Free Music Hurts Music Giants

Christel Lumabas asked:

The world of high technology and endless innovations made its way to music consumers from all over the world. This definitely opened new ways in enjoying music, whether it is through legal ways or the other way around. With the bad smell of piracy spreading the stink globally, its time for music companies to fight against it, in order to save the music business today.

Music giants are once again at odds with the consumer electronic manufacturers. This time, it is very much related to piracy—the controversy over specific information technology products that enables consumers to copy digital music and transfer them into different formats, or exchange them over the Internet. This has been going on ever since people knew about it, and this alone greatly affects the music business today.

Over the last few years, the music industry has fed the media statistics about piracy, or the act of copying digital music content to a blank CD, or uploading or downloading it from the Internet. According to articles, an estimated 3.6 billion songs are illegally downloaded each month in the US. In 1999, the music industry estimated that one in four CDs of new music was actually an unauthorized copy. By end of 2001, it was estimated that as many CDs were burned and copied as were bought. Since 1999, CD burner ownership has nearly tripled. This trend is attributable to the slow economy, among many other factors. However, the music business today seems to believe that the culprit in this trend is the rise of digital music—free online sharing, and the growing number of CD burners.

For self-defense, big music record companies are developing technology for anti-piracy, to protect their copyrighted music against the information technology’s movement towards user-friendly digital software and hardware. Few of the biggest music labels are experimenting on anti-piracy technologies designed to fight the online file sharing. Both Sony and BMG have already implemented copy-protection systems, which prevents their CDs from being played on any device that is not a simple CD player. Another music label is also licensing another anti-piracy technology, where it prevents consumers from reformatting songs into MP3 format files and burning copies, or making them available for file sharing systems. This anti-piracy technology called Cactus will prevent music from playing on the Playstation 2, a number of car stereos and DVD players, even on PCs, and also disables stand alone CD burners.

There will come a point where progress may feel more like loss than gain, especially when a technology that an industry has developed becomes outdated. While this may seem frustrating, the proper solution is not to hinder progress; instead, adapt accordingly. Both the congress and the music industry giants should make necessary changes in the legislation to make it more effective for the next generation.

Music Networks – How Bands and Musicians Use Music Networks for Band Promotion

David Horne asked:

The internet continues to revolutionize the music industry and the creation of music networks has helped musicians to promote their bands, sell their music, find band members, buy and sell musical instruments, chat to fellow musicians in the forums, post photos, their music, videos and so much more.

There are many benefits to joining one of the top music networks. It is best to focus on two or three at the most and create, as well as maintain, a standout profile page for your music or band. If you spread yourself too thin and try to join every music site you come across then you will find yourself struggling to maintain an active profile. If you join one of these music networks then you will gain a massive amount international exposure for your music.

Try to devote 30 minutes each month in updating your profile with new photos, gig dates, videos or music samples. On a more regular basis you may want to respond to forum posts, reply to comments posted on your page and also respond to any emails sent to you. You need to treat these music networks as an advertisement and great way to promote your band. Therefore spending some time on the site could bring about some lucrative and life changing publicity for you.

The key point to gaining the most exposure for your music on these sites is to be proactive and make the most of the features available to you. You will want to post recent photos of yourself or your band. You should add some new photos each month. Try and add some bright and colourful photos of each of your band members as well as some group shots. Ask a friend or partner to take some high quality photos of you while performing.

Music videos are all the rage due to YouTube. You can use a camera to take some footage of the band performing one of their most popular songs. Just as a great video can make your band; a bad video can have a negative impact on your music. If a music venue manager is not the network to look for a band for a gig and they listen to a poor quality live performance then they will just move on to the next band. So make sure the video you submit is one that will impress your viewers.

Why spend time in the forums? Because you never know who is online and who is reading the forum posts. Many of the top music forums not only allow bands and musicians to sign up and create a profile but also music promoters, managers, music venue owners, music producers and professionals from the music industry. As a result, you may just catch the eye of one of these promoters who could give you the lead you need. Post positive and informative posts that will require a similar response. Avoid getting into any personal attacks or conflicts with other forum members. Maintaining a high level of professionalism is of the utmost importance in building the reputation you want to succeed.

