albums on both CD and vinyl records was observed (Caulfield and Rutherford, 2016). It would appear that music streaming services have a positive effect on the music industry, not only do they appear to be reducing the amount of music piracy, but they also seem to be increasing the sales of physical …show more content…
The profitability in turn has benefited from this resurgence (Martins, 2013) (Osborne, 2013), during the final week of November 2016, vinyl record sales generated more revenue than digital download sales, with vinyl record sales generating £2.4 million for the record industry while only £2.1 million being generated from the sales of downloaded digital music from online music retailers such as ‘iTunes’ (Savage, 2016). There could be a number of reasons for this, nostalgia is a key factor for when an older technology becomes popular and relevant once more, the resurgence of vinyl records can be compared to the increasing popularity of “pixel art” in modern video games, this would lead to the assumption that currently a ‘retro’ style is fashionable, which would explain the resurgence of vinyl records (Kasprzak, 2012). Though it’s undeniable that the ‘retro’ style which is presently fashionable is a key part in the resurgence of vinyl records, there are other factors playing a key role. Some argue that vinyl records have a superior sound, essentially vinyl records are an
Music piracy has been considered very problematic for the music industry since the age of vinyl records and cassette tapes (Berlatsky, 2013) (Gil, n.d.), though the problem really only …show more content…
Spotify does many things that entice music listeners to stop illegally downloading copyrighted music, and listen to it in a legal way using their streaming service. Ease of use is important for Spotify in reducing music piracy, it is now more convenient to legally stream a song, rather than download it illegally (Titcomb, 2016) (Resnikoff, 2015) (Wall, 2014). When Napster had been a huge problem for the music industry, this was a huge factor in why the problem of piracy had become so widespread, ease of use (Harris, 2016). Most artists can now easily be found on Spotify, in 2015 The Beatles were added to the Spotify catalogue (Dredge and Walker, 2015), not only did The Beatles become one of the most streamed artists on the service, but a sudden surge in sales of Beatles albums on both CD and vinyl records was observed (Caulfield and Rutherford, 2016). It would appear that music streaming services have a positive effect on the music industry, not only do they appear to be reducing the amount of music piracy, but they also seem to be increasing the sales of physical …show more content…
The profitability in turn has benefited from this resurgence (Martins, 2013) (Osborne, 2013), during the final week of November 2016, vinyl record sales generated more revenue than digital download sales, with vinyl record sales generating £2.4 million for the record industry while only £2.1 million being generated from the sales of downloaded digital music from online music retailers such as ‘iTunes’ (Savage, 2016). There could be a number of reasons for this, nostalgia is a key factor for when an older technology becomes popular and relevant once more, the resurgence of vinyl records can be compared to the increasing popularity of “pixel art” in modern video games, this would lead to the assumption that currently a ‘retro’ style is fashionable, which would explain the resurgence of vinyl records (Kasprzak, 2012). Though it’s undeniable that the ‘retro’ style which is presently fashionable is a key part in the resurgence of vinyl records, there are other factors playing a key role. Some argue that vinyl records have a superior sound, essentially vinyl records are an