Information is taken from an excerpt from www.awfullygoodmusic.com/learn Awfully Good Music | London, UK.
Overall I believe that the music industry has mostly changed for the better as it is a lot easier to become successful as an artist because of the online media, comparing this to years ago when the only way of listening to songs was by physical copies like cassettes and vinyl. Promoting your songs is now easier because of streaming platforms like Spotify which create algorithms and playlists based on the consumer’s music taste so your songs can gain more traction, more streams, and therefore, more money. In the past, promotion was mostly done by posters and billboards (thanks to the invention of the printing press in the 1600s), but even before this, promotions were simply done by word of mouth. Today, however, you would need a lot of streams to make a decent amount of money; this needs to somehow change so being a musician is more rewarding and less risky of a career.
To make more money, I also believe that merchandise is very popular now compared to years ago where things like tour posters and physical records were only sold during concerts. This is thanks to artist’s own online stores so users across the world can buy anything from physical copies of albums and songs to t-shirts, pins, mugs etc. at any time. On top of this, tours are also a main source of income for musicians because of their ticket sales. Live performances have always been hugely popular through history as it brought a sense of escapism and enjoyment to the listeners (which they still do now). The public always wanted to hear the newest compositions which, thanks to the printing press, could be learnt easier through the mass printing of sheet music. Despite this, I think that tours are more popular than ever as many can be quite affordable (depending on the artist’s fame). They are also all unique in terms of the songs they play, staging and lighting which might make a fan go see their favourite artist multiple times.
Recording your songs is now easier than ever as you no longer have to rent out a studio and pay producers to make your songs a reality. This is because of the invention of laptops and more specifically, DAWs. Recording on a budget can be done in your bedroom using audio interfaces and midi keyboards. Artists are often the composer now, meaning they don’t need to spend money on getting other people to make their songs. However, some popular artists can use ‘ghost writers’ who get paid to write lyrics. You can then release your own songs onto streaming platforms without the need of a publisher or record label because of websites like DistroKid which allows you to publish your own songs (including collecting all the revenue off it) but at a fair price.
A huge change came to the music industry this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. All tours were cancelled around the world because of this virus meaning they had to refund tickets. Festivals like Leeds fest and Glastonbury were called off for safety reasons. Smaller venues went bust as they were no longer bringing in money from concerts and other things like selling drinks and food. This took a huge blow to artist’s incomes and the overall creative arts economy. However, it has not all been bad news; both Global Music Group and the BBC recorded almost a 20% increase in people tuning into radio stations to listen to music and to know about world affairs in this confusing time. Also, the use of social media helped hugely as artists moved to online concerts via live streams which thousands of fans would often tune into. Companies like Spotify and Bandcamp are supporting artists by giving its revenue directly to the artist and starting funding pages to help struggling musicians during this time.