What about writing an article? It is quite easy to write an article about a topic you are passionate about and have knowledge in. How can this help you? Well in a music network you have members who are musicians and are therefore craving information to help them with their band or music. As a result you can gain some valuable exposure by adding your name and active link at the bottom of the article. You can basically piggy back these top music networks who already achieve high page rankings in the search engines for your own benefit. Search engines love quality content about a specific topic. As a result these search engines will pick up the keywords used in your article and rank it highly as the article is located on a reputable site. Both these combined will give it a good chance of being spread throughout the internet.

One of the best features is the ability to post your upcoming gigs or events. What other way can you get free advertising for your gigs! When posting your gig make sure all information is correct and if any of it changes be sure to return to your profile and update it. There will be fans that listen to your music samples, watch your videos and then decide on attending one of your gigs if they like what they hear. You don’t want to upset them by having them go out of their way to attend your event only to find that the details were changed and there is no gig! Try to include the date, time, cost and location of the event. Some of the top networks will have a feature where your fans can “subscribe” or add their name to an attendance list. This will also allow you to send emails with specific details to these members. This is networking and building a fan base.

Classifieds are also a great way to buy and sell instruments, equipment, search for new band members, post jobs or look for a gig, sell tickets to events and so much more. Make sure you only add the information you want people to see and only use a respectable payment solution provider in the transaction. Most sites leave transactions up to both parties and are not responsible for any disputes or problems with the sale.

Are there dangers associated with music networks? Yes, but only if you post personal information that hackers or people involved in criminal activity can use to spam you or rip you off. The top sites will have internal email systems where your personal email address is protected. They also have a feature that allows you to block any members you wish not to correspond with. Remember that you use these music networks to promote your music and not your personal life and details as a lot of the “Social Networks” do. This is why you should stick to the top music networks that operate with the sole purpose of assisting bands and musicians in promoting their music.

If you maintain an active profile you may just be lucky enough to gain additional exposure from the site. For example, the music networks highlight and profiles a new band each month. This profile puts the band on the front page, generates extra hits for the band’s profile page, spreads their band across the internet due to the quality content in the profile and provides a reputable promotion for the band by a music industry leader. Want to make your own luck? Then be proactive and contact the site team and let them know that you would like to have your band or music be considered to be profiled.

One more great tip is to use “Keywords” in your title for photos, events, profiles etc as these keywords will appear in that page’s URL. This will help for better search engine exposure as they love keywords and targeted content.

The key is where to start when selecting which music networks to join? There are many ways to promote your music and three of the best methods for music and band promotion is by creating a profile on MyBandMate and MySpace Music or posting your music videos on YouTube Music.

So if you want to showcase your music to the world and are not active in these top two music networks then you better get on to it. It takes time, some effort and a desire to make your music reach a global audience. Be proactive, utilize all of the key features to gain maximum exposure and build a fan base by responding to their emails and comments. Don’t include any information in your profile that you don’t want the world to see. Treat your profile page as an advertisement for your music. You may only have one chance to catch the eye of a music promoter, producer or music venue owner looking for a band so make your profile look professional.

Subscribe to Music Magazines – Stay Tuned

Steve McMains asked:

Music magazines have been known to be useful source of music related information and news for years. Music magazines cover various aspects of music industry and keep their readers informed on different issues. Latest releases, new albums, awards, music charts, regional numbers, singers, artists, lyricists, composers, instrumentalists and many more topics are generally covered on music magazines.

Some of the music magazines have launched websites to help their readers find music news and updates online as well. This is definitely a flexible way of providing information. Websites are accessible from anywhere any time. Hence, you can log on to your online music magazine anytime to find latest music news.

One may ask that when the same information is available on music TV channels, why should one log on to music news websites? The reason is simple: music websites are more flexible than television channels.

When you watch a music channel you have to depend on the presenter. You have to wait for your favorite song to be played on screen. Moreover, you have to stand by commercials and sometimes unnecessary talks of the host. If the host chooses to repeat a song, you have to go with her choice. Annoying!

Now, when you log on to an online music magazine, you have plenty of options. You can go through music charts, archives, listen to your favorite music tracks, watch music videos, pause, stop, fast forward or rewind the tracks as you wish and replay them as many times as you want. Flexible!

Apart from publishing music charts, music magazine websites provide information about music industry, artists, composers, lyricists and others. The archives are searchable. All music video albums are posted in suitable categories. You can search the archive by artist, by composers, by lyricists, by the name of the movie in case the song is from a popular movie or by the first few words of the song.

There are topical music magazines as well. If you are looking for Latin music videos you should look for Latin music websites. Similarly, when you are looking for French songs, you may log on to a French music website to find recent French music releases.

So, if you love to watch music videos and do not want to miss any of the recent releases, subscribe to music magazine or log on to music magazine and news websites. These are more flexible source of information than traditional media. Keep watching music charts, look at the popular numbers, search the archive and watch the music video that you want.

Internships; The Best Way To Obtain Entertainment Jobs

Thomas Pretty asked:

Jobs within the entertainment industry vary greatly; the sectors are diverse and offer prospective employees options through a variety of mediums. Many see jobs in entertainment as limited to acting and presenting, what is often forgotten is the great deal of work that goes into production. Entertainment jobs therefore could fall into a number of categories such as finance, management and technical expertise.

Often when looking for entertainment jobs prospective employees will be forced into beginning their career on the bottom rung. Internships offer applicants the best way for beginning a career in the entertainment industry.

Internships can be found with some major players in the industry, the big movie production houses such as Warner or music industry giants such as Universal all offer internships. These internships however are often poorly paid and in many cases are not paid at all.

The key to entering the entertainment industry and finding reasonably well paid jobs is to build up large amount of contacts. Frequently in entertainment it is not what you know but who you know. That said it is vital when attempting to secure a position, either as an intern or fully fledged employee to have a real desire to work within that industry sector. Enthusiasm is a fundamental part of the entertainment industry and those who hold jobs all have a love for what they do.

The music industry falls under the more general term of entertainment. Jobs within this sector are fiercely sought and being an outstanding candidate is not easy. Whether trying to become a record producer or even a PA, lower level jobs are once again usually poorly paid.

These entry level jobs however are just a means to an end; while working as a junior it is important to impress everyone you meet, the contacts you make during the early stages of your career could be vital in securing future jobs.

The film industry is renowned for employing low level workers who amount to little more than dogsbodies. The term ‘runner’ is often included in jobs within the film industry; the job role is much like it sounds and doing errands makes up a large portion of these types of jobs. They do however offer real chances of career progression and are often seen as a ‘foot in the door’ of the entertainment industry.

Television production is an extremely laborious task and hence the jobs on offer are high in number. Financiers can often find work with television companies while those with artistic flare may be lucky enough to enter the writing or production field. For those who would like to enter the world of journalism, local TV offer the best chance of opportunity as local news offices regularly employ junior reporters.

Many get into the entertainment industry to become famous, or at least appear on TV. This however is rarely an advisable course to follow as numbers of those performing in front of the cameras are small. On the other hand there are success stories of those who have slaved away behind the scenes for years and eventually been allowed to present or act. Competition for acting and presenting positions is high, factors such as your charisma and aesthetic worth will be instrumental in your chances to appear in front of the camera.

There is no doubt that jobs within the entertainment industry are available, however getting into positions is difficult and requires a lot of perseverance. In an industry that is famed for treating its junior employees badly it is a career path that must be stuck to despite the many setbacks. Often success in this industry relies on a lucky break or having the right contacts. While jobs may be sparse the best way to enter the entertainment industry is to take a low paid internship and strive to cement your place before the internship ends.

How To Kill The Music Industry

tatar job asked:

During The Pirate Bay trial, the music industry placed the blame for the decline in their revenues squarely on the shoulders of file-sharers. Their logic is clearly flawed, but it could sway the verdict if no alternative explanation is presented. So, if piracy isn’t to blame, then what is *actually* killing the music industry?

According to Per Sundin, CEO of Universal Music, the decline in music revenues in the past 8 years can be fully attributed to illegal file sharing. If this were actually true, many of us might even respect his decision to go after pirates as fiercely as the music industry is doing right now. However, the past 8 years have seen a lot more changes in the landscape of home entertainment than Per Sundin would like to admit, and some of those changes have had a massive impact on music profitability – much more so than any amount of piracy.

Let us refresh our memories and take a look at what actually happened during and just before the past 8 years:

1. First, the explosive rise of computer and console gaming. This competitive ‘third element’ has appeared in the entertainment landscape, beaten both music and movies to the curb and taken a huge cut out of the music industry’s revenues. Consumers don’t have infinitely-deep pockets, and billions of ‘recreation dollars’ that used to go almost exclusively to music, are now going into gaming.

2. International trade agreements have allowed consumers to buy their music across borders, rather than accepting local prices on music based on the ‘relative wealth’ of nations, rather than the actual value of the product.

3. New forms of distributable media, most notably MP3s but also CDs, have become mainstream. These new media don’t degrade over time and rarely break at all, making music rebuys a thing of the past, and allowing the second-hand market for music to thrive and expand – both of which take a cut out of the music industry’s former revenues.

4. Radical technological innovation has taken place in the field of music creation, processing, mixing, and mastering. Recording hardware, CD burners, music software, and media encoders have evolved to the point where most artists can actually afford decent-quality equipment to do their own recording and producing. Furthermore, this has fostered literally thousands of smaller, specialized studios that are challenging the ‘Big 4? with lower prices, better terms for artists, genre-specific expertise, etc. Successful artists can now leave the big labels and start their own recording outfits on relatively modest budgets. Naturally, super stars like The Beatles or Frank Sinatra have always had this option, but the recent technological advances have lowered the bar drastically. This development is depriving the ‘Big 4? of many of their former cash cows, who now use the major labels for their advertising and distribution infrastructure alone.

5. The World Wide Web has become an omnipresent force in the world, allowing cheap, end-to-end distribution of digital music, increasingly cutting out the corporate music distributors, who deal in trucks and CD covers, rather than bytes and bandwidth. With iTunes leading the way (very successfully ‘competing with free’, I might add), billions of songs are now purchased digitally rather than physically, no longer necessitating the big labels’ distribution networks.

6. The total number of radio stations, music television networks and other ’streaming’ sources of music has grown exponentially, giving music fans a huge selection of free (and legal) music options. Satellite radio, DAB, and internet radio broadcasts have made it trivial for consumers to simply tune into a channel broadcasting the exact sub-genre of music that they feel like listening to (they can even have a stream created for them dynamically, e.g. on Pandora), making the *purchase* of music entirely optional for the casual listener.

7. A massive selection of entertainment alternatives (home computing, console gaming, mobile devices, etc.) have appeared in the home, effectively marginalizing music as an activity. 15-20 years ago, youths would regularly visit each other just to listen to music together; today, that is virtually unthinkable without some form of activity involved, such as playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band, or dancing at a concert.

8. And finally, the music industry itself has embraced the opportunities of digital media, at last letting consumers buy *single* tracks at a time rather than forcing entire albums full of ‘fillers’ on them. Looking at the RIAA’s own sales figures for the past 10 years, there is a *direct* correlation between the break-off in album sales and the introduction and increase in single track digital sales. Looking at the actual numbers, it is abundantly clear that the vast majority of consumers never wanted to buy full albums in the first place, but were merely forced to by the lack of affordable single-track media. Now that the digital revolution has arrived, countless millions of 16-track album sales are being turned into 1- or 2-track sales, *decimating* the former revenues on music. THIS is the real reason why the music industry is hurting.

In other words: The “it’s common sense” argument that the music industry is peddling in their attempt to tie the declining revenues to piracy, simply doesn’t hold. It is not as clear-cut as the industry believes; the true reason for the decline is something they are still unwilling to face, but will have to face sooner or later:

The fact is that the music industry’s revenues have been artificially inflated for decades because of limited consumer options. The last 15 years of innovation have lifted those limitations, effectively leaving the music industry with an obsolete, defective business model of monopolized production technology, forced album bundling, and almost nonexistent competition in the realm of home entertainment. What is happening now – the decline of music profits and the piracy witch hunt by the music industry – is merely the panicked struggle of a dying business model, a complacent industry’s refusal to accept its diminishing role in a digital world. The pirates are not the reason, and the decline is the not the disease. It is the cure.

This is a guest post by Jens Roland. Jens is a computer scientist by training, but a technology forecaster by trade. He has worked at international think tanks as a consultant and researcher in emerging technologies and has written more than 300 articles and a book on the subject.

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DATA: Net value of shipped music, in billion dollars

1991 7.83

1992 9.02

1993 10.0

1994 12.1

1995 12.3

1996 12.5

1997 12.2

1998 13.7

1999 14.6

2000 14.3

2001 13.7

2002 12.6

2003 11.9

2004 12.3

2005 12.3

2006 11.8

2007 10.4

(source: www.ayubs.weebly.com annual reports)

